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Water Storage Tank - Plumbing the Pump & Pressure Tank Scott Townsend 08-07-2006
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Posted by Harry K on August 8, 2006, 11:31 am

Scott Townsend wrote:
> Okay, So I know I left quite a few things out. Let me see if I can answer
> some of the Questions.
>
> The Tank's Main purpose is to be in compliance with the Fire Safe Standards
> (we are in Northern CA on 2.5 acres)
> It requires me to have 2500 Gallons of Water to be used at any time for a
> Hydrant hookup. So the Hydrant is connected to the bottom on the Tank to be
> able to draw the full potential of the tank. The Domestic Supply is at the
> 2500 gallon level so I would always have at least the 2500 gallons needed
> for Fire Safe Standards.
>
> Maybe Booster Pump is the wrong term. The Pump that will pressurize the
> domestic supply line.
>
> Since we can run our well Dry by running the sprinklers for several hours,
> we wanted to be able to store the water and use it from the store and just
> slowly refill the tank as needed.
>
> I work for an Industrial control and automation company and have access to
> sensors and controls that will deal with the water flow, level of the tank
> and filling of the Tank, etc.
>
> So Drawing #2, not as pretty but to Scale and more functional.
> http://www.enm.com/scott/fire-safe-standards.pdf
>
> So I'd like to know where I should place the Pump and Pressure Tank for the
> Domestic Supply line. Should I put it all near the Well, or should I put it
> near the Storage Tank?
>
> I'd rather put it near the Well, so I do not have to bring 240v out to the
> Storage Tank.
>
> Thanks!
>
>

Good thinking on the tank. Makes sense.

Booster Pump is the correct and the technical term. Usually used to
increase the pressure above the incoming pressure.

Where to place the pump/tank - whereever is convenient and
cost-effective. There is some consideration to be made re 'suck vs
push' but with at least a few pounds of pressure input to the pump it
shouldn't be a problem. The pump pressure switch does need to have
'low pressure' cut-off. Lots of them have it as part of the regular
switch.

Looks like your storage tank is about 60 ft from the house. I don't
see any elevations on the drawing. That could enter into the pump/tank
location question. Figure .5 psi per foot head to see what the input
pressure to your booster pump will be at various locations. The true
head pressure is .46 per foot but the .5 makes some allowance for
pipe/fitting restrictions and will be close enough for government work.
Best location IMO for the pump/tank is in the house. Easy
maintenance, no worries about freezing, etc.

Harry K


AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by Harry K on August 8, 2006, 11:57 am

Harry K wrote:

>
> Looks like your storage tank is about 60 ft from the house. I don't
> see any elevations on the drawing. That could enter into the pump/tank
> location question. Figure .5 psi per foot head to see what the input
> pressure to your booster pump will be at various locations. The true
> head pressure is .46 per foot but the .5 makes some allowance for
> pipe/fitting restrictions and will be close enough for government work.
> Best location IMO for the pump/tank is in the house. Easy
> maintenance, no worries about freezing, etc.
>
> Harry K

Oops! Correction. Use .4 psi per foot/head.

Harry K


Posted by Scott Townsend on August 8, 2006, 1:51 pm
thanks guys for the help.

The Elevation will be interesting. If I always have the 2500 gallons in it
and either draw from the bottom, or from the 2500 gallon mark, the elevation
would be 4-5 above where the pump would be at the well head.

So I think that should be sufficient enough to get the water to the pump
from the tank.

I like the Idea of Drawing down Low and putting in a Cut off if it gets to
below 2500. That way I'm recircing the water and not letting the bottom 2500
just sit there. Yeah I know it wont really get stagnant there, but it would
be better circulation if I drew from the bottom. I have all the sensors &
Control for that.

Thanks All again...

Scott<-


>
> Scott Townsend wrote:
>> Okay, So I know I left quite a few things out. Let me see if I can
>> answer
>> some of the Questions.
>>
>> The Tank's Main purpose is to be in compliance with the Fire Safe
>> Standards
>> (we are in Northern CA on 2.5 acres)
>> It requires me to have 2500 Gallons of Water to be used at any time for a
>> Hydrant hookup. So the Hydrant is connected to the bottom on the Tank to
>> be
>> able to draw the full potential of the tank. The Domestic Supply is at
>> the
>> 2500 gallon level so I would always have at least the 2500 gallons needed
>> for Fire Safe Standards.
>>
>> Maybe Booster Pump is the wrong term. The Pump that will pressurize the
>> domestic supply line.
>>
>> Since we can run our well Dry by running the sprinklers for several
>> hours,
>> we wanted to be able to store the water and use it from the store and
>> just
>> slowly refill the tank as needed.
>>
>> I work for an Industrial control and automation company and have access
>> to
>> sensors and controls that will deal with the water flow, level of the
>> tank
>> and filling of the Tank, etc.
>>
>> So Drawing #2, not as pretty but to Scale and more functional.
>> http://www.enm.com/scott/fire-safe-standards.pdf
>>
>> So I'd like to know where I should place the Pump and Pressure Tank for
>> the
>> Domestic Supply line. Should I put it all near the Well, or should I put
>> it
>> near the Storage Tank?
>>
>> I'd rather put it near the Well, so I do not have to bring 240v out to
>> the
>> Storage Tank.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>
> Good thinking on the tank. Makes sense.
>
> Booster Pump is the correct and the technical term. Usually used to
> increase the pressure above the incoming pressure.
>
> Where to place the pump/tank - whereever is convenient and
> cost-effective. There is some consideration to be made re 'suck vs
> push' but with at least a few pounds of pressure input to the pump it
> shouldn't be a problem. The pump pressure switch does need to have
> 'low pressure' cut-off. Lots of them have it as part of the regular
> switch.
>
> Looks like your storage tank is about 60 ft from the house. I don't
> see any elevations on the drawing. That could enter into the pump/tank
> location question. Figure .5 psi per foot head to see what the input
> pressure to your booster pump will be at various locations. The true
> head pressure is .46 per foot but the .5 makes some allowance for
> pipe/fitting restrictions and will be close enough for government work.
> Best location IMO for the pump/tank is in the house. Easy
> maintenance, no worries about freezing, etc.
>
> Harry K
>



Posted by Chris Lewis on August 8, 2006, 2:23 pm
> thanks guys for the help.

> The Elevation will be interesting. If I always have the 2500 gallons in it
> and either draw from the bottom, or from the 2500 gallon mark, the elevation
> would be 4-5 above where the pump would be at the well head.

Feet I assume? That will imply a minimum head pressure of about 2.5-3 PSI.

> So I think that should be sufficient enough to get the water to the pump
> from the tank.

Just keep the tank->booster pump line size large. Go 1 1/4" or even
larger. That might be overkill, but it's better than underkill, and PVC
tubing is cheap.

> I like the Idea of Drawing down Low and putting in a Cut off if it gets to
> below 2500. That way I'm recircing the water and not letting the bottom 2500
> just sit there. Yeah I know it wont really get stagnant there, but it would
> be better circulation if I drew from the bottom. I have all the sensors &
> Control for that.

You'd be amazed how much a water tank can stratify. It can be
quite dramatic with hot water tanks. They're designed to do that
to a certain extent, but...

It probably would be a good idea to put an elbow or deflector on
the tank inlet to provide some "rotational" urge to the incoming
water.

The booster pump line should be a few inches off the bottom of
the tank to allow for small amounts of sediment. Filter screens
etc.

[I have no idea what you have to do to tanked water to maintain
reasonable levels of purity/prevent algae/clarity etc. In
California's heat, I assume you have to do _something_.]
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Posted by Harry K on August 8, 2006, 10:10 pm

Scott Townsend wrote:
> thanks guys for the help.
>
> The Elevation will be interesting. If I always have the 2500 gallons in it
> and either draw from the bottom, or from the 2500 gallon mark, the elevation
> would be 4-5 above where the pump would be at the well head.
>
> So I think that should be sufficient enough to get the water to the pump
> from the tank.
>
> I like the Idea of Drawing down Low and putting in a Cut off if it gets to
> below 2500. That way I'm recircing the water and not letting the bottom 2500
> just sit there. Yeah I know it wont really get stagnant there, but it would
> be better circulation if I drew from the bottom. I have all the sensors &
> Control for that.
>
> Thanks All again...
>
> Scott<-
>
>

Good point about the bottom half just sitting there. I do like your
idea of drawing from the middle of the tank so you always have 2500 gal
for fire protection. You can gain both items. Just install your input
pipe from the well at the bottom of the tank - that will keep the
contents stirred every time the pump runs. Might even simplify your
plumbing layout.

Harry K


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