Water Well Pressure Tank

[cain.alan]

Hi All,

Hope this is an ok place to post this, if not, sorry:

I'm about to build a new house and this house will require a well and septic. I'm not familiar with either, but this question is about the well pressure tank.

I'd like to place this thing inside a closet space in the garage, is this an acceptable practice?

I'd basically have a space for the water heater, pressure tank and a water softener all in the same area.

I see these things in peoples front yards, back yards, etc. and don't thing they're very attractive, hence my reasoning for putting it in a closet.

Thanks,

--Alan

[HerHusband]

Alan,

I built a detached pump house to hold the pressure tank, filters, etc. We set up the well on our property before we even had our house built, so this worked best in our situation. We built ours like a small barn, nicely painted, shingled, and trimmed out. It's an attractive addition to our property, not an eyesore.

On the other hand, many folks place their pump mechanicals in their basements, so I see no problem placing them in your garage instead. My only concerns would be protection from freezing, elevating the water heater to protect against igniting gas fumes, and dust issues if you do any kind of woodworking in your garage. The only other issue might be the distance to your well, which might require a heavier gauge wire run to the pump.

Anthony

[James]

Alan:

In general, this would be an acceptable practice. I have a mountain cabin with a basement, and we have the water heater and pressure tank in the basement. I like to be able to control the pressure tank switch, and to be able to adjust and monitor the hi/low water pressure set points on the pressure tank switch.

As one post said, special considerations would have to be given if the water heater is a gas one (elevate off floor) and you want to be sure that the basement or garage area will not drop well below freezing, as that could create problems for the water heater, pressure tank, and water softner. But, these same freezing considerations would have to be accounted for if these items were placed outside as well.

If it were me, I would put those items in the garage, or in a basement if you will have one !!

Hope this helps !!

--James--

[Dan Deckert]

In addition to the advice given, I'd install QUALITY shutoff/drain valves & pipe unions on everything for ease of repair/removal because something WILL fail. Dan

[cain.alan]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm in the greater Houston area and we don't have basements(normally) here. I really don't think freezing will be an issue for me although we do get freezes here, but they don't last long. I did plan to have them install a drain in a semi-slopped floor so that any failure whether it be water heater or any other water handling unit fails, it'll hopefully limit any damage.

[Jonny]

Local TX native here living in Central TX. Just for frame of reference to keep the tank from freezing, its common to install a light fixture with filament bulb in pump house. This, along with the fiberglass wrapping around the tank are sufficient to keep contents from freezing. I just have to be sure to turn on the light the evening before a heavy freeze. Don't think you'll have any problem in an insulated garage. Be sure to insulate the closet space bounding the exterior of the garage.

As another respondent noted cutoff valves are good idea. One at the supply point at the pump, at the supply pipe outside the tank, at the output side of the tank, and just before entering the house piping. Do similar with whole house filtration system if you install same.

Have the water analyzed for iron, hydrogen sulfide gas, and sulfide solids. Get these removed before introducing water to house supply side piping, especially if you are using an electric hot water heater.

[PPS]

In addition to the other excellent responses, there are a couple of considerations you should be aware of. Locating a GAS water heater in a garage requires you elevate the burner 18 inches above the garage floor. And for either gas or electric you will be required to provide "protection from impact by automobile". This generally requires the addition of a hollow iron pipe filled with concrete or some other substantial means of protection (up to the locals as to what they will accept.) My guess is the closet would provide sufficient protection on its own.

Remember that a water softener will require a 1-1/2" standpipe or floor drain. (Remember the drainage is salt water and will corrode any metal it touches.) The floor drain would also serve as a drain for the water tank and water heater pop-off as well.

As far as freezing, the 32 deg line runs through the lower 1/3 of Texas. If you live above this line, you would need to provide a heat tape on the water lines (probably would not activate very often, but would be an easy way to meet code.