Installing storage tank

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Esm

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Hi,
I'd like to install a medium-sized storage tank next to my well house and connect it to the home water system and I was wondering if someone could point me to a bunch of articles/advice so I could educate myself on the issue?
Thanks,
Ed
 

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You came to the right place.


LOW YIELD WELL_ CENTRIFUGAL_PK1A.jpg


LOW YIELD WELL_SUB_PK1A.jpg
 

Esm

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That was a quick response, thanks a lot.
I was wondering if I could utilize the existing pressure tank?
Connect the well pump to the storage tank (cycled by the float switch) and have the tank outlet at the bottom connected to the pressure tank?
I'm assuming there needs to be a device that regulates the pressure from the storage tank to the pressure tank.
Would that setup work?
 

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That is what those drawings are showing. You can just use your existing pressure tank in place of the one on the Pk1A kit. To regulate the pressure from the storage tank to the pressure tank you will need a pump and the PK1A kit. If you are doing this because the well doesn't produce enough water, you may want a Cycle Sensor on the well pump to protect it from running dry and destroying itself. If the well in a good producer, I don't know why you would want/need a storage tank. But if the well is usable as is, you can also set it up like this where you can get water directly from the well pump or from the booster in the storage tank.

LOW YIELD WELL_and storage with two PK1A one pipe.jpg
 

Esm

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My well works fine but we are located in a drought-prone area in the Texas Hill Country.
Also, the well pump has been in the ground for over 30 years and might fail at any given moment.
Hence, the intention to add a backup storage tank.
The setup I have in mind is much simpler: Connect the well pump to the storage tank (cycled by the float switch) and have the tank outlet at the bottom connected to the pressure tank, which in turn produces to pressure to supply the water to the house.
There wouldn't be any pump necessary, right?
 

Reach4

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The setup I have in mind is much simpler: Connect the well pump to the storage tank (cycled by the float switch)
The storage tank would be at atmospheric pressure (open at the top or somewhere)? If so, you would need a pump to move water from the storage tank to the house, unless the storage tank was at a significantly higher altitude.
 
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Bannerman

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There wouldn't be any pump necessary, right?
A pump is needed to supply the pressure to your faucets. For pressure to be produced by gravity, the tank would need to be elevated significantly higher than the house. A pressure tank only stores pressure produced by a pump.

Review Valveman's diagrams above. A pump is shown either to the right of the storage tank, or a submersible pump is shown inside the tank. Those pumps are to pump water from the tank into the home at the pressure you have come to expect.

we are located in a drought-prone area in the Texas Hill Country.
Your registration info indicates you are located in Quebec.

An accurate location is often useful for responses that are location specific.
 
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Esm

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Location: I have no idea why my location is supposed to be in Quebec. I have just corrected it as in Austin, TX
 

Esm

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Bannerman: I thought the water pressure in the tank would be sufficient for the pressure tank to deliver the water to the house as it does right now with the well pump pressure. What would be a typical well pump pressure anyway as compared to the water pressure from the tank?
Thanks for your response.
 

Bannerman

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A well pump pressure is controlled by the pressure switch normally located close to the pressure tank.

The pressure setting is usually a matter of the users choice, but other factors may also be involved such as the pressure the pump is able to supply.

Many systems are calibrated to turn on the pump when the system pressure is reduced to 30 psi while water is being used in the home, and will shut off the pump at 50 psi. Most people prefer higher pressure so 40/60 psi has become common.

If the pump can supply more water than is being used, the excess water from the pump is then stored in the pressure tank. Once the tank pressure reaches the shut off pressure, the pressure switch will shut the pump off, but when water is again or continues to be utilized, the pressure will soon lower to the cut-in or turn-on pressure so the pump will run again and the process is repeated over and over.

Because pump cycles will damage a pump more than running it continuously, review the video Valveman attached to post #2 as his CSV device will extend the life of a pump by reducing cycling, and will provide more consistent pressure to your home faucets while water is being used.

If you are only using 3 gpm while showering, with a CSV, the pump will then only supply 3 gpm. If someone flushes a toilet and flows a further 2 gpm, the CSV will then allow the pump to flow 5 gpm at the same pressure so you are unlikely to notice while your shower is running.
 
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Esm

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Thanks for the details, I was aware of how the pressure tank system works.
Installing a tank next to the well would significantly reduce well pump cycling, right?
So, the pressure a tank would put against the pressure pump would not be sufficient to create adequate pressure at the faucets?
 

Bannerman

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Since the storage tank fill would be controlled by a float switch, the well pump will run continuously when activated by the float switch until the tank becomes full and the float rises. For the well pump, a pressure tank would not be needed. Cycling would be reduced as governed by the amount of water added to the tank every time the pump is activated.

To pump the water from the storage tank into the home, a 2nd pump with a pressure tank will be required for the reasons described above. Just as with the well pump supplying the home directly, when the amount of water being consumed is less than the pump will deliver, then cycling will occur.
 

Esm

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So, the second diagram from the top would be the preferred setup?
The well pump fills the tank, cycled by the float.
There would be a pump (is that a "normal" well pump?) inside the tank to fill the existing pressure tank. which would serve the house as is now, right?
 

Bannerman

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The second drawing shows a submersible pump inside the storage tank. The benefit of a submersible would be less noise and the pump would be cooled by the water surrounding it, although a flow inducer sleeve should be utilized to ensure water will flow by the electric motor to provide sufficient cooling.

Unlike pumping water from a deep well, there will be little vertical rise from the tank so a smaller pump than is likely installed within your well may be utilized.

While your large pressure tank may be reused, Valveman's diagram shows only a small 4.5 gallon pressure tank being used with a CSV.
 

Esm

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Well, I did some internet research and found out that there are lots of different brands and models of well pumps, it's totally confusing.
Can someone recommend a certain brand/model?

Also, what do I need to do to keep the water in the tank clean?
 

Reach4

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Well, I did some internet research and found out that there are lots of different brands and models of well pumps, it's totally confusing.
Can someone recommend a certain brand/model?
Depends on the well. Depth to water, depth to pump (which puts a lower limit on depth to water in high-use or declining water tabel), water use (2 bath house where 7 gpm is normally enough, irrigation, whatever), elevation of house compared to well....

Also, what do I need to do to keep the water in the tank clean?
Depends on the water. You would want to protect from sun to avoid growing algae. You may or may not need to chemically treat. If you have a lot of sediment pumped up, you might want a cone bottom tank for easy sediment removal.
 

Esm

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The pump is not going down in the well but in the storage tank (2nd diagram) to feed the pressure tank 10 feet away.
 

Reach4

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The pump is not going down in the well but in the storage tank (2nd diagram) to feed the pressure tank 10 feet away.
Call that a pressure pump. The well pump is the one that gets water from down the well.

That could be a 1/3 HP pump, but 1/2 HP submersible pumps are much cheaper than 1/3 HP submersible pumps. Probably the same for jet pumps, but I am not sure. 10 gpm 1/2 hp submersibles are usually the cheapest submersible.
 
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