It it OK to kave a pressure tank a LONG way from the pressure switch

[NoSpam]

I have a pressure tank in my garage which is, of course, connected to a tee with the gauge and switch located very close to it. I would like to leave the gauge & switch where they are but extend the 1" line going to the tank about 70 feet. This would allow me to place the tank under my house in an area where the "crawl" is about 9 feet high.

Is there any reason not to have the pressure tank so far from the switch?

I would also like to insulate the tank so it will not sweat during our hot, very humid summers. What would be the best material for this? I do not want to harbor mold so I would like to keep air from getting between the insulation and the tank.

Many thanks for any help.

[dpb]

Oh....this is water pressure tank. I was thinking air compressor when I started.

Don't see any problem w/ the distance re: switch.

As for insulation, unless you use spray-on expanding foam my best "what" would probably be a (or two, depending on size) water heater blanket salted to taste.

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[Bob F]

I would imagine that you could end up with the switch cycleing of-on-off at the end of a cycle because the presure at the pump drops after the pump turns off because water pressure is higher at the pump switch than at the tank until the pump turns off. Then the pressure drops to the tank pressure. Larger pipe to the tank, larger on/off pressure difference, or a separate small pipe back from the tank to the switch could alleviate this possibility. This is all hypothetical. I haven't done it.

[dpb]

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I haven't, either, but 70-ft of 1" didn't seem out of sight for a pressure drop but I'd surely agree larger would be make for less.

Well, let's just go look at Crane handbook...

For Sch 40, dP (psi)/100-ft vs flow rate is 1" 1-1/4"

1 0.05 2 0.2 0.04 3 0.3 0.09 4 0.5 0.15 5 0.8 0.22 6 1.2 0.3 8 2.0 0.5 10 3.0 0.8 15 6.4 1.6 20 11.0 2.8

Assuming plastic instead of steel will be somewhat less; I don't have data at hand to show just how much. A 70-ft run instead of 100 is probably about a wash when add a fitting/elbow or two.

Unless he has a sizable well capacity, it would seem the 1" would probably be enough but certainly the reduction in losses by going up to

1-1/4" are sizable. Amazing what a little r-square can do when r>1 isn't it??? :)

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[mm]

I don't like Harbor Mold either, even though Harbor Freight seems pretty good.

AFAIK, mold requires something to eat, and won't grown just anywhere, even if it is wet and dark. And it can't eat fiberglass, so a water heater blanket sounds fine to me too.

When I have had mold it's been on sheetrock, and when I've had mildew it was on a thermal blanket of mine that my idiot roommate found in the closet and used to soak up dribbling from the steam radiator, and then just left there for weeks.

(BTW, the blanket smelled disgusting, and I washed it in a machine and it smelled just as bad afterwards. Then I dried it in a dryer, not even especially hot, and it smelled just fine after that. Never even a trace of the bad smell for years after that. Thoough a portion of the brown blanket was now white.

[dpb]

dpb wrote: ...

Oh, first column is flow rate (gpm) of 60F water at 100 psi inlet pressure.

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[John Gilmer]

I would suggest you run tubing back to the pressure switch.

Since it's easier to run wire than tubing, you might just re-locate the pressure switch at the tank. You can "do the math" and run the appropriately sized wire, or you can just place a "contactor" at the pump or near the well head such that the pressure switch would only operate the contactor (a fraction of an amp) rather than the pump (10 to 20 amps.)

It's best to have the pressure switch on a separate connection to the tank. If you have to use a "T" then use a "T" on the outlet side of the pump. When no water is being drawn it will read true pressure. If water is being drawn it will tend to "see" a lower pressure which will cause the pump to come on a bit sooner.

In industrial plants, pressure sensors are often connected to "instrumentation" tubes. The tubes are run to the process being monitored.

You would have to find some way of spraying insultation onto the tank. Any place where moist air can find it's way to the tank will cause local condensation.

[Pat]

The pressure switch needs to be with in a few feet of the tank.

[Stormin Mormon]

What does the pressure tank do? Why is it there? Can you just take it out? What happens if it you remove the tank? Connected to what type of pipe? Accomplishing what, at present?

[Bob F]

Better to keep quiet and perhaps be thought stupid than to speak and remove all doubt.

[NoSpam]

The pump cannot run continuously because (1) it requires cooling via the water flowing through it and we're not using water all the time, and (2) We're not rich enough to pay the elec bill.

Thus the pump must be on a pressure switch. When we use water the pressure in the line drops and the pump kicks on. Without a pressure tank, the pump would turn on & within a second the pressure would go up enough to turn it off. A secone later the pressure would drop enough to turn it on again. Rapid cycling will destroy the pump.

The pressure tank allows a good bit of water to be used before the pressure dr>What does the pressure tank do? Why is it there? Can you just take it

[Stormin Mormon]

Now we're getting some where. You're talking about some kind of pressure tank, for a pumped water system? Now, is this a residence, business, camper, remote fire fighting operation, or what? Sure helps if you provide more complete information.

[NoSpam]

It appears that you failed to notice the reply from Bob F

Thanks for the several good answers given.