underground pressure tank

[Michaela521]

Hello,

First off thank you much for the site and help. I have a well pump that we use to run our outside hydrants. We don't use this well pump for our house water but instead our house is on the city water. The outside hydrants are used primarily to water the lawn and water the livestock we have. At the moment we don't have a pressure tank on the well pump but instead we control it by switching on and off its circuit breaker located inside the house. As you might of quessed this is a big hassle to do. I would like a pressure tank on this system and I am looking into purchasing one of the well-x-trol underground pressure tanks but need alittle help with installation. The worst part is that I live in North Dakota so I have to fight with a bad frost line. I read the installation manual on the internet but it is lacking in some things. First off the water line doesn't run into the house so the pressure switch, pressure gauge, and relief valve will need to be installed underground with the pressure tank. Can this be done? I have been given mixed opinion on the subject. Some talk about tank vaults and I really don't know what that means either. Please help and thank you for you time.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

pressure tanks underground

you are spending a lot of money just for water,
I guess it must be worth it....


getting access to that tank and pressure switch might be useful
in years to come ,


it certanly seems smarter and probably cheaper
to just run the line into the house
and put the tank inside to me.....

because someone is going to have to dig up the yard anyway,
and I dont know how deep you got to go to do this job...
----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you absolutely HAVE to put it outside,

seems like a common 36 inch wide by 4 foot deep
plastic meter pit would be the way to install your system..

yes, this would be a very very tight fit.....

get something larger if you want to stay down there
and have a picnic.


just do the plumbing into this pit and install the pressure tank
on the very botom with the switch installed
towards the top of the pit. (in case of ever water filling the pit)

possibly install a couple of rolls of pink insulation over your work
for winter time exposure.....

possibly install a flood light in the pit to keep it warm too in the winter.

whatever works....

then buy
a meter pit lid on the top of the pit at ground level.


or just forget the whole idea and get your well man to install
it inside where its warm and dry.

 

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[Michaela521]

Ya we do use alot of water so in the long run in would definately be a plus to put something in. Okay lets exam the possibility of running the line inside for a second because plumbers seem to always prefer this route. Please help me out here with somethings. The frost line is very deep where I live so it would definately have to be about 6 to 7 feet deep. The main problem is getting it into the house. It should be installed where a drain is located and to get it where I wan't it I would have to go under a deck(there goes the deck) and then I have no idea how do put it inside our basement. I would have to break open the concrete somehow and somehow run it into the house here. There is a closet located elsewhere that would be much easier to work with but no drain here though. To put it outside I suppose you can't just bury it. I am surprised with all the advances in everything that you can't just bury the thing. How about this. Dont laugh if this sounds dumb. Construct a rectangular box of treated plywood measuring 8' by 4' by 4' with one end open. After you use your backhoe to dig down where you wanted and firmly packed the soil. Place this thing in the ground and line the whole thing in a pit liner (use the best stuff available). Next run the lines from the existing water lines inside this pit. You will have to make some cuts on the pit liner to run everything inside here but you can always patch them with tape used for this or silicone. Next install your pressure tank switch and everything on the bottom of this pit and run your electrical lines inside the house to control it all. The plywood and the pit liner will be sticking out of the ground about 1' to prevent water from running inside the pit. Next I would obviously cross my fingers and check the whole thing by turning the water on. If the switch and pressure tank work properly then fill the pit with insulation and then for a final touch I would erect something over this to draw water away from it like the roofing on a house. I am good with wood so this part would be easy. Thanks again.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

under ground pit

you are basically makeing a glorified root cellar ,

it will work ok, I have seen it done before

and I have seen wells buried out in a cellar in the front yard.

you can always put styrofoam panels on the inside too

for extra insulation....


I would suggest that you make it flush with the
ground level or a little higher then put some sort of

insulated cover over the whole thing...

 

[Michaela521]

Excellent!! Well if I do do this I won't get the pressure tanks design for underground burial but instead I will just get the normal pressure tanks you buy for inside the house. I am going to use all that extra money and invest in a very good liner and very good insulation. Anything you want to add for this installation or if anybody else does will be very much appreciated.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

nothing much

this isnt really rocket science here.
aything will most likely work ok..

Like I mentioned I have seen a well installed

into or under the front porch of a house once,,, somehow they built

a bunker out of blocks then installed the well in the bottom

then over the whole thiing they layed 3/4 plywood across the top

with a meter or sistern cover access in it...

then they supported the ceiling with a couple of 2x4s braces and
poured concrete about 6-8 inches thick over the whole thing.


If you are doing this out in the yard, probably the
best is the panels of styrofoam and just simple dirt on the top


the only thing that could present a problem is water seeping into
the pit......and it would be wise to install the
electrical pressure switch as high as possible

the bunker I went into had a sump pump in the bottom of it too

their was some water that had to be pumped out.


who gets to do the digging??

 

[Michaela521]

Who gets to do the digging?? I am not too sure yet. I am still working that one out. I am thinking about renting a back hoe and doing it myself. Looking at the costs of everything and will decide from there. Might even be able to borrow one from a friend. Today I just found out how I am going to install the thing. Tomorrow mayby I will figure that one out. Thanks again. Mike

 

[Toolaholic]

mich.

how about a fiberglass septic buried underground? you would need a large manhole,and maybe do a retro hinged hatch for equept. if you have flooding you would need cable anchors in concrete ,so it doesn,t pop out of the ground

 

[Plumguy]

I was just curious and certainly talking out of my area, but could'nt some type of timer be installed on the electrical inside the house to control the existing pump.And be able to water the lawn and the livestock at certain times? With some type of overide if you needed it on demand. My two cents probably worth zip! I know there is an electrical engineer out here!

 

[Michaela521]

Thanks for the replys everyone. The electrical timer would be good except for the fact I would like to put automatic fill water troughs for the horses. What this does is when the horses drink and only when they drink the water will go down and knew water will flow in. It works kind of like the way how a toilet works. I can't use that during the winter though. Well how about this is there a way that I could install it in a unheated area outside and just drain it every winter. I could place it under a deck a build a box for it out of 3/4" ply with a slope on the top of the box (like a roof). The water supply to the tank perhaps I could just hook it up with a detachable water hose to the nearest hydrant and the circuit breaker box for the well pump is near here so the electrical hook up for the pressure switch should be easy and straight forward. When winter comes every year I will just have to remove the water hose and drain the pressure tank but I wont have to do all that digging and what not. Perhaps this method is something that could get me by for some years until I get enough time and money to but it in the ground. Whats your professional opinions on this. Thanks alot. Mike