Mom getting screwed?

[The Capt]

Need a little help here. My 87 year old mother just got an estimate to replace her pressure tank and water pump at her house. I have no idea how much it should cost in San Jose Ca. But that sure seems like a lot of money. Any idea What is “normal “ for this ? They gave her a price of 16,000

 

[buck35]

Keep looking for an honest man to do the job.
Pump < 1000. Tank 500 is, labor ?

 

[NicPaus]

Is it a well not city water? Something like this? Tell her not to sign anything and if she did CA 72 hours to cancel. If nobody on here has a good lead. I can ask on the Plumbing forum for you.

 

[Wheeler]

Need a little help here. My 87 year old mother just got an estimate to replace her pressure tank and water pump at her house. I have no idea how much it should cost in San Jose Ca. But that sure seems like a lot of money. Any idea What is “normal “ for this ? They gave her a price of 16,000

Little far for @DRIVE BYE but he might be able to offer advice or know of a plumber in the area.

 

[riverroyal]

16k? In san jose...I'd drive up and do it for 10k and still make to much

Get more quotes. If they come in significantly lower I'd call the business and tell them they failed at scamming a elderly lady, then let BBB know.

 

[Uncle Dave]

Sounds like a crock of shit.

 

[Canuck 1]

under 3g canadian

 

[floatn turd]

I clicked here.
It's not what I thought.
And now, I shall go read from the "Good Book" for a while.

Sorry.

 

[Kachina26]

I clicked here.
It's not what I thought.
And now, I shall go read from the "Good Book" for a while.

Sorry.

View attachment 1214207

I was gonna ask for picts.

 

[Deckin Around]

how big is the house &pump? get a picture of the label. My water demand pump with 8gal pressure tank was $1500 a year ago.
It just feeds a kitchen and 1.5 baths.
OC Pumps in Anaheim

 

[Roosky01]

So their labor rate is over $3k an hour? I guess I’m in the wrong f’n business.

 

[rightytighty]

Depth of well is a major cost driver as well as size of pump. My well is 330’ deep. And about 5 gpm. Pulling the casing and changing the pump with new wire was a chore!

I think i paid about 7 k and that inxluded seceral sections of questionable pipe.

My tank was unchanged.

 

[DRIVE BYE]

An 80 Gallon Bladder Tank and a 1.5 HP Pump are right at 3k Cost now (+-) ,add R&R Labor , This should give you a good Base line to go by.

 

[rivermobster]

I clicked here.
It's not what I thought.
And now, I shall go read from the "Good Book" for a while.

Sorry.

View attachment 1214207

X2.

@jetboatperformance

 

[wallnutz]

Depth of well is a major cost driver as well as size of pump. My well is 330’ deep. And about 5 gpm. Pulling the casing and changing the pump with new wire was a chore!

I think i paid about 7 k and that inxluded seceral sections of questionable pipe.

My tank was unchanged.

They probably want to change the whole casing. Had a company tell my old boss they wouldn't change the pump without replacing all the pipe. Tripled the cost, told them to pound sand.

 

[The Capt]

She had city water but no pressure. It’s a 2 hp motor with Berkeley pump. 86 gallon pressure tank. It look pretty straightforward

 

[Yldboyz]

She had city water but no pressure. It’s a 2 hp motor with Berkeley pump. 86 gallon pressure tank. It look pretty straightforward

That's way over priced, we'll charge somewhere in the neighborhood of 5k. We're a pump company who specializes in this stuff, a plumber would f this up and call us out to fix it.

We have a norcal office but we're not serving that area at this time. If you were OC i could send one of my guys out to take care of it for the cost of material and few hindered bucks.

Send me a picture of the pump tag and I'll get you pricing on the equipment...

 

[The Capt]

Thank you for the offer. Here are some pictures of what she has

 

[The Capt]

That's way over priced, we'll charge somewhere in the neighborhood of 5k. We're a pump company who specializes in this stuff, a plumber would f this up and call us out to fix it.

We have a norcal office but we're not serving that area at this time. If you were OC i could send one of my guys out to take care of it for the cost of material and few hindered bucks.

Send me a picture of the pump tag and I'll get you pricing on the equipment...

Thank you. It is much appreciated

 

[FreeBird236]

Thank you for the offer. Here are some pictures of what she has

I wonder if there's something simple going on, the stuff looks new?

 

[25Elmn8r]

That's nowhere near $16k! Run away from that company as fast as you can!

I'm not sure what that pump runs but I can't imagine it being more than $1.5k at most, the tank is right about $1k.

We have a temp water setup that is similar to this while we waited for our well to be drilled. I've got about $2k in parts into it and that includes 2 1500 gallon storage tanks.

 

[Yldboyz]

Thank you. It is much appreciated

Not a problem,

Here's the pricing before taxes for the pump and tank:

Pump Model #B82456-01 $1,251.00
Well Tank Model #WX302-T $675.00

The pressure switch with cost you under $100, its either a 60-80 or 80-100 psi you'll have to tell me what the set point is.

Do you know what the symptoms are for the existing system?

 

[The Capt]

Mom said the pump was always turning on and off. It looks like the pressure tank is only 3 years old. Seems early to fail. She said 2 minutes to get a gallon of water now out of her sink. I really don’t know much about this kind of system but from the pictures she sent me it looks pretty basic. Thanks for your help. my number is 415-218-5547 Joel

 

[Yldboyz]

Joel,

It sounds to me that the tank has prematurely failed based on the symptoms. This is common when the tank is installed and the correct amount of air pressure was not set correctly. If you remove the black cap from the schrader valve which is on top of the tank and press it and water comes out of it, the tank has failed. All you'll need to do is replace the tank however, set the air pressure before introducing the water into the tank. The air pressure in the tank should be 2 psi less than the set point i.e 60-80 pressure switch requires the tank to be charged at 58 psi.

 

[The Capt]

Thanks for all your input. Heading there tomorrow when I get off work

 

[Yldboyz]

You can call me if you have any questions. We're having my sons b=day party tomorrow so I apologize in advance if I don't pick up.
Tony
714 975-0935

 

[DLC]

Inmates Helping Inmates….

Thats always a cool thing to see!

TGIF cheers!

 

[RadMan]

Are you saying she’s on city water?
Or is there a well involved.
Where is that booster pump getting it’s water from?

If on city water is this supposed to be a pressure and flow boosting system for her city water, if that’s the case what’s wrong with the city supply?

The pressure tank WX302 rated at 86 gallons only holds about half of that in volume of water at its max, there is a big rubber air inflated bladder taking up half the space inside.

Also, many water well and or well supply business can do a performance test on your pump. But you have to find one and ask then take it to them.

If she has a good nearby neighbor you can run a good water hose from their spigot to her spigot open both and supply her home pressurized water while this is figured out. Of course if the pump or tank is removed you need to cap the lines or close the valves to the open plumbing if they are there to allow for it.

Happy to help, I used to do lots of this stuff.

 

[jetboatperformance]

So happy to know this wasn't a senior Porn hub deal ....

 

[Spudsbud]

Get 3 prices.
Easy.

 

[Roosky01]

So happy to know this wasn't a senior Porn hub deal ....

Glad to see I wasn't the only one that clicked with no idea of what was going to happen!

 

[The Capt]

You can call me if you have any questions. We're having my sons b=day party tomorrow so I apologize in advance if I don't pick up.
Tony
714 975-0935

Happy Birthday to your son. Thanks for the info.

 

[The Capt]

Nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. My dad had the house built in 1978. Mom is a retired school teacher. All the other new homes are 14,000 square feet and another one is 16,000 square feet. Kind of an exclusive area now. But not so when they built their house. Her 3500 square foot home is becoming a tear down because of all the huge homes being built around her. So a garden hose from a neighbor won’t work. It’s city water but it has no pressure. The quotes for all of her house needs always come in crazy high because of the area. They wanted 100 g for a 12 kilo solar system and thats not including batterie. Luckily she still has her marbles because it sure seems like people will take advantage of an old lady. AND A BIG THANKS TOO YLDBOYZ. FOR YOUR HELP. I think I got now.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

The quotes for all of her house needs always come in crazy high because of the area. They wanted 100 g for a 12 kilo solar system and thats not including batterie.

That should be criminal.

Glad you got it figured out!

 

[Sherpa]

I live in San Jose (Campbell Actually) and I can't imagine where her home would be to have a pump and bladder tank. Almaden area? eastside above the vallet maybe.

let me know if I could help. I do facilites maintenance for Palo Alto and have alot of time in mechanical, HVAC, and plumbing systems.

[email protected]

--Scott

 

[RadMan]

I’ve never ever heard of having to boost a residential water system supplied by public supply which should be about 10gpm at 50psi. That tank and pump is a bandaid in the real issue of what’s wrong with the public supply to the house. I’d start by asking the utility to flow and pressure test at the meter and pressure regulator, she could simply have a bad pressure regulator at the meter, or it could have been adjusted incorrectly by who knows who one time years ago.

Just guessing the public supply into the pump is very restricted low flow, but restricted flow doesn’t mean restricted pressure but a bad pressure regulator could do it. You can still have high pressure with low flow. If the flow into the pump is very low, that pump is likely starving for water every time it runs. Also a 2 hp booster pump (flow rate unknown) will likely fill the pressure tank too fast. It should run for 2 mins minimum every time it cycles. Those 2 things if they are occurring will greatly shorten the pump life.

 

[The Capt]

I live in San Jose (Campbell Actually) and I can't imagine where her home would be to have a pump and bladder tank. Almaden area? eastside above the vallet maybe.

let me know if I could help. I do facilites maintenance for Palo Alto and have alot of time in mechanical, HVAC, and plumbing systems.

[email protected]

--Scott

 

[The Capt]

Thanks for all the help guys! Went to moms house to look at the pump and pressure tank. Pressure tank had pressure and the pump was NOT frozen up. Went looking at the pressure switch, banged it a couple times to loosen the screws and it turned on. FIXED for now. Going to order a new switch for 90 bucks.. Just throwing this out there
PACIFIC COAST HOME SERVICE TRIED REAL HARD TO SCREW AN 87 YEAR OLD LADY. I will be calling them to let them know what I think of them. Thanks to all who offered to help, The Capt, Joel

 

[NicPaus]

Fuck those guys at pacific coast home service.

Glad it was a easy fix for you. Mom's got water pressure!

 

[Kachina26]

Thanks for all the help guys! Went to moms house to look at the pump and pressure tank. Pressure tank had pressure and the pump was NOT frozen up. Went looking at the pressure switch, banged it a couple times to loosen the screws and it turned on. FIXED for now. Going to order a new switch for 90 bucks.. Just throwing this out there
PACIFIC COAST HOME SERVICE TRIED REAL HARD TO SCREW AN 87 YEAR OLD LADY. I will be calling them to let them know what I think of them. Thanks to all who offered to help, The Capt, Joel

If you don’t have a Yelp account, get one and blast them.

 

[TomD]

Mom said the pump was always turning on and off. It looks like the pressure tank is only 3 years old. Seems early to fail. She said 2 minutes to get a gallon of water now out of her sink. I really don’t know much about this kind of system but from the pictures she sent me it looks pretty basic. Thanks for your help. my number is 415-218-5547 Joel

Check valve leaking down, not holding pressure???? Maybe!!!

 

[Taboma]

I’ve never ever heard of having to boost a residential water system supplied by public supply which should be about 10gpm at 50psi. That tank and pump is a bandaid in the real issue of what’s wrong with the public supply to the house. I’d start by asking the utility to flow and pressure test at the meter and pressure regulator, she could simply have a bad pressure regulator at the meter, or it could have been adjusted incorrectly by who knows who one time years ago.

Just guessing the public supply into the pump is very restricted low flow, but restricted flow doesn’t mean restricted pressure but a bad pressure regulator could do it. You can still have high pressure with low flow. If the flow into the pump is very low, that pump is likely starving for water every time it runs. Also a 2 hp booster pump (flow rate unknown) will likely fill the pressure tank too fast. It should run for 2 mins minimum every time it cycles. Those 2 things if they are occurring will greatly shorten the pump life.

We're on the local water district system, and have about 50psi on the best days. But two neighbors just slightly more uphill from me were required to put in booster pumps in order to pass county pressure-muster for their required fire sprinklers. We had to install a booster pump, but it only serves our sprinklers (Because we have two services that split after the meter, they have one). They see closer to 35psi max.
The reason is obvious from where we sit, and this is rather common in the more hilly areas of San Diego, our elevation isn't all that much lower than the big green storage tank above us.
Perhaps this is his mom's problem as well ??

 

[RadMan]

We're on the local water district system, and have about 50psi on the best days. But two neighbors just slightly more uphill from me were required to put in booster pumps in order to pass county pressure-muster for their required fire sprinklers. We had to install a booster pump, but it only serves our sprinklers (Because we have two services that split after the meter, they have one). They see closer to 35psi max.
The reason is obvious from where we sit, and this is rather common in the more hilly areas of San Diego, our elevation isn't all that much lower than the big green storage tank above us.
Perhaps this is his mom's problem as well ??

Understood
In that case, for the OP and any others needing the pressure boost, they (Grundfos Pumps, Goulds Pumps and others) make great “constant pressure” variable speed pumps (very similar to variable speed pool pumps) that would remove short cycling and water hammer you might have and remove the need for a large pressure tank. If the flow is there and you’re just boosting pressure, they are perfect. Like this:

Residential water pressure boosting

Grundfos’ range of booster pumps offer a variety of water pressure solutions, from a basic and reliable solution to intelligent pump control that will automatically adapt to varying inlet pressure and overall water consumption in the home. So, you can ensure optimal comfort for your customers...

product-selection.grundfos.com

 

[TPC]

Constant E mails from Grandma Axehandle about some scam attempt on her.
Wife took over all her finances.

Even USAA was subject to shenanigans.

 

[RadMan]

So somehow I saw a question I cannot find asking about cycle stop valves, they have their place. So typically any pump, submersible or booster you want to run a minimum of 2 minutes anytime it cycles, this is more important on submersibles for cooling flow over the motor (another subject altogether). But take that standard and if your pump short cycles in less than 2 minutes, then they can help you. They increase the time it takes your pump to hit the high pressure cutoff from the low pressure cut in on your presssure switch.

Cycle stop valves I do not recall being adjustable, so you size them relative to you cut in/cutoff psi, typically 40/60. At cut in the cycle stop valve flows full bore but as the high pressure cutoff psi is approaching, it slows the flow into your pressure tank thus increasing the duration of pump run time and reducing short cycles.