AboutBruce Briggs Expertise My range of knowledge and experience would allow me to answer questions related to developing accurate and reliable flow measurement systems for water & wastewater plants as well as solving problems with existing flow measurement and flow control installations. This would include pressurized as well as open channel flow applications.
Experience
Past/Present clients San Diego County Water Authority
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Massachusetts Water Resource Authority
Ministry of Water - Singapore
Ministry of Water-Hong Kong
Question QUESTION: Hi Bruce,
I don't know anything about wells, but I'll try to explain what's happening best I can. I just bought my home and moved in about 2 weeks ago. The water pressure wasn't great but it was acceptable for about the first week. The water in the 3 sink faucets, the 2 toilets, and the washing machine is now reduced to an almost trickle. The 2 bathtubs and outside faucet are great. I can hear the pump cut on for about 3 seconds while the toilet tank is filling and then cut off for about 20 seconds and over again. The water pressure increases slightly when the pump comes on. The house was empty for a few months before I moved in. The water leaves reddish brown stains in the toilets and sandy particles in the tubs. I've read that it may be mineral deposits built up in the pipes. What do you think and how would you go about correcting it?
ANSWER: Hi Anna,
Just a couple of questions to help me solve the mystery:
1. Do you have a basement in the house where you can see the piping coming from the water tank?
2. Is there a small tank (usually blue in color) with pipes coming into it from your pump and out of it to the various feed pipes to your sink, tub, outside faucet etc?
3. If there is a tank, does it have a small faucet on the bottom or side or a drain plug?
Let me know.
Bruce
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QUESTION: Hi Bruce,
OK, we've checked out under the house. There is a small tank that comes off the side of the pump, it's about 1/2 the size of a propane tank used for a gas grill. It has a black plastic screw top on the top of it, no pipes coming out of it and no faucet. It's just connected to the pump by one pipe. It says 'Flotec' precharged PSI 20 (138). The pipe to the house come off the other side of the pump. The well pump is a Sears shallow water jet 1/2 hp. Hope this info. helps...thanks a lot for your help!
ANSWER: Thanks for the answers - I checked out the Flotec line on the Internet and while I am not familiar with this specific system, it looks like most other re-charge type wells.
I have the following thoughts:
1. sand in the tub and sink may mean that the screen at the well point (bottom of the drilled well) may not be keeping sand from entering the point. Red stains are due to the presence of iron in the water which, by itself, is something that can be dealt with using a water conditioning system.
2. If there is 1 pipe coming off of the pump to the house service and all of the other services come off that one point, it is a puzzle why the tub and outside faucet would be fine and the others not. When the 3 sinks drop to a trickle, is the tub still running ok?
Sorry to ask more questions but this one is not easy to figure out.
It may be that you need to contact a local well company who can do a thorough check on the piping, check the pump discharge pressure and analyze the water.
Let me know about the piping, maybe that will give us a clue.
Bruce
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QUESTION: The tubs and outside faucet always run fine. The sinks have the same pressure which is a trickle. Thanks for your help.
ANSWER: Hi Anna,
One final try to solve the problem - can you turn off the water and remove a faucet in one of the sinks that is running at a trickle. Depending on the make of the faucet, you would loosen a large nut like fitting like you would loosen to replace a faucet washer. If you cannot turn off the water local to the sink, turn it off at the pump. Remove the faucet guts then turn the water back on a bit to see if you get a lot of stuff coming out. If we are lucky, your original thought might be the one - excessive build-up at the faucets is causing the water to start out ok but then run slow as the debris collects around the faucet bottom. If this is the case I would take all of the faucets out then turn on the water to flush everything out. Put a towel over the faucet so that the water does not shoot up to the ceiling, then replace all of your faucet washers (you can get them at a local hardware store).
Let me know how you make out.
Bruce
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QUESTION: Hi Bruce, after taking the kitchen faucet apart we discovered small brownish red particles inside which were clogging it up. The bathroom faucets and washer were also filled with these particles. We cleaned out everything and, after accidentally breaking the kitchen faucet and replacing it with a new one, all is in good working order now. I'll just keep an eye on them and check for buildup to keep it from happening again. We're also going to replace the filter on the well pump as soon as we figure out where it is and how to do it. Thanks for all your suggestions and help!!
Answer Hi Anna,
thanks very much for what you found out. If you cannot locate the filter, you could always cut into the line and put one in somewhere where it is easy to clean and replace it. Home Depot sells a retro-fit filter assembly and so do the folks at Northern Tool (www.northerntool.com). Hopefully the broken faucet incident did not test your marriage too much but I am happy to hear that you have better water pressure, Glad to help (whatever help I was).
Bruce
