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...
I am on a farm and I have the old galvanized pressure
tank. It's in a
pit to keep it from freezing (not the well, just the
tank). The well
has a submersible pump. I dont know what the gallon
rating is of ...
I have to fight my way into
the pit (not easy), and drain the tank. Then everything
is ok for
awhile again.

Since this type of tank has been used for ages, was this
just
something that everyone had to do regularly (to drain it)?
No, from an ex-farmer and family. I suggest you probably
have a pinhole in the bladder of that tank. You don't give
a measurable timetable, but the "charge"of air in the tank
should last for many years. It's also possible that, since
you seem to have to drain it often, that the bladder is
completely shot and all you do when you drain it is let in a
little air, which lets it work "for awhile" but eventually
the air is exhausted from the constant water exchanges,
until it's all gone.

I have been looking into a way to connect a long rod to
the drain
valve so I can open it without going into the pit. (the
pit is 15
feet deep). Does anyone know of a valve that has a way to
hook a
shaft onto it?

Sounds like you're looking for the kind of things they use
in cities for the water utility shut-offs. The utility
entrance out on the street is just a pipe with a long bar
coming up to ground level so it can be turned off.
Sometimes it's nothing - the rod is sort of like a key and
is put down into the pipe until it contacts the fitting, in
order to shut off the water but isn't left there.
I've never seen them for sale that I've noticed. No idea
what to do about getting one.

My other question. I checked into one of those
Well-X-Trol bladder
type tanks (blue tank). I was going to install one of
them to
eliminate this problem, but found out that those tanks
only have ONE
pipe on the bottom.

I'm not familiar with that type of tank (many kinds are
blue) but I can see where it might work. All I can say
about that is to check with the selling place and ask for
some paperwork on how it works.
Most hardware stores sell the kind of tank you have,
which is pretty much as you describe it. The tank itself
actually holds maybe 20 - 30 gallons of water in your case,
and part of the tank is sealed off with a bladder, where the
air chamber is located. The air and water never touch each
other - thus, the bladder.
\ As someone else mentioned, these are often "precharged"
with air, too. The pressure depends on the tank's specs.
You pressurinze them via a valve almost like on your car
tire. It is seldom necessary to recharge them though,
unless you have to take the plumbing apart for repairs or
something. They just don't lose air unless they're worn
out.

My galvanized tank has TWO inlets/outlets. In
other words, the pump goes into one side of the tank
(inlet), and the
water to the buildings comes out the other side of the
tank (outlet).
I dont see how they can work with only one pipe, unless
both the inlet
and outlet can be TEE'd together.

Yes, you could, but like I said, go back to the store and
get some paperwork on the tank. I can see where it would be
a viable solution and could work well - maybe someone else
here will be familiar with them.

Any advice?

Most any hardware or plumbing supply will have replacement
tanks similar to the one you have operationally, anyway.
Agway should know all about them too if there's one nearby
that does more than feeds. It sounds like you need a
shallow well or deep well water tank, so look/ask around.

Dumb question: Why can't the tank be relocated to a
basement, cellar, barn, wherever it won't freeze? Does it
really have to be in the pit? Especially with a submersible
pump, the tank doesn't need to be close to the well casing
at all. Besides, it's better, really, if the tank/s are
located near the place where the water is used as opposed to
the wellhead.
OR, is this a setup that services more than one premises
or household, with multiple exits to different places from
the one pit? If so, ignore everything I've said. Those are
much more complex systems and I have no experience with
them. I'm just trying to reationalize why the tank would be
in a pit as opposed to in the house/barn/whatever. Ours was
always in the basement.

Pop


Thanks

Rick