Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

Hello,

We are on a small farm and have horrible water that we don't drink. It
buggers and clogs plumbing something terrible.

A couple of years ago, we decided to go the fiberglass pressure tank route
as we got tired of rusting issues. The local well and pump guy came out and,
despite my reservations, installed one that has a vent gizmo on top instead
of my usual draining every few months after waterlogging. My concern was it
would plug up... after about 2 months, it did. He then added another gizmo
in front of the tank that is the device in question:

it is about 10 inches long, has what looks like a tire valve sticking up
from it and is supposed to suck a little air into the tank every time it
runs... and it does that well (never have waterlogged since). My concern
with this item was that it has, according to him, a 3/8 orifice inside that
hurt my flow very badly. Now that this thing has had time to gunk up a bit
(everything always does) the flow is now almost unacceptable. Relations with
this guy deteriorated long ago and I'm about to scream uncle and tackle
things myself as I always used to do before him.

What is this thing called?
Can it be taken apart to clean?
He mentioned that there was another version with a larger diameter innard...
I'm wondering about swapping it since I need to do something anyhow... does
it allow more air proportionally? I do not like the idea of even more air in
my tank as I wish there were more drawdown than there is now.

Does anyone know anything about this gizmo?




thanks

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 9:44:24 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
Hello,

We are on a small farm and have horrible water that we don't drink. It
buggers and clogs plumbing something terrible.

A couple of years ago, we decided to go the fiberglass pressure tank route
as we got tired of rusting issues. The local well and pump guy came out and,
despite my reservations, installed one that has a vent gizmo on top instead
of my usual draining every few months after waterlogging. My concern was it
would plug up... after about 2 months, it did. He then added another gizmo
in front of the tank that is the device in question:

it is about 10 inches long, has what looks like a tire valve sticking up
from it and is supposed to suck a little air into the tank every time it
runs... and it does that well (never have waterlogged since). My concern
with this item was that it has, according to him, a 3/8 orifice inside that
hurt my flow very badly. Now that this thing has had time to gunk up a bit
(everything always does) the flow is now almost unacceptable. Relations with
this guy deteriorated long ago and I'm about to scream uncle and tackle
things myself as I always used to do before him.

What is this thing called?
Can it be taken apart to clean?
He mentioned that there was another version with a larger diameter innard...
I'm wondering about swapping it since I need to do something anyhow... does
it allow more air proportionally? I do not like the idea of even more air in
my tank as I wish there were more drawdown than there is now.

Does anyone know anything about this gizmo?




thanks

This seems backwards. With a fiberglass tank that is a few years old,
it should have a bladder so that no periodic addition of air is needed,
ie it doesn't get water logged because the air is trapped inside the
bladder and remains constant. And with an older type of tank without
an air bladder, it should have an automatic air volume control that
maintains the correct air volume, so once again, no manual addition of
air is necessary. Further what doesn't make sense is that neither of
those should affect the water flow rate, unless it's by them not working
at all, the tank gets water logged and the pump can't keep up with the
water flow without the tank water assisting. The air volume control for
the older tanks was mounted on the side of the tank and reacted to the
air level. If there was too much water, not enough air, it would allow
the pump to suck in a little bit of air when it runs, increasing the air
in the tank.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

A picture (or more) of the item in question would be worth thousands of words.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 9:44:24 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
Hello,

We are on a small farm and have horrible water that we don't drink. It
buggers and clogs plumbing something terrible.

A couple of years ago, we decided to go the fiberglass pressure tank
route
as we got tired of rusting issues. The local well and pump guy came out
and,
despite my reservations, installed one that has a vent gizmo on top
instead
of my usual draining every few months after waterlogging. My concern was
it
would plug up... after about 2 months, it did. He then added another
gizmo
in front of the tank that is the device in question:

it is about 10 inches long, has what looks like a tire valve sticking up
from it and is supposed to suck a little air into the tank every time it
runs... and it does that well (never have waterlogged since). My concern
with this item was that it has, according to him, a 3/8 orifice inside
that
hurt my flow very badly. Now that this thing has had time to gunk up a
bit
(everything always does) the flow is now almost unacceptable. Relations
with
this guy deteriorated long ago and I'm about to scream uncle and tackle
things myself as I always used to do before him.

What is this thing called?
Can it be taken apart to clean?
He mentioned that there was another version with a larger diameter
innard...
I'm wondering about swapping it since I need to do something anyhow...
does
it allow more air proportionally? I do not like the idea of even more air
in
my tank as I wish there were more drawdown than there is now.

Does anyone know anything about this gizmo?




thanks

This seems backwards. With a fiberglass tank that is a few years old,
it should have a bladder so that no periodic addition of air is needed,
ie it doesn't get water logged because the air is trapped inside the
bladder and remains constant. And with an older type of tank without
an air bladder, it should have an automatic air volume control that
maintains the correct air volume, so once again, no manual addition of
air is necessary. Further what doesn't make sense is that neither of
those should affect the water flow rate, unless it's by them not working
at all, the tank gets water logged and the pump can't keep up with the
water flow without the tank water assisting. The air volume control for
the older tanks was mounted on the side of the tank and reacted to the
air level. If there was too much water, not enough air, it would allow
the pump to suck in a little bit of air when it runs, increasing the air
in the tank.

That is not the type of tank that many folks around here use... our water
does not play well with bladders and treating it can get very costly. Around
here, many use older fashioned systems using galvanized tanks that
deteriorate rapidly and I thought it very good news to find that they now
make 'old-fashioned' 40 gal tanks in fiberglass.

Here is the previous tank I used:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...l?cm_vc=-10005

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the device and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one (providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

wrote in message
...
A picture (or more) of the item in question would be worth thousands of
words.

I do not have a web page to post photos on... is there binary group that
posters here have started using?

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small
house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The
installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the device
and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one
(providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was
about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no
markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren


--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 20:03:15 -0400, "rdoc" wrote:


wrote in message
...
A picture (or more) of the item in question would be worth thousands of
words.

I do not have a web page to post photos on... is there binary group that
posters here have started using?

Use this:
http://imgur.com/ and make a photo album.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
news:op.x4ewyph36w0fur@deans-air...

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small
house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The
installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the device
and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one
(providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was
about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no
markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren




No, it doesn't look like that, but... that link that you show, although not
looking the same, either... makes me wonder if there is another style of
these beyond these two. When I looked at that, maybe I dismissed the concept
because of the difference in appearance.

What do you know about these things? Are they used even without the
filtration system you linked? Can they be attained in high flow versions?

Maybe I need to start searching on the microionizer term.



Thanks for the reply.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 20:06:25 -0500, rdoc wrote:


"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
news:op.x4ewyph36w0fur@deans-air...




I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren




No, it doesn't look like that, but... that link that you show, although
not
looking the same, either... makes me wonder if there is another style of
these beyond these two. When I looked at that, maybe I dismissed the
concept
because of the difference in appearance.

What do you know about these things? Are they used even without the
filtration system you linked? Can they be attained in high flow versions?


I really don't know anything about them. I just got curious so looked
up a few. The description of them acting like a venturi got my attention.
The link was just one I happened on. There was no real reason I linked to
it.

Maybe I need to start searching on the microionizer term.



Thanks for the reply.




--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

If everyone in your neighborhood has the same poor quality water, what do they do???

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

wrote in message
...
If everyone in your neighborhood has the same poor quality water, what do
they do???

It's not much of a neighborhood as most think of neighborhoods. There are
other homes in the area but it is a small farm in an area of other small and
large farms with a few patches of homes with a handfull of homes in each...
some now empty because of water issues. There is a village about 3 miles
down the road that has city water. Folks here do what they can/will spend.
Some have elaborate filter systems that are rather pricey... most just do
things a more old fashioned way that requires keeping up to the simpler
systems, i.e.: dealing with frequent tank maintenance/replacement. (See my
reply to trader_4 for links.) It doesn't take long to learn that expensive
systems on this water are a money pit that constantly require servicing
beyond the regular guy's skills/finances... much easier to keep up with
water-logging tanks, water heater issues and lugging drinking water from the
car.

The big benefit to it is that it keeps the developers at bay for now. They
are raping most of the county farmland and we know it's only a matter of
time until they are coming down the road with city water and sewers at what
time there will be no more farms, just a bunch of 'neighbors' staring down
our noses.

Again... see my reply to trader_4 to see a link to the type of tank many of
us use who can't or won't spend the insane bucks needed to deal with the
water for results suburbanites might expect. I look forward to any
contributions you might supply on the device identification.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 9:06:42 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
news:op.x4ewyph36w0fur@deans-air...

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small
house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The
installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the device
and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one
(providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was
about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no
markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren




No, it doesn't look like that, but... that link that you show, although not
looking the same, either... makes me wonder if there is another style of
these beyond these two. When I looked at that, maybe I dismissed the concept
because of the difference in appearance.


The "micronizer" is shown in the pic of the tank you supplied.
It's not exactly the same as the one Dean found, but it performs
the same function, which is to constantly inject a small, adjustable
amount of air whenever the pump is running. The air volume control
that is inside the tank apparently then maintains the correct air
volume by venting the excess. I've never seen a setup like that.

If that micronizer gets gunked up, then per the diagram of the tank
that you supplied, it would only affect how fast water gets pumped
into the tank and/or the air volume in the tank, but your complaint
is flow rate. So, some questions?

Is the tank water logged, or behaving OK with respect to drawdown?

Is the flow rate OK when the tank is full, then becomes
a problem when the pump runs?

If the flow rate is a problem with normal air in the tank and
before the pump kicks on, then I don't see how it can be caused
by the mircronizer because it's not in the flow path at that
point. Assuming of course it's installed like the diagram that
you provided from Wellmate.

Also, I'm curious what the issue is with your bad water and
a bladder type tank. I would assume the bladders are made of
a vinyl or similar type material that would be impervious to
acidic water, etc. so I'm curious what happens to bladders?

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

"rdoc" wrote in message
...


wrote in message
...
If everyone in your neighborhood has the same poor quality water, what do
they do???

It's not much of a neighborhood as most think of neighborhoods. There are
other homes in the area but it is a small farm in an area of other small and
large farms with a few patches of homes with a handfull of homes in each...
some now empty because of water issues. There is a village about 3 miles
down the road that has city water. Folks here do what they can/will spend.
Some have elaborate filter systems that are rather pricey... most just do
things a more old fashioned way that requires keeping up to the simpler
systems, i.e.: dealing with frequent tank maintenance/replacement. (See my
reply to trader_4 for links.) It doesn't take long to learn that expensive
systems on this water are a money pit that constantly require servicing
beyond the regular guy's skills/finances... much easier to keep up with
water-logging tanks, water heater issues and lugging drinking water from the
car.

The big benefit to it is that it keeps the developers at bay for now. They
are raping most of the county farmland and we know it's only a matter of
time until they are coming down the road with city water and sewers at what
time there will be no more farms, just a bunch of 'neighbors' staring down
our noses.

Again... see my reply to trader_4 to see a link to the type of tank many of
us use who can't or won't spend the insane bucks needed to deal with the
water for results suburbanites might expect. I look forward to any
contributions you might supply on the device identification.


Any young daughters that are good looking?

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

Seymore4Head posted for all of us...



On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 20:03:15 -0400, "rdoc" wrote:


wrote in message
...
A picture (or more) of the item in question would be worth thousands of
words.

I do not have a web page to post photos on... is there binary group that
posters here have started using?

Use this:
http://imgur.com/ and make a photo album.

Did he ever post any images? I see ones others posted about the
micrionizers.

--
Tekkie

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 6:44:24 PM UTC-7, rdoc wrote:
Hello,

We are on a small farm and have horrible water that we don't drink. It
buggers and clogs plumbing something terrible.

A couple of years ago, we decided to go the fiberglass pressure tank route
as we got tired of rusting issues. The local well and pump guy came out and,
despite my reservations, installed one that has a vent gizmo on top instead
of my usual draining every few months after waterlogging. My concern was it
would plug up... after about 2 months, it did. He then added another gizmo
in front of the tank that is the device in question:

it is about 10 inches long, has what looks like a tire valve sticking up
from it and is supposed to suck a little air into the tank every time it
runs... and it does that well (never have waterlogged since). My concern
with this item was that it has, according to him, a 3/8 orifice inside that
hurt my flow very badly. Now that this thing has had time to gunk up a bit
(everything always does) the flow is now almost unacceptable. Relations with
this guy deteriorated long ago and I'm about to scream uncle and tackle
things myself as I always used to do before him.

What is this thing called?
Can it be taken apart to clean?
He mentioned that there was another version with a larger diameter innard...
I'm wondering about swapping it since I need to do something anyhow... does
it allow more air proportionally? I do not like the idea of even more air in
my tank as I wish there were more drawdown than there is now.

Does anyone know anything about this gizmo?




thanks

From the replies 'micronizer' seems right. Common name back when was "snifter valve".

Harry K

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 9:06:42 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
news:op.x4ewyph36w0fur@deans-air...

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the
device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure
is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small
house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The
installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the
device
and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's
smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add
deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is
it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one
(providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was
about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each
way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no
markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren




No, it doesn't look like that, but... that link that you show, although
not
looking the same, either... makes me wonder if there is another style of
these beyond these two. When I looked at that, maybe I dismissed the
concept
because of the difference in appearance.


The "micronizer" is shown in the pic of the tank you supplied.
It's not exactly the same as the one Dean found, but it performs
the same function, which is to constantly inject a small, adjustable
amount of air whenever the pump is running. The air volume control
that is inside the tank apparently then maintains the correct air
volume by venting the excess. I've never seen a setup like that.

If that micronizer gets gunked up, then per the diagram of the tank
that you supplied, it would only affect how fast water gets pumped
into the tank and/or the air volume in the tank, but your complaint
is flow rate. So, some questions?

Is the tank water logged, or behaving OK with respect to drawdown?

Is the flow rate OK when the tank is full, then becomes
a problem when the pump runs?

If the flow rate is a problem with normal air in the tank and
before the pump kicks on, then I don't see how it can be caused
by the mircronizer because it's not in the flow path at that
point. Assuming of course it's installed like the diagram that
you provided from Wellmate.

Also, I'm curious what the issue is with your bad water and
a bladder type tank. I would assume the bladders are made of
a vinyl or similar type material that would be impervious to
acidic water, etc. so I'm curious what happens to bladders?


As I understand it from those around with horror stories about bladder
tanks... the deposits on the bladder compromise it and they fail but more
importantly, our water corrodes and rusts heavy galvanized tanks in as
little as two years causing leaks with the cheapo tin of bladder tanks
sometimes seeing half that long. If you've ever walked into your basement to
find that your holding tank has blown a hole and your pump just keeps
pumping it up again and again, it's something you don't ever want to risk
experiencing again.

When the installer first put the tank in, he did not install the
microionizer and all was fine until the tank waterlogged... great flow and
pressure. As I now understand things according to a local with some good
experience with this thing, the ionizer was a required element to the self
adjusting air volume control. He tried to cheap out on me. It was at the
very moment that he installed the ionizer on the service call that the flow
issues began and have only worsened since then. This installer and I have
gone round and round ever since.

What it appears, according to the local who helped identify the gizmo, is
that he didn't want to by the new one at $120 and so used one from a hot tub
or jacuzzi deal and, as I'm told, the angle is not adjustable and so his
original statement (that he now denies) about it being about 3/8 inch
diameter inside is probably accurate. 3/8" is woefully small for a primary
supply for a home when you are trying to pump a 40 gallon tank at the same
time as needing to maintain the concurrent demand of say, a toilet, a
washing machine and a dishwasher when the whole family is beating the system
up at once. At times, if one flushes while filling the bathtub, it all comes
to a halt. These state occurred instantly when he installed this thing.

As I understand it, those suggesting micrionizer are right on except that it
also has a thing called a vacuum break with it. I see well-mate branded ones
on line for about half of what he would have paid at the local
distributor... if I can figure out how to set it up, I may pick one up.
Until this, I took care of my water supply myself and got by fine... this is
what I get for paying money for someone else to do it.


thanks for the replies.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

"Tekkie®" wrote in message
...
Seymore4Head posted for all of us...



On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 20:03:15 -0400, "rdoc" wrote:


wrote in message
...
A picture (or more) of the item in question would be worth thousands of
words.

I do not have a web page to post photos on... is there binary group that
posters here have started using?

Use this:
http://imgur.com/ and make a photo album.

Did he ever post any images? I see ones others posted about the
micrionizers.

Between here and a local I think I can be safe in saying it is an ionizer
with a vacuum break... never knew there was such a thing until now. That
imgur link looks like an interesting place to kill a few hours except that I
have a hard time getting a few killable minutes let alone hours.


thanks for the reply.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Monday, September 7, 2015 at 2:45:49 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 9:06:42 PM UTC-4, rdoc wrote:
"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
news:op.x4ewyph36w0fur@deans-air...

Here is the new one:
http://www.wellmate.com/en-US/product/residential-products/hydro-pneumatic-air-water-tanks/hp-quick-connect-series/


The flow issue is, I believe, related to the 3/8" orifice in the
device
inserted in the pump supply line in front of the tank (that 3/8 figure
is
based on what the installer said was in it). I used to run this small
house
off a 1 1/4" line into the tank and reduced it to 3/4 after. The
installer
reduced it to 1" before the device and then 1" again between the
device
and
the tank. It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's
smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed... then add
deposits
and such and the flow is brought to it's knees.

That is the crux of my questions... what the heck is this thing and is
it
serviceable and what are the ramifications of using a larger one
(providing
that the installer was not as wrong about that availability as he was
about
so much else)?

I do not have a web page to post photos on.

Also, upon looking it over better, it really is not much longer each
way
than a 1" tee... the 1" black hose make it look bigger. I see no
markings on
it other than an arrow in the dirction of the air flow.


thanks for reading and replying.

I haven't asked a silly question for at least a couple minutes now.
It isn't the microionizer shown in the picture of the tank by chance?
http://tinyurl.com/ntjaren




No, it doesn't look like that, but... that link that you show, although
not
looking the same, either... makes me wonder if there is another style of
these beyond these two. When I looked at that, maybe I dismissed the
concept
because of the difference in appearance.


The "micronizer" is shown in the pic of the tank you supplied.
It's not exactly the same as the one Dean found, but it performs
the same function, which is to constantly inject a small, adjustable
amount of air whenever the pump is running. The air volume control
that is inside the tank apparently then maintains the correct air
volume by venting the excess. I've never seen a setup like that.

If that micronizer gets gunked up, then per the diagram of the tank
that you supplied, it would only affect how fast water gets pumped
into the tank and/or the air volume in the tank, but your complaint
is flow rate. So, some questions?

Is the tank water logged, or behaving OK with respect to drawdown?

Is the flow rate OK when the tank is full, then becomes
a problem when the pump runs?

If the flow rate is a problem with normal air in the tank and
before the pump kicks on, then I don't see how it can be caused
by the mircronizer because it's not in the flow path at that
point. Assuming of course it's installed like the diagram that
you provided from Wellmate.

Also, I'm curious what the issue is with your bad water and
a bladder type tank. I would assume the bladders are made of
a vinyl or similar type material that would be impervious to
acidic water, etc. so I'm curious what happens to bladders?


As I understand it from those around with horror stories about bladder
tanks... the deposits on the bladder compromise it and they fail but more
importantly, our water corrodes and rusts heavy galvanized tanks in as
little as two years causing leaks with the cheapo tin of bladder tanks
sometimes seeing half that long. If you've ever walked into your basement to
find that your holding tank has blown a hole and your pump just keeps
pumping it up again and again, it's something you don't ever want to risk
experiencing again.

There are lots of bladder tanks available that are composite.
If that water can make a bladder fail, it must have some
interesting stuff in it. It's plastic and seems to me plastic
hold up pretty well to most things, even acid.



When the installer first put the tank in, he did not install the
microionizer and all was fine until the tank waterlogged... great flow and
pressure. As I now understand things according to a local with some good
experience with this thing, the ionizer was a required element to the self
adjusting air volume control. He tried to cheap out on me. It was at the
very moment that he installed the ionizer on the service call that the flow
issues began and have only worsened since then. This installer and I have
gone round and round ever since.

What it appears, according to the local who helped identify the gizmo, is
that he didn't want to by the new one at $120 and so used one from a hot tub
or jacuzzi deal and, as I'm told, the angle is not adjustable and so his
original statement (that he now denies) about it being about 3/8 inch
diameter inside is probably accurate. 3/8" is woefully small for a primary
supply for a home when you are trying to pump a 40 gallon tank at the same
time as needing to maintain the concurrent demand of say, a toilet, a
washing machine and a dishwasher when the whole family is beating the system
up at once. At times, if one flushes while filling the bathtub, it all comes
to a halt. These state occurred instantly when he installed this thing.

As I understand it, those suggesting micrionizer are right on except that it
also has a thing called a vacuum break with it. I see well-mate branded ones
on line for about half of what he would have paid at the local
distributor... if I can figure out how to set it up, I may pick one up.
Until this, I took care of my water supply myself and got by fine... this is
what I get for paying money for someone else to do it.


thanks for the replies.

I asked before if the flow rate problem was also when the tank was
full or if it only happens when the tank draws down and the pump kicks on.
If it's only when it draws down, then I'd agree it's the micronizer.
If it's all the time, then I don't see how it can be the mircronizer,
because it's between the well and pump.

Can Anyone Identify an Unknown Plumbing Device?
 

On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 20:03:06 -0400, "rdoc" wrote:
It seems to me that a system is only as strong as it's smallest
diameter supply and running a home on 3/8" is doomed..

This is not correct with respect to plumbing. The length of reduced
diameter pipe does matter, as there's resistance to flow all along the
pipe. This isn't to say that even a 3/8" ID washer is a good idea, but
10' of 3/8" pipe will resist the flow a lot more than 1" of the same.

Edward