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February 6, 2009
Too Much Air in the Water Lines
Q: Dear Ed, we seem to be having a problem with air getting into our plumbing system. The faucets will actually spit out pockets of air, and no matter how long I keep them on to purge out the line, it won't stop. We had a handyman check out the plumbing and he said that it could be the water softener system that I have installed right after the well pump and pressure tank unit. However, he had no clue on what to do next. Do you have any suggestions?
-Bill, New England
A: Hi, Bill. My first suggestion would be to call a licensed well company as soon as possible since air in the system could lead to more serious problems, like burning out your pump.
The big clue I got from your letter was that it appears your well pump is installed inside your home and is set up to "pull" the water from your well instead of "pushing" it up from a pump installed in the well itself. With your setup, if you have a leak in the well intake line, your pump may be sucking in air -- and that could be your problem.
Also, if you want to check out your water softener, there should be isolation valves installed to bypass the unit. Once the unit is bypassed, if you still get air, you can rule out the water softener.
A good well company will know all these tricks and if my hunch is correct, they can also replace your well intake line... and that should "air out" your plumbing system.
Posted by Ed Del Grande at February 6, 2009 2:31 PM
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