How long should a well pump cycle?

[Hobby_Man22]

So I drained some water out of my well tank to add an air pad and it let's out a good amount of water now before the pump kicks on, but it still only takes maybe 15 seconds to go from 35psi to 60psi. Is that long enough.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Or is it still short cycling?

 

[TurnipTruck]

Is it a bladder tank? If so, it should be empty of water when pressurized to 2 psi below the “pump on” pressure.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Nope it's the old style with no bladder.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

How large is the tank and how much water can you run before the on kicks on?

 

[Hobby_Man22]

How large is the tank and how much water can you run before the on kicks on?

82 gallon tank and it pumps out like 5 gallons before it kicks on.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Before it would kick on almost as soon as I turned the water on.

 

[larry_g]

Is it a bladder tank? If so, it should be empty of water when pressurized to 2 psi below the “pump on” pressure.

It doesn't have to be a bladder tank. Empty the tank and fill it with air to just below kick on pressure. Me personally I fill to just ~ 5 psi air below cut-in pressure. My well guy said that it should take a minute or better to fill. A lot of that depends on pump size/tank size/ well depth and maybe some other factors.

Bottom line is to have the tank empty with >25psi air before you start filling with water.

;g
no neat sig line

 

[Firebrick43]

I like to see 30 to 40 seconds minimum. Rule of thumb with accumulators is 70 percent of working pressure(ie pressure switch cut out pressure. Note, pressure must be set when the tank is empty of water

Why are you still using a bladderless tank? You would have to fill every 30 days at min.

 

[Showkey]

I like to see 30 to 40 seconds minimum. Rule of thumb with accumulators is 70 percent of working pressure(ie pressure switch cut out pressure. Note, pressure must be set when the tank is empty of water

Why are you still using a bladderless tank? You would have to fill every 30 days at min.

Excellent question and was hashed and rehashed in this thread…..

Old style well tank water logged after 2 years

I need to change the filter so that will allow it to drain out and refill with air, but I wonder if maybe the a air volume control valve is getting hard water deposits on it or something and not letting it function after a while. It ran pretty good for about a couple years. Or does the air...

www.garagejournal.com

As mentioned in the other post:
5 gallons draw down before the pumps runs is piss poor. (Diaphragm tank would be 12-15 gallons.)
15 second refill is also poor.
The combination of the two might be the definition of short cycling. On the up or down side you said the motor was cheap in the other thread.

 

[Firebrick43]

Excellent question and was hashed and rehashed in this thread…..

Old style well tank water logged after 2 years

I need to change the filter so that will allow it to drain out and refill with air, but I wonder if maybe the a air volume control valve is getting hard water deposits on it or something and not letting it function after a while. It ran pretty good for about a couple years. Or does the air...

www.garagejournal.com

As mentioned in the other post:
5 gallons draw down before the pumps runs is piss poor. (Diaphragm tank would be 12-15 gallons.)
15 second refill is also poor.
The combination of the two might be the definition of short cycling. On the up or down side you said the motor was cheap in the other thread.

Should have known with a hobbyman22 thread.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

So how long should it run to fill the tank up? Someone else on here said it only uses like 4 gallons out of the entire 82 gallons in the tank or some reason. That doesn't make sense.

 

[larry_g]

So how long should it run to fill the tank up? Someone else on here said it only uses like 4 gallons out of the entire 82 gallons in the tank or some reason. That doesn't make sense.

As said above a few different times most of a minute. That will vary though with the HP of your pump and the GPM delivery rate it can deliver. Have you drained the tank to empty and pre-charged it with air yet? Until you do that most of the rest of this is just pissin in the wind. Once working correctly the "full" tank will deliver ~1/2 its volume before the pump turns on again. The volume delivered is somewhat affected by the range of pressure between cut-in and cut-out.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Showkey]

A non bladder/diaphragm tank will never yield half the capacity before pump cuts in even when everything is set perfect.

There are many charts and sites with the draw down specs under ideal conditions.

Sizing a Pressure Tank - Your Step-by-Step Guide Dultmeier Sales Blog

When sizing a pressure tank it's vital to follow this process. We walk thru all you need to know to accurately size your tank to maximize efficiency.

www.dultmeier.com

Typical bladder tank draw down specs for 35 gallon tank ( Equivalent 82 gallon std tank)

• Actual capacity is 35 gallons, pre-charged at 40 PSI. Drawdown is 12.7 gallons for a 20/40 PSI switch (pre-charged at 18 PSI), 10.7 for a 30/50 (28 PSI), and 9.3 for a 40/60 (38 PSI).

So a 2.5 gallon per minute faucet open for 5 minutes before pump turns on.

Non bladder will never perform like a bladder tank in the example.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

So how long should it run to fill the tank up? Someone else on here said it only uses like 4 gallons out of the entire 82 gallons in the tank or some reason. That doesn't make sense.

A lot of that 82 gallons should be pressurized air. This is what pushes water through your plumbing when the pump isn't running. The as you use water the air expands to take up the space that was water thus lowering the pressure, then the pump kicks in a recompresses the air.

 

[doctordirt]

I run a galvanized 80 gallon non bladder tank. As others have said, shut power off, drain tank completely, add air, 2 pounds less than cut in, power back on. I do this once a year. From memory, I think my pump runs about 45 seconds and rest is about 4 minutes.