Off Grid Water Pressure Tanks

[@sheepishmclemmingston5550]

The check valve is meant to keep pressure ON your submersible pump. The system needs to remain pressurized or your pump would continuously lose its prime and have a dry startup, significantly increasing wear on the pump and leading to failure quickly. By the riser pipe and top portion of the Pump head remaining in a pressurized state, and the lower end of the pump assembly remaining at a minor vaccum, startup strain on the system is significantly reduced. The check valve also serves the purpose of eliminating the possibility of water that has now come into contact with foreign surface contaminants that may be in the bladder tank or piping system from slipping back down through your manifold system and riser pipe back into the well bore and further into the aquifer creating a chance of contaminating the ground water source itself with any number of pathogens and/or bacterium. The pump itself can likely reach pressures exceeding 100psi without a shut-off like the pressure switch integrated into the system, which the internal and integrated components within the pump and motor are designed to withstand. The connected supply riser pipe, your homes plumbing system and IT'S components and integrated appliances on the other hand, are NOT designed to withstand such high pressures hence the need for the pressure switch, or otherwise the pump would continue to build pressure within the system itself to a point of failure which would present itself in the rupturing of one of the systems components, an appliance or length of piping somewheres within the homes system. Pressure WILL find and exploit the weakest part of ANY system and cause catastrophic failure. Just an FYI

[@ultrastoat3298]

Explanation had just a little incorrect point in it. The elasticity of the bladder provides very very little pressure to the water. What provides the pressure is the compressed air on the other side of the bladder. Which is why you ahve to pump it up a little before filling it. And as the space of the air chamber gets smaller as its filled with water, the pressure goes up even more.

[@levicall]

What is the purpose of having the bladder separating the air, and water portions of the tank? Why not just have a pressurized air tank in line without this special type of tank? I'm sure there is a reason, just not sure what it is

[@ultrastoat3298]

@@levicall first reason is if you ran the tank dry on accident you would loose all your pressure in an instant and have to re-pump it. Second reason is diffusion. You would slowly lose your pressure over time as air dissolved into the water and then was carried away. Think soda and how CO2 diffuses into water under pressure

[@levicall]

@@ultrastoat3298 That makes sense. If the water is pressurized, wouldn't that automatically pressurize the air in the tank, negating the first reason you stated? This doesn't solve the second issue, but that could be addressed with a water level indicator and regular maintenance. Not being maintenance free would be a drawback obviously.

[@ultrastoat3298]

​@@levicall Having a water level indicator to shut off the exit valve seems like adding complexity and cost while reducing robustness at the same time.

[@togstoggles3754]

Thanks for the info, time to get a bigger tank 👌

[@able880]

I live by my self and dont have to be comcerned about the volume of water im pumping - also i live in a single story house - Im on the grid but living in a rural area power outages are often - I use a water saver Shower head - i have my pump cut in at 7 psi and cut out at 11 psi - Also i use a 12 volt DC submersable pump - i only supply it with 4 volts so instead of it pumping 4 gallons a minute it only pumps one gallon a minute - DC motors require the same energy to start as they do to run - In my case mine only draws 25 watts when its running - I do have a regular 1 HP AC pump that i need when using pressure washers ect - Im thinking about going.with an inverter pump - As for the fausets ect in a house when there operated on low pressure they very rarely fail - From what ive seen DC water pumps do not last as long as AC water pumps do - As for expantion tanks every one has them where i live - they seem to last about 20 yrs on average - If your using a washing machine or dish washer they require regular house hold water pressure -

[@allansvoice9509]

Great explaining sir...thank you!

[@elainenilsson5472]

Well thought out. Thank you.

[@belsantos2266]

Good day sir, I just wanna ask if the plastic water tank is safe if we use water pressure? Thanks for it kind respond 🙏🙏

[@angelvillanueva8101]

My question is : If I rised 2- 2500 gallon tanks up 10ft. If I put a pressure tank at the bottom will this give me pressure without an electric pump. Just gravity. Please respond.

[@user-sl8rn4vw8f]

i think you get 2.31 psi per foot of elevation

[@torotom6243]

The higher you put the tanks the more pressure 12 feet would be better or higher

[@torotom6243]

Also start with a large diameter pvc pipe then reduce at point of entry 2in pipe run then reduce to 3/4 at house this makes more volume of water also

[@BigD-jc6rj]

In short, you get 1 psi per 2.5 feet of elevation, so elevation of 10 ft gives you 4 psi water pressure. Density of water (gamma) = 62.43 lb /cu ft Pressure = gamma * height Pressure = 2.50 ft * 62.43 lb / cu ft *1 sq ft / 144 sq inches = 1.08 psi, or approximately 1 psi The elevation is measured at the water level. If the BOTTOM of the tank is 10 feet up, the height of the water in the tank will give you some extra psi. For example, if there is 5 feet of water in the tank: 10 ft + 5 ft = 15 feet 15 ft * 1 psi / 2.5 feet = 6 psi If the tank is strong enough to not explode, or blow the cap off, the tank could also be modified to accept a tire pressure valve at the top, and could then have air pumped into it to get some additional psi.

[@mattdg1981]

In my old huntin' camp we had a 250 gallon tank in a raised position, roughly 8' above the highest water spigot. It flowed very well but we also ran our water through 1" pipe. We had good pressure and it filled a toilet tank within a couple minutes. As the tank emptied there was a noticeable change in pressure( we didnt use a pressure tank) so we would refill the tank. The water was pumped through a 1 1/2" pipe from a pond at the bottom of the ridge in front of the cabin. We had an overflow line that could be seen from the kitchen window. When we could see water flowing from the overflow we would go down and shut down our gas powered pump. Very rudimentary system but it was very effective and reliable. As long as the 250 gallon tank had water in it you had water everywhere we had a spigot.

[@outdoorreconnect]

Did your tank come with all the brass parts and the pressure switch? I'm considering getting the same one you have. I was just curious about what it comes with.

[@marymacfarlane4275]

very helpful

[@TheReadyLife]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful.

[@amathonn]

Is the pressure switch powered by AC or DC?

[@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure]

Its powered by water pressure. You run either ac or dc through the switch. The switch does nothing but break the circuit

[@allyouneedislove222]

@@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure I went to the hardware store today and asked about buying a pressure switch for a 12v solar well pump. They seemed to think I need a 12V pressure switch, but what you're saying is that doesn't matter--correct?

[@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure]

@@allyouneedislove222 exactly. The ratings are basically for the actual contacts on the switch (do not want to over amp the contacts or they will weld together and system will run continuously)

[@TheReadyLife]

Sorry for the late reply. Correct that the pressure switch is not powered with electricity. There are many DC pumps running off a conventional pressure switch. As long as the switch is rated to handle the voltage and amperage of the pump, should be good.

[@CynthiaYarbrough]

So you MAY be off grid, but you have a power source. Not gonna help me run drip irrigation in the middle of a field with no access to power. Not sure why “off grid” is part of your title. 😐

[@AReturntoSimplicityFarms]

Off grid literally just means "not connected to the grid." You can add power to any system anywhere. We live in a place where we don't have access to the power grid, so we create our own power. I am sure these folks are doing the same.

[@montanatacticalhomesteader6623]

Off grid is “ off electrical grid,” not necessarily living primitive like Sacajawea. Although “off grid” means a lot of different things to those who DON’T live off grid.