Posts: 311
Threads: 15
Joined: Jun 2010
Before I call a plumber, my wife suggested I post here. Here’s the situation:
We’ve got a fairly typical catchment system, and several parts are new. The tank itself is right around a year old. I replaced the pump and the brass check valve 6 years ago. Replaced the bladder tank recently. Square D switch was replaced a couple years ago. The plumbing is right around 10 years old.
The system loses pressure slowly. As in, the pump switches on in the middle of the night, when we are clearly not using water. I’ve checked everywhere for leaks or running faucets or running toilets or dripping hose bibs, and have found nothing. I even got up on the roof to see if the solar panel pipes were leaking into the gutters. (They were fine.) I was told the check valve might be leaking back into the tank, so I shut off access between the tank and the pump and yet the pressure still slowly dropped.
I can’t think of any other reason the system would lose pressure without noticeably leaking water somewhere. Anybody have any ideas? Living in the jungle is hard! Hoping for the ingenuity and expertise of Puna Peeps!
Posts: 1,679
Threads: 203
Joined: Dec 2005
Most of the time it is a leaking one-way inline valve. installed just before the pump is letting the water to move back towards the tank thus dropping pressure in the bladder.
Posts: 311
Threads: 15
Joined: Jun 2010
quote:
Originally posted by Royall
Most of the time it is a leaking one-way inline valve. installed just before the pump is letting the water to move back towards the tank thus dropping pressure in the bladder.
Hey Royall! Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about that also, so yesterday I swapped out the brass inline check valve (at the pump) for a brand new one.
Last night, the pump cycled three times. I got up and checked everything (again)... toilets, sinks, hose bibs... nothing was running. Crawled under the house where most of the plumbing lines run looking for 5 gallons of water lying around but everything was bone dry.
Any other ideas? Could a poorly primed intake line back at the tank suck water back through a brand new check valve?
I’m really stumped.
Posts: 1,679
Threads: 203
Joined: Dec 2005
I doubt it. If there is no leaks under the house, no dripping faucets, and the one-way valve was replaced, then I would look at worn flapper valves in the toilet tanks. That would be the only other place you could have a leak and not see it on the floor or ground, I know you said that the one-way was replaced but I would take it back out and clean it in a bucket of clean water. very possible to have debris from shipping or manufacturing inside. Did you replace brass valve a brass one? I have had one failure of a brass model. I've since switched to PVC valves exclusively.
Posts: 2,483
Threads: 10
Joined: Feb 2008
Shut off water between pump/tank and house. If the pump still cycles you know the problem is not in the house. Keep isolating sections of the system until you narrow down the problem.
Posts: 1,679
Threads: 203
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 311
Threads: 15
Joined: Jun 2010
quote:
Originally posted by MarkP
Shut off water between pump/tank and house. If the pump still cycles you know the problem is not in the house. Keep isolating sections of the system until you narrow down the problem.
Gonna try that. Will take a few days. It’s weird, the cycling happens more at night. We’re stuck at home like everybody else, so I’m sitting here reading a book for hours on end, during the day... no cycling. Then, at night, every two hours or so.
Anyway, thanks Mark. I’m trying that.
Posts: 1,163
Threads: 32
Joined: Aug 2009
I'll admit I'm throwing an out of the box idea here, but do you have an ice maker in your fridge? Could you be using more ice during the day, and it's just enough to trigger refilling at night?
Posts: 311
Threads: 15
Joined: Jun 2010
quote:
Originally posted by KeaauRich
I'll admit I'm throwing an out of the box idea here, but do you have an ice maker in your fridge? Could you be using more ice during the day, and it's just enough to trigger refilling at night?
I thought about that, but the ice maker certainly isn’t draining the bladder tank. That’d be a LOT of ice. I’m wracking my brain—thought maybe the solar water heater pipes on the roof were leaking into the gutter (so no evidence!) and somehow the heat of the water determined the amount of leakage.... but that’s just crazy.
Starting to entertain the notion of gremlins in the walls, or maybe aliens.
Posts: 1,679
Threads: 203
Joined: Dec 2005
I have replace two pressure relief valves on solar water heaters... both only leake in the daylight as that was when they seemed to be under more pressure. That said, if the valve is highly weakened, then it could very well be source of you leak.
