Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem. We've been here for a year and still have air. People kept telling us to wait it out but it still hasn't gone away. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] I wish it was that easy.
Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem. We've been here for a year and still have air. People kept telling us to wait it out but it still hasn't gone away. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] I wish it was that easy.
[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Dear Plehistocene Dwelling: Is your well pump by some chance a submersible? If the pump is a sub, you may be getting air from an over-active air charging system. Subs are set up such that the top joint of pipe drains out when the pump is not running. Then when the pump restarts it pushes that pipe full of air into the tank. By doing that, the tank air charge can be maintained. If the tank bleeder valve is kaputzo, there is nothing to exhaust the excess air and maintain the correct air level in the tank. When that happens, air will enter the discharge port of the tank and go into the water supply system. The air valve is usually located halfway up on the tank; has a gauge port on it; has a little float inside the tank that monitors water levels. If your sub was originally set up for a galvanized tank and someone installed a bladder tank on it after the galvanized tank went south, that could also be the problem. The pump keeps pushing air and the system doesn't need it. You can install a "catch" tank in the system and PUMP THROUGH IT, and on that tank have a Watts or similar make of air bleed valve right on top. As the air bubbles enter the tank they will seek the top and the air bleed valve will get rid of them. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
CJDave
Bird, I too had no doubt regarding the identity of the milky look to the water, surmising as you did that it was air, quite fine air bubbles. I don't know how much of this the rural water district customers get. The instance we just experienced was from our own well. We had "disturbed" status quo by switching the well off and closing the output valve that controls flow from the tank to all points of use to facilitate extending one of the lines to the new house. Shortly after turning the well pump switch and valve to "normal" we got milky water for a couple weeks. Why so long is the mystery.
With the sediment filtration system I installed in the new house, I suspect that even very fine bubles would be strained out and maybe consolidated to just a few large bubbles. This is untested speculation but seems reasonable.
We are currently having another water problem... RAIN in the middle of August in the middle of Oklahoma. This is the greenest August I have ever personally witnessed in Oklahoma and ditto for my mom. The last set of showers delivered 4 1/2 inches in about 30 hrs. All my ponds were already overflowing and yesterday they were overflowing big time. You could hear the rushing water loudly at the new house. This is not a complaint!, just an observation... B U T I need a few days of drying so I can back my truck and or trailer up to the house to move furniture.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
Pat, we've finally been getting a little rain in the evenings; nothing like you got (or the Wichita Falls area got), so we wouldn't mind having a little more, but we're just thankful for what we got
I think the times we got the milky looking water was when they'd been working on a line somewhere, repairing leaks and things like that. It would usually last for about a week before clearing up again.
Ancient, I have installed a large (about a half gallon) sized sediment filter in the water supply at the new house and speculate that it would coalesce small bubble into larger ones.. Then you have to deal with the larger bubbles! Luckily there are air removal devices. I have one installed in my hydronic heating system and it should work fine for potable water as well. You will need to coalesce the little bubles into larger bubbles for this device to remove the air for you.
It works like the needle and seat in the float bowl of an old fashioned carburettor. As air comes through this device bubbles are trapped and float up into a small chamber with a float and needle and seat arrangement. As air accumulates in the chamber the water level goes down and the float, which is floating on top of the water, begins to lower. As it lowers the needle is retracted from its seat which allows the ambient water pressure to force the air out and refill the chamber to await more air. Mine is running on about 40-50 PSI system pressure and hasn't leaked a drop. My HVAC guy says good ones rarely have problems but this is in a closed system with ethylene glycol in the water. If you have really hard water and no softener you might have to take this thing down for maintenance perodically to remove hard water deposits.
I described it like a batch process but it is actually fully analog/proportional, ejecting even small quantities of air by opening the needle just a little.
I think this would work well for you if you can coalesce the little bubbles into larger bubbles. A sedimant filter isnt that expensive and helps keep grains of sand/dirt/whatever out of your lavatory valve seats or from making an ice maker, dishwasher, or clothes washer solenoid control valve leak. Even if the sediment filter did not coalesce air bubbles it is a good idea for the other good things that it does. It will prolong the life of any other water conditioning/treatment devices or filters like RO or activated charcoal or whatever.
There are lots of water quality web sites where you might find what you need. I can get you info on the one in my system if you want.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Maybe hold a lighted match near the faucet when the air starts coming out. It just may burn!!
Egon
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Egon, you sure you're from Nova Scotia? Testing for flammable gas with a lit match sounds more like something a Newfie would do.
[img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
All water treatment and pump guysalong with many well drillers use the same lighted match test. The combustion is outside the bottle/faucet tip and presents no danger. Well unless fear causes panic and someone burns himself with the match. lol
This air in the water... faucet tip aerators add air which makes the water cloudy and clears form the bottom of the glass up within a few seconds. So if you want to know if the air is due to the faucet tip, remove it and see if it's still present, if so it's coming in with the water.
The causes of that is usually due to trapped air in the plumbing being absorbed into the water, increasing the dissolved oxygen content which them comes out of solution in the glass as the water is depressurized and aerated. Trapped air such as in a peak in pipe between two bellies in the pipe.
Us water treatment industry guys add air to pressurized water and use it as an oxidizer for the treatment of H2S, iron and manganese etc.. We vent off the excess to prevent air in the water complaints. All you need to get rid of air and/or methane is an in/out tank with a distributor tube and an air vent such as a Honeywell Baukman float controlled vent, as mentioned by someone above, on the in/out 'head'.
Pumps and plumbing can cause this problem and if it continues more than a week or two, I suggest it is something like that rather than trapped air. Water softeners and/or regenerated filters can cause it too.
Gary Slusser
Gary Slusser
Quality Water Associates
Ahh -- I'm originally from Alberta -- took me years to wise up and move -- now a Newfie, he's be getting the Alberta lad with the matches to do the lightin ehh.
Not enough gas to do any harm. Of course if you go Down Medicine Hat way and drill a real deep water well then there may be problems.
Many times the gas will come from a coal seam.
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon,
I had never heard of this phenomenal of breathing wells. This has been around for some time it seems and with serious consequences possible if finding one. I sure hope someone gets these things taken care of. Thanks for a very interesting read!
Leo
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