What can cause air in home plumbing?

[armylifer]

I have my own well that is fed by an underground river. My well is 84 feet deep. I have never experienced any water problems before a new neighbor drilled his well. Since he drilled his well, I have been experiencing air in my plumbing. The amount of air is enough that when you turn on the cold water tap, a burst of air will come out of the tap and air pockets will continue for up to two minutes after turning on the tap. If I let the water run for a few minutes the air gets purged out and the water runs clean and clear for as long as you keep the tap on. The air seems to build up in the lines when the well pump is not running. This is not a daily thing, it may go for up to a couple of weeks without air building up in the lines. However, it can also go on daily for a couple weeks before it goes back to normal for a period of time.

I have determined through testing that there are no water line leaks. The system will hold pressure even with the well pump shut off for 24 hours. My pressurized holding tank looks like it is roughly 60 gallons by the size of it. The holding tank preload pressure id 35psi. I don't know if any of this information is relevant or not but I provide it just in case it is.

This problem may have nothing at all to do with the new neighbor's well but one general contractor friend of mine who has built several houses, has suggested to me that the air could possibly have originated from when the new neighbor drilled the new well. He said that well drillers often inject air into the well as they are drilling. He said that this could cause air pockets to form that cause air to get into water. If that is true (I don't know anything about this), can that cause air pockets to develop and cause water to collect air bubbles that accumulate in my pipes?

Since testing for contaminates indicates that our water quality has not been affected, I am not too worried, but I would like to hear thoughts about what may be happening.

 

[McMXi]

Are you pumping water from your well to a cistern of some sort for storage (pumping during the cheap hours), and then using a jet pump to transfer water from the cistern to a pressure tank that supplies your house with sufficient water pressure?

 

[Vlach7]

The only time I get air in my well/pump system is when I am doing work on it and I have to re-pressurize it otherwise there is a slight chance that a bladder tank can have a leak in it and put some air into the system, but not as likely, you would find your pressure/bladder tank full of water with no air eventually and would continuously cycle. Most pumps will not pump air very well because they aren’t made to pump air.

 

[armylifer]

Are you pumping water from your well to a cistern of some sort for storage (pumping during the cheap hours), and then using a jet pump to transfer water from the cistern to a pressure tank that supplies your house with sufficient water pressure?

No, I am pumping directly from the well to the pressurized storage tank.

 

[McMXi]

No, I am pumping directly from the well to the pressurized storage tank.

It's possible that you're pumping air from the well if the water level has dropped sufficiently. Do you have any way to confirm that the well pump is fully submerged at all times?

I have a well on my property but the previous idiot owners were convinced that it had run dry. I confirmed that the well was dug to 550 ft and there's water at a depth of 250 ft. Regardless, the previous owners allowed a developer to run water lines across a corner of the property in return to being connected to the tank that feeds 80 or so homes.

Only my neighbor and I are above the tank so there's a pump house that pumps water to our homes at around 30 psi. I have a jet pump under the house that feeds a pressure tank. We've had problems over the years with failures in the pump house, low water pressure, low volume in the main tank etc,. and when these problems occur, the jet pump will pump air and water and I'll get air in the lines.

Basically the jet pump is pumping water and air into the pressure tank. I bought a new jet pump years ago from Lowes fully expecting the current pump to fail at any moment. 12 years later it's still running so I might never get to use the new pump.

 

[Vlach7]

If it is sucking a little air while pumping because it’s bottoming out the well, you’re gonna have bigger problems to deal with which is slowing down the pumping or dropping the well down further so you’re not sucking air, hopefully not the case I’ve been there before, and it would just cycle the pump saver not put air in my system.

 

[armylifer]

It's possible that you're pumping air from the well if the water level has dropped sufficiently. Do you have any way to confirm that the well pump is fully submerged at all times?

The only way to confirm that is by leaving the water run for several hours. I irrigate our crops and fruit trees for several hours per day in the summer months. We have never run out of water or started pumping air in the last 13 years. In fact, if the water is on for more than a few minutes, the air is purged from the lines and the water will run clear for all the time that it is running.

I might add here that when there is air in the lines the water will run cloudy (tiny air bubbles) until the air is purged from the lines.

 

[armylifer]

If it is sucking a little air while pumping because it’s bottoming out the well, you’re gonna have bigger problems to deal with which is slowing down the pumping or dropping the well down further so you’re not sucking air, hopefully not the case I’ve been there before, and it would just cycle the pump saver not put air in my system.

As I noted earlier, the well pump is not sucking air. The air seems to be forming after the pressurized water tank. Since the lines have all been tested for leaks, that is not the cause.

 

[McMXi]

The only way to confirm that is by leaving the water run for several hours. I irrigate our crops and fruit trees for several hours per day in the summer months. We have never run out of water or started pumping air in the last 13 years. In fact, if the water is on for more than a few minutes, the air is purged from the lines and the water will run clear for all the time that it is running.

I might add here that when there is air in the lines the water will run cloudy (tiny air bubbles) until the air is purged from the lines.

But your past history with good flow was prior to your neighbor drilling a well right?

 

[armylifer]

But your past history with good flow was prior to your neighbor drilling a well right?

Yes, that is correct. I need to say here that the volume of water and the flow rate has not been affected. The pressure is always between 35psi and 55psi. Those are the settings that the pump switch are set to.

 

[McMXi]

As I noted earlier, the well pump is not sucking air. The air seems to be forming after the pressurized water tank. Since the lines have all been tested for leaks, that is not the cause.

Any fracking going on in your area? Short of that, @Vlach7 mentioned the air bladder in the pressure tank. If you can bypass the pressure tank or replace it, or add air to the bladder to see if the problem gets worse.

The air or gas is either dissolved in the water at the source, or being introduced at the pressure tank ... or these are the most likely causes if as you say the well pump is fully submerged at all times.

 

[Flintknapper]

You have Check Valves in the system?

 

[armylifer]

Any fracking going on in your area? Short of that, @Vlach7 mentioned the air bladder in the pressure tank. If you can bypass the pressure tank or replace it, or add air to the bladder to see if the problem gets worse.

The air or gas is either dissolved in the water at the source, or being introduced at the pressure tank ... or these are the most likely causes if as you say the well pump is fully submerged at all times.

No fracking. The air bladder is holding it's pre-charge without leaking. That was tested earlier this spring. That was the first thing I tested.

 

[Vlach7]

Do you have a way of checking your water level? I’ve used a multi strand phone line strip it variable lengths, and then use the continuity tester to tell me what level my water was at because if you’re at your pump level, then you probably are sucking air.

 

[armylifer]

You have Check Valves in the system?

I honestly don't know. However, I think that there must be because the holding tank holds water pressure withlout any loss for at least 24 hours, the amount of time that the test was conducted.

 

[RCW]

Couple things I would do to start:

1. Pop the well cap off and have a look down the well. At 84 feet total depth, you may be able to see the static (not pumping) water level. You should not be able to see the submersible pump.

2. For giggles, check your pump cycle time. You should be able to hear the pressure switch turn pump on/off. If short-cycling, could be an indication of a problem with your bladder tank.

 

[armylifer]

Do you have a way of checking your water level? I’ve used a multi strand phone line strip it variable lengths, and then use the continuity tester to tell me what level my water was at because if you’re at your pump level, then you probably are sucking air.

I really don't think that my pump is sucking air because we can run water at all taps at full flow for several hours without air coming out.

 

[armylifer]

Couple things I would do to start:

1. Pop the well cap off and have a look down the well. At 84 feet total depth, you may be able to see the static (not pumping) water level. You should not be able to see the submersible pump.

2. For giggles, check your pump cycle time. You should be able to hear the pressure switch turn pump on/off. If short-cycling, could be an indication of a problem with your bladder tank.

I have watched the pressure gauge build and listened to and watched the pump switch turn off and on at the correct pressure settings. The well pump is a 220 volt pump that fills the holding tank in about 1 minute or less from low pressure to high pressure. There is no short cycling nor any long cycling going on with the pump.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Is it both hot and cold water that has the air? If so that is a data point. If not I guess it is too.

 

[armylifer]

I appreciate all of the suggestions that have been given so far. This is something that has been on-going only since shortly after the new well that I spoke of was drilled. This is a puzzler for sure. The fact is that I have already performed all of the tests mentioned so far, except cracking the well head and measuring the water level in the casing. I have a reliable contractor that told me that would not be necessary and would likely introduce a problem where one was not present right now.