Water Storage Tank - Plumbing the Pump & Pressure Tank

[Scott Townsend]

I'm working on putting in Cement pads for my Well and 5000 gal Water Storage Tank. The tank is about 40' away from the Well.

I want to make sure I make the Pads big enough for the equipment. I'd like to just have the Tank there on its own and then have lines back to the Well Pad for the Feed and Supply. So at the Well Head I'd have the Pump in the Well, the Buster pump for the stored water, the pressure tank and all of the lines to the irrigation, house, etc.

Is there any rule of thumb on how far away the booster pump and Pressure tank should be from the storage tank?

If the booster pump and Pressure tank are at the well head, they would be a foot or so lower in elevation then if they were at the tank itself.

Any Suggestions or diagrams of external tank hookups would be great!

Thank you!

[Andy Asberry]

Let's go backwards. From the tank to the pressure pump, run a line one size larger than the intake on the pressure pump. Tee into this with the discharge from the well pump. This is assuming the well discharge doesn't have to go into the tank for treatment or settling first.

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

[Eric in North TX]

Since it is all under pressure elevation isn't going to be all that great a factor. The pressure switch usually is on the exit part of the storage tank, but since pressure is constant till you get to the booster pump anywhere before it should yield satisfactory results. You should consider a pop-off valve on the well head for the "just in case factor" like the switch not kicking the pump off.

[Scott Townsend]

Maybe I was not clear. I threw together this Drawing.

I have the Well Feeding the Storage Tank.

Then I have from the Tank a Booster Pump, Pressure Switch and Pressure Tank, then a Line out to the house.

Where 'should' or where could I put the Booster Pump, Pressure Switch and Pressure Tank? I'd like to put it next to the well head, which is about 40' away from the storage Tank.

Thank you, Scott >

[warrenshudson]

[Rick]

Why not pump from well to house and skip the tank? Anyway, if the draw from the tank is from the 2500 gal. mark, then you only have a 2500 gal. tank since you can't get the bottom 2500 gal. If you were to get a shallow well jet pump and a 20 gal. pressure tank, the switch is already on the pump and the 50ft. or so from the tank is nothing. The weight of the water in the tank is probably equal to a booster pump. Keep the pipe from the tank at least 1" in diameter with a check valve just before the pump so you don't lose prime.

[Harry K]

Your hook-up looks good.

Rick has a point. Why draw from halfway up the tank?

You don't discuss the pump feeding the storeage tank. You need a switch of some sort (float maybe) to control that pump.

Your booster pump should also have a low pressure cut-off in case the storeage tank empties for some reason.

I would mount the booster pump and tank inside the house. Save building a well house and makes maintenance a lot easier. Of course if you are someplace that doesn't have to worryi about freezing...

Harry K

[Eric in North TX]

Good drawing, but I don't see how the pressure switch is going to control the well pump. Normally the switch needs to be before the booster pump with that pump having its own control usually activated by flow, not pressure drop. that makes for a smooth running system with little pressure change regardless of draw. Booster pumps also require a check valve, to keep the high pressure isolated from the low pressure, if the switch in the drawing is the well control switch the pump would be in constant off mode due to the pressure on the high side of the booster.

[Scott Townsend]

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.

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!

[Chris Lewis]

According to Scott Townsend :

In other words, the well pump fills the storage tank to a particular level, and the tank isn't pressurized. The outflow from the 2500 gal point goes off to be pressurized with the booster pump for household use via the pressure tank. The well pump is controlled via a level switch in the tank. The booster pump is controlled by a pressure switch on the pressure tank (_and_ some sort of level switch in the tank.)

It's generally better to push water than to suck it. Which suggests that the booster pump should be at the storage tank. If it isn't, you're relying on gravity feed to get the water from the storage tank to the booster - the line has to be big. Which also means that you have to be very careful to have a level switch in the tank to inhibit the booster pump if the water level gets too low (some inches above the booster outflow, otherwise it'll suck air.

You can still have the booster in the house (or at the well head) if the gravity feed will be strong enough.

It occurs to me that you might as well have the booster pump line "tap" off the storage tank at the bottom to maximize head pressure. Use a level switch to inhibit the booster when the water level drops to the 2500 gal level. This still guarantees your "2500 gal availability for fire" requirement, and at the same time makes air problems/dry running the booster less likely - especially if the booster is at the house or the well head.

Mind you, since the 2500gal reserve depends on a level switch, rather than the inherent "tap off level", it may not be acceptable - you may have to ask.

[Harry K]

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

[Harry K]

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

Harry K

[Scott Townsend]

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

[Chris Lewis]

According to Scott Townsend :

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

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.

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_.]

[Harry K]

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

[baranoffmechanical]

responding to

baranoffmechanical wrote: Scott: Are you using an injector/ shallow well pump or a submersible pump? The most important thing to remember is that you have to keep the pressure tank as close to the pump and pressure switch, and tank to get the most effective operation of the pump. Be careful no to use to flimsy of a hose to connect the pressure tank to the pump. After you plumb the tank and pump in you can run a line to point of use almost any length (considering diameter of pipe, lenght of travel and pressure, up /down hill runs). As far as the pad goes, #40,000 pounds of water provides alot of pressure per square inch, if it was me id make sure sub grade is back filled and compacted before i set the footer and slab reinforcement/ framing. Then id call your local concrete supplier and ask for a mixture to accomodate at least a 6 sack mix, 4000psi with accelerator, and a thickened outer edge, with #4 rebar, and 2" dobies holding rebar off ground at least to center of your slab with 16"x16" or 12"x12" squares.

Scott Townsend wrote:

------------------------------------- Sean deMello Baranoff Island Mechanical Contractor LLC Sitka, Alaska 99835

[Ruth]

can't locate drawing, pdf

comes up as error..............female need this info as I need to install same thanks,