This is kinda vague but I'm hoping you guys can help me out. Bought a forclosure. No idea how deep the well is or what pump is down there. Can't find the company that put it in. I did find a tag from a myers pump in the basement by the pressure tank. It says catalog number 5091c and serial number 14545. Any way to tell what pump is down there or how old it is from this tag? The pressure tank is ruptured and I'm thinking I should get one of the kits from the cycle stop valves website. Also what would be the advantage of getting the 10 gallon tank upgrade from the 4.4 gallon? The tank that's in there now is huge. 4.4 seems awful small. Thanks!!
Pump question
- Thread starter Gusg
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Even a "huge" 80 gallon tank only holds about 25 gallons of water. That doesn't amount to much to a house that uses 300+ gallons per day. Your water comes from the well and pump, not the tank. The pressure tank is only used to reduce the number of on/off cycles on the pump. When you have a Cycle Stop Valve to eliminate the cycling, you don't need a very large tank.
With a CSV it doesn't matter if it is a 1 gallon or a million gallon tank becasue as long as you are using water, it flows right past the tank straight to the faucet. The CSV just makes the pump deliver exactly the same amount of water that is being used, so there is no extra water left to fill the tank. Only when all the faucets are finally close will the CSV let the tank fill and the pump shut off.
Pumps love to run 24/7 and every start shortens the pump/motor life. But even more important is that the pump has plenty of time to cool off before it is re-started. And with a CSV you have to be completely finished using water before the pump will shut off. So it should have plenty of time to cool completely down before water is needed again.
The 1 gallon draw of the 4,5 gallon tank gives enough run time and off time that there really is no way to short cycle the pump. But there are reasons to use a little larger tank in some instances. If you are using higher than a 40/60 pressure switch setting it reduces the draw down of the tank. And if there is more than a one house load on the system a little larger tank give a little longer run time and off time. It is not that the 2 gallons of draw is any better than 1 gallon, it is the run and off times that matter.
With longer run times and off times it is more likely the pump will not have shut off yet when someone in a multiple house setting opens another tap. And it will give a little longer off times when someone opens a tap at a much latter time.
So the 4.5 gallon size tank is all you need unless you are running higher pressure than 40/60 or if you have a higher tap count than average.
With a CSV it doesn't matter if it is a 1 gallon or a million gallon tank becasue as long as you are using water, it flows right past the tank straight to the faucet. The CSV just makes the pump deliver exactly the same amount of water that is being used, so there is no extra water left to fill the tank. Only when all the faucets are finally close will the CSV let the tank fill and the pump shut off.
Pumps love to run 24/7 and every start shortens the pump/motor life. But even more important is that the pump has plenty of time to cool off before it is re-started. And with a CSV you have to be completely finished using water before the pump will shut off. So it should have plenty of time to cool completely down before water is needed again.
The 1 gallon draw of the 4,5 gallon tank gives enough run time and off time that there really is no way to short cycle the pump. But there are reasons to use a little larger tank in some instances. If you are using higher than a 40/60 pressure switch setting it reduces the draw down of the tank. And if there is more than a one house load on the system a little larger tank give a little longer run time and off time. It is not that the 2 gallons of draw is any better than 1 gallon, it is the run and off times that matter.
With longer run times and off times it is more likely the pump will not have shut off yet when someone in a multiple house setting opens another tap. And it will give a little longer off times when someone opens a tap at a much latter time.
So the 4.5 gallon size tank is all you need unless you are running higher pressure than 40/60 or if you have a higher tap count than average.
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That makes sense. Thanks. So I'm probably destroying my pump now because it comes on for about 4 seconds every 12 seconds whenever a faucet is opened. Pressure tank wont hold air at all. No idea how I could find anything else out about my pump from the catalog number and serial number on the tag in the basement?
You could tell something about the pump motor by knowing how much power is drawn. Is the power to the pump 240 volts or 12o?
How many wires go down to the pump, and what colors are they?
How large is your well casing?
Is the casing PVC or steel?
Searching does not turn up anything easy on that number, but I expect you knew that.
How many wires go down to the pump, and what colors are they?
How large is your well casing?
Is the casing PVC or steel?
Searching does not turn up anything easy on that number, but I expect you knew that.
The beaker for the pump takes 2 slots so that's 240v. The wire coming from the well has 3 wires. Red yellow and black. Well casing is 6 inch steel. At least above ground it is. The wire coming from the pump goes to a franklin electric box. Looks like a capacitor inside. Date code in there is 1996. Could that mean the pump is also franklin and the myers tag is from an old one?
In 1996 most pumps from the various makers had motors from Franklin. So you can't tell. Pumps from then were generally better than now, in the opinion of many.
The control box probably has a model number on it. That could tell you what HP motor that box was made to be used with. That is useful.
Note that the start capacitor has a limited life. They are non-polarized aluminum electrolytic capacitors, if that means something to you. If it doesn't, it is not worth researching. Just know those capacitors have a limited life. Replacing that now would probably be a good idea. That capacitor is only used during starting, but you are doing a bunch of starting right now.
Some control boxes have two capacitors. Most don't.
If you put in that pside-kick, I would put a 200 PSI gauge on its input line. That is not common, but I would want one myself. 200 PSI water pressure gauges are cheap and widely available. 1/4 NPT is the common thread size.
A 3/4HP can't build much backpressure. The PK1A will work great with that size pump and you don't need an extra gauge.
I would get a new control box.
I would get a new control box.
Heres a picture of the tag. Heard back from they guus at Pentair and they said the serial number is from 1945. If anyone is interested in that sort of thing.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rpf6gncxmx4qkj5/20161229_072059.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rpf6gncxmx4qkj5/20161229_072059.jpg?dl=0
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