We have a well and a water tank with a diaphragm. Our water pressure
was getting low, so I checked the air pressure in the tank. It was a
little low, so I added air. At first it was working well, but later
in the day the water pressure dropped to almost nothing. I found that
the filter between the tank and the house was clogged up with brown
crud. I replaced the filter last night and it was OK. But this
morning the filter I put in last night was filled up with the brown
crud and pressure was almost zero again. This stuff must be coming
from within the tank. I've checked the water coming directly from the
pump and it is clear. I think the stuff is probably algae that I must
have knocked loose when I added air.

Right now I have no filter in the line because I think it will
probably just get clogged up again. The tank is 11 years old. What
are ways to solve this problem?
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"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
We have a well and a water tank with a diaphragm. Our water pressure
was getting low, so I checked the air pressure in the tank. It was a
little low, so I added air. At first it was working well, but later
in the day the water pressure dropped to almost nothing. I found that
the filter between the tank and the house was clogged up with brown
crud. I replaced the filter last night and it was OK. But this
morning the filter I put in last night was filled up with the brown
crud and pressure was almost zero again. This stuff must be coming
from within the tank. I've checked the water coming directly from the
pump and it is clear. I think the stuff is probably algae that I must
have knocked loose when I added air.

Right now I have no filter in the line because I think it will
probably just get clogged up again. The tank is 11 years old. What
are ways to solve this problem?
--

Flush the tank using a water outlet before the filter.

Bob F wrote:
"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
We have a well and a water tank with a diaphragm. Our water pressure
was getting low, so I checked the air pressure in the tank. It was a
little low, so I added air. At first it was working well, but later
in the day the water pressure dropped to almost nothing. I found that
the filter between the tank and the house was clogged up with brown
crud. I replaced the filter last night and it was OK. But this
morning the filter I put in last night was filled up with the brown
crud and pressure was almost zero again. This stuff must be coming
from within the tank. I've checked the water coming directly from the
pump and it is clear. I think the stuff is probably algae that I must
have knocked loose when I added air.

Right now I have no filter in the line because I think it will
probably just get clogged up again. The tank is 11 years old. What
are ways to solve this problem?
--

Flush the tank using a water outlet before the filter.

And put at least temporarily a filter in the tank inlet to verify it's
not silt/sand from the well---which is my guess what it actually
is/where it's coming from.

--

On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:29:12 -0600, dpb wrote:

And put at least temporarily a filter in the tank inlet to verify it's
not silt/sand from the well---which is my guess what it actually
is/where it's coming from.

I took a big sample of water directly from the pump and I couldn't see
anything.

I don't think there is any way to put a filter in the tank inlet.
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On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 09:17:26 -0800, "Bob F"
wrote:

Flush the tank using a water outlet before the filter.

There isn't an outlet there. Right now I have no filter in the
canister. Can I just run the water for a while to flush it? If so,
should the pump be on or should I drain the tank?

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On Nov 2, 9:42*am, Jud McCranie
wrote:
On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:29:12 -0600, dpb wrote:
And put at least temporarily a filter in the tank inlet to verify it's
not silt/sand from the well---which is my guess what it actually
is/where it's coming from.

I took a big sample of water directly from the pump and I couldn't see
anything.

I don't think there is any way to put a filter in the tank inlet.
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Water that looks clear in a bucket or glass can still have enough silt
in it to clog a filter.

My supply water looks great but I still get dirt / silt build up in
the toilet tanks.

If there is plumbing to the tank from the well there is a way to
install filter......it's just going to take some work.


If you " took a big sample of water directly from the pump " (how
big?)
you could plumb a filter at the same point that you "took the
sample" ....let the water run & see if you clog a new filter

How much water was used between the filter changes?

Your tank "might" be the source of the brown crud but I'll put my
money on dpb's suggestion that the well is the source and putting a
filter between well & tank will verify the problem. Or just filtering
the well output (temporarily)

Unless your tank is "generating" the brown crud how would it be coming
from the tank & not the well? Organic growth? Infiltration?

cheers
Bob

On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 11:24:17 -0800 (PST), BobK207
wrote:

If there is plumbing to the tank from the well there is a way to
install filter......it's just going to take some work.

Yes, but that isn't something I'm able to do.

If you " took a big sample of water directly from the pump " (how
big?)

Half a gallon in a clear glass container.

you could plumb a filter at the same point that you "took the
sample" ....let the water run & see if you clog a new filter

Well, I took it from a hose faucet at the pump. There is nothing
other than that.

How much water was used between the filter changes?

Not that much. Approximately two baths and maybe one load of washing
dishes and one load of clothes.


Unless your tank is "generating" the brown crud how would it be coming
from the tank & not the well? Organic growth? Infiltration?

I believe it is algae in the tank.

I did what I thought would flush the tank. I ran water through for 10
minutes, then cut off the pump until no water was coming out, then cut
the pump on for 10 more minutes. I haven't tried putting a filter
back in the canister yet.
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On Nov 2, 11:43*am, Jud McCranie
wrote:
On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 11:24:17 -0800 (PST), BobK207
wrote:

If there is plumbing to the tank from the well there is a way to
install filter......it's just going to take some work.

Yes, but that isn't something I'm able to do.

If you " took a big sample of water directly from the pump " * (how
big?)

Half a gallon in a clear glass container.

you could plumb a filter at the same point that you "took the
sample" *....let the water run & see if you clog a new filter

Well, I took it from a hose faucet at the pump. *There is nothing
other than that. *

How much water was used between the filter changes?

Not that much. *Approximately two baths and maybe one load of washing
dishes and one load of clothes.

Unless your tank is "generating" the brown crud how would it be coming
from the tank & not the well? *Organic growth? *Infiltration?

I believe it is algae in the tank.

I did what I thought would flush the tank. *I ran water through for 10
minutes, then cut off the pump until no water was coming out, then cut
the pump on for 10 more minutes. *I haven't tried putting a filter
back in the canister yet.
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Now we're getting some useful details......

run the output of the hose through a filter for about the same amount
of the water ...two baths, dishes & clothes washing 200+ gallons?

See if it clogs the filter....if not then the well water would appear
to not be the source.

What has changed recently to cause the situation you have? Why the
algae growth? Why is it now clogging the filter & not previously?


I don't know how large your filter element is but typically filter
loads are measeured in grams....... small filters ~50 grams, larger
ones 250 grams +
depending on the size of your filter you could clog it quickly

cheers
Bob

On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:34:17 -0500, Jud McCranie
wrote:

the filter between the tank and the house was clogged up with brown
crud.

I need to describe the "brown crud". Suppose you took brown paper and
let it soak in water and it broke up into pieces about the size of a
quarter. This is what the brown crud looks like, except that it is
slicker than the paper.

It is in flat pieces roughly the size of a quarter. It looks like it
was attached to the wall of something. When I got water directly from
the pump there was nothing like this in it. When I added the air to
the water tank the filter was OK and the pressure improved. Within a
couple of hours, the pressure dropped to almost nothing and the filter
was clogged with these pieces of brown crud. I changed the filter and
overnight it clogged up again with the pieces of brown crud. I think
me adding in the air knocked it off the inside of the diaphragm.
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On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 13:13:27 -0800 (PST), BobK207
wrote:

run the output of the hose through a filter for about the same amount
of the water ...two baths, dishes & clothes washing 200+ gallons?

I don't have any practical way of doing that. These filters go into
the water line and the faucet at the pump is a garden hose.


What has changed recently to cause the situation you have? Why the
algae growth? Why is it now clogging the filter & not previously?

The only thing was me adding air to the tank, which I think knocked
the stuff loose.

I don't know how large your filter element is but typically filter
loads are measeured in grams....... small filters ~50 grams, larger
ones 250 grams +
depending on the size of your filter you could clog it quickly

It was clogged with things about the size of a quarter, see the
message I added an hour or two ago.
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On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:17:00 -0500, Jud McCranie
wrote:

It is in flat pieces roughly the size of a quarter.

The filter also filled up with brown particles overnight too.
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On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:34:17 -0500, Jud McCranie
wrote:

We have a well and a water tank with a diaphragm.

This morning I replaced the filter that got clogged overnight. Today
I did what I could to flush the tank. I went without a filter most of
the day. An hour or so ago I put a filter back in and in a short time
some of the flakes of brown crud are already in the filter. Only a
couple of them are the size of quarters - most are smaller fragments.
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On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:31:59 -0500, Claude Hopper
wrote:

You need a new tank. Sounds like your bladder is ruptured and you are
getting the rust from the metal part of the tank.

It doesn't seem to be rust. It is slick and breaks apart easily.
Also, even with the water out, the bladder holds its air pressure, so
there can't be a large hole in the diaphragm.
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"Claude Hopper" wrote in message
...
Jud McCranie wrote:
We have a well and a water tank with a diaphragm. Our water pressure
was getting low, so I checked the air pressure in the tank. It was a
little low, so I added air. At first it was working well, but later
in the day the water pressure dropped to almost nothing. I found that
the filter between the tank and the house was clogged up with brown
crud. I replaced the filter last night and it was OK. But this
morning the filter I put in last night was filled up with the brown
crud and pressure was almost zero again. This stuff must be coming
from within the tank. I've checked the water coming directly from the
pump and it is clear. I think the stuff is probably algae that I must
have knocked loose when I added air.

Right now I have no filter in the line because I think it will
probably just get clogged up again. The tank is 11 years old. What
are ways to solve this problem?

You need a new tank. Sounds like your bladder is ruptured and you are
getting the rust from the metal part of the tank.

--
Claude Hopper

? ? ¥

Ditto what Claude said...YOU NEED A NEW TANK...Been there , done that...Got
the t-shirt.....

Jud McCranie wrote:
On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:31:59 -0500, Claude Hopper
wrote:

You need a new tank. Sounds like your bladder is ruptured and you are
getting the rust from the metal part of the tank.

It doesn't seem to be rust. It is slick and breaks apart easily.
Also, even with the water out, the bladder holds its air pressure, so
there can't be a large hole in the diaphragm.

There must be a slow leak anyway or the air pressure wouldn't have been low.

If all that was done was to pressurize the bladder/diaphragm side,
shouldn't have had any effect on the water side.

It's still not clear as to what precipitated the problem, but whatever
this mysterious crud is, probably ought to have the water tested and if
a flushing of the tank doesn't clear it up, there's a problem that needs
attention.

Growing stuff inside the tank indicates a contamination of some sort if
it isn't just silt--that can't be good. It may not be pathogenic, but
I'd surely want to know it wasn't if it were my potable water supply.

--

On Nov 3, 10:58*am, Jud McCranie
wrote:
On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:31:59 -0500, Claude Hopper

wrote:
You need a new tank. Sounds like your bladder is ruptured and you are
getting the rust from the metal part of the tank.

It doesn't seem to be rust. *It is slick and breaks apart easily.
Also, even with the water out, the bladder holds its air pressure, so
there can't be a large hole in the diaphragm.
--
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some crud that was growing on the water side of the bladder that got
knocked off the bladder when you inflated it?

Mark

On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:06:35 -0600, dpb wrote:

There must be a slow leak anyway or the air pressure wouldn't have been low.

A small one. It took it years to get down to 20+ PSI.

If all that was done was to pressurize the bladder/diaphragm side,
shouldn't have had any effect on the water side.

The diaphragm is flexible, right? So pumping the air in it may have
knocked the algae (or what ever it is) loose.

It's still not clear as to what precipitated the problem, but whatever
this mysterious crud is, probably ought to have the water tested and if
a flushing of the tank doesn't clear it up, there's a problem that needs
attention.

There is still a little crud being caught by the filter, but most of
it is gone and the water pressure is back.

Growing stuff inside the tank indicates a contamination of some sort if
it isn't just silt--that can't be good. It may not be pathogenic, but
I'd surely want to know it wasn't if it were my potable water supply.

Yes, we mostly drink water from gallon jugs, but not always.
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Jud McCranie wrote:
On Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:06:35 -0600, dpb wrote:

There must be a slow leak anyway or the air pressure wouldn't have been low.

A small one. It took it years to get down to 20+ PSI.
....
Don't know that (yet, anyway).

If may have just developed so the actual time was much shorter.

They can go for quite some time, but once started, they'll eventually
waterlog.

--