Monday, September 7, 2015

A Bad Day For Mechanical Systems

The water stopped flowing.  The well pump breaker popped, but we did not notice, so the 1000 gallon water tank stopped filling.   Then the pump that presuurizes for the house stopped running.  Our repair guy came up and used pressurized refrigerant to blow out a clog between pressurization pump and tank, probably caused by dirt in the tank getting sucked into the line as water level reached the bottom.  Next summer, we will empty the tank and clean it out.

Also, the Z-axis stepper motor on the mill failed.

4 comments:

  1. After the cleanout, perhaps a floating tank alarm that notifies at half full? And/or a flow sensor in the well pump-to-tank piping? An indicator of some sort to confirm power to the pump might be handy, although power to the pump doesn't confirm the pump is actually putting water into the tank.

    Just out of curiosity, without the well pump running, how long will that 1,000 gallons last? (Recognizing that obviously not all of the 1,000 gallons are usable).

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  2. Not sure how long 100 gallons lasts, but it isn't just a day or two.

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  3. Clayton -

    How is dirt getting into your drinking water? Is it still potable?

    If you mean normal well sediment such as rust or iron particles, wouldn't periodic flushing through a port at the bottom of the tank alleviate the build-up? Sort of like what people do to flush out a hot water tank. Flush out 5-10 gallons every 3-6 months.

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  4. johnG: rock and dirt flush out through the holes in the well casing that admits water. It isn't bacteriallyproblematic, just a liitle iron rich.

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