How to shut off water when on a well?

[atgcpaul]

Another plumbing question.  I noticed a small leak coming from around the shutoff valve to the cold line of the shower.  The house is on a well (first for me) and between the pressure tank and this shutoff valve is a brine tank, purification tanks, and a UV sterilizer.  There is also an electric water heater which I've read should not be run dry.

So what is the order of operations to shutoff water in a well system so I can work on replacing the packing/washer for this valve (might as well do the hot side at the same time) and then what about turning the water back on?

Thanks,
Paul

[Snipe Hunter]

Another plumbing question.  I noticed a small leak coming from around the shutoff valve to the cold line of the shower.  The house is on a well (first for me) and between the pressure tank and this shutoff valve is a brine tank, purification tanks, and a UV sterilizer.  There is also an electric water heater which I've read should not be run dry.

So what is the order of operations to shutoff water in a well system so I can work on replacing the packing/washer for this valve (might as well do the hot side at the same time) and then what about turning the water back on?

Thanks,
Paul

Where is the shower? Top floor? Lower floor? Above your well/water treatment equipment? This makes a difference.

Usually I turn off the closest valve to the water entry pipe. You should have a main valve.

Shut off the valve and flip off the breaker powering the well pump. If you can open a valve at a sink or hose bib higher than the water treatment system and lower than the shower valve. Then turn on the shower, that will let air enter the pipe while water runs out the open lower valve. Fix what you need to fix and turn off the lower open valve but leave on the shower valve. Flip on the breaker and open the main valve. When the air all blows out the shower head, turn off the shower.

This should keep water in your water treatment equipment but not in the area you are working.

[Cub_Cadet_GT]

Another plumbing question.  I noticed a small leak coming from around the shutoff valve to the cold line of the shower.  The house is on a well (first for me) and between the pressure tank and this shutoff valve is a brine tank, purification tanks, and a UV sterilizer.  There is also an electric water heater which I've read should not be run dry.

So what is the order of operations to shutoff water in a well system so I can work on replacing the packing/washer for this valve (might as well do the hot side at the same time) and then what about turning the water back on?

Thanks,
Paul

Turn off breaker to well pump. 

Drain pressure from system from faucet until pressure tank is empty. 

Work on valve.

Turn breaker back on.

[Admiral]

I've had wells in 4 out of the 5 houses I've owned, and grew up with one.  If this is your first, remember when the power goes out, so does your water supply . . . in NJ Sandy and Irene reminded me of that when I was without power for over a week after each storm.  Whole house generator followed quickly after Sandy; but I digress......

Anyway, there should be a ball valve on the outfeed piping near your bladder tank but before your water conditioning gear, or further up the main supply line after the conditioning gear.  Just close that off and open a cold water valve on the same level as the shower to drain the supply line and do the repair. Look for other valves that may isolate that particular cold water line so you don't have to drain the entire house if this is in the basement.  I usually close the ball valves in and out of my water heater just because someone told me to do that 30 years ago; not sure that's necessary...

[Stwood_]

Turn off breaker to well pump. 

Drain pressure from system from faucet until pressure tank is empty. 

Work on valve.

Turn breaker back on.

This is the simplest way.

[EightFingers]

This is the simplest way.

That’s how I do it.

[WoodCzech]

Turn off breaker to well pump. 

Drain pressure from system from faucet until pressure tank is empty. 

Work on valve.

Turn breaker back on.

Maybe also turn off the breaker for the electric water heater.  I think it shouldn't be run dry when it's on, but off should be ok.

[fixtureman]

It should have a valve to shut the water off mine has a valve before the tank and one just after the tank

[atgcpaul]

Here's my setup.  Whoever put this system was a real neatnik.  His handwriting is like that of a draftsman.  The picture is distorted because I needed to use my pano setting.  Hopefully someone isn't going to tell me it's all wrong.

Does the switch on the wall (red box) control just the pressure switch or does it turn off the well pump, too?  When I flip it down, I no longer detect voltage with a non-contact tester and there is a beefy orange wire that runs out the top of that conduit in the direction of my well.

The blue box is around the well inlet shutoff valve.  The green box is around the outlet shutoff valve (after the resin tanks but before the UV sterilizer).  Should I bother to use those shutoff valves at all and just shut off the pump and drain the system like many of you suggested?  Seems like I could shut off the water at the green outlet valve and not even have to shutoff the well pump or is that a bad idea (why?)?

   


My main panel has the breakers for the well pump, but I have not seen this configuration before.  Why is there a "bridge" around them rather than just having the two breakers side by side?  The inner 2 breakers are clearly labeled Well Pump at position 6.  The two breakers that bridge over them aren't related, right?  I don't see any other annotations in the panel for them.

   

Thanks again,
Paul

[EightFingers]

Air tank seems a little undersized.....