But, a CSV doesn’t eliminate pump starting and stopping, as some posts may lead us to believe, yeah? More consistent pressure, yep.
Correct me if I am wrong please, as I am not trying to create or spread misinformation.
It all depends on how you’re using your water if you’re trying to decide if a CSV is going to reduce cycling, compared to a regular system.
Let’s assume that a CSV is installed with a 4.4 gallon tank. Short use intervals like handwashing or toilet flushing would likely increase pump cycling compared to a large tank that had volume to burn between pump cycles.
Long runs of water, a CSV will most likely decrease cycles.
You need to read post #5 again and try to understand it.
"You can use a CSV with any size tank you want, but it is the CSV, not a large tank that will save the pump under any circumstance."
Or let me rephrase it this way.
You cannot install a large enough pressure tank to save a pump from every circumstance. But a CSV with almost any size tank can save a pump under any circumstance. That is why the CSV is a disruptive product. With a CSV, there is no continuous flow rate that can be used that will cause a pump to cycle itself to death, no matter what.
Once you see how the mechanical timer works by filling a tank that holds 1-2 gallons of water at a rate of 1 GPM, it will start to make sense. But most people have to actually see it work before the light bulb starts to glow above their head. The mechanical timer cannot be defeated. You would have to stand a a faucet, open it for 2 minutes, then close it for 2 minutes, to actually make the pump cycle on/off. If you stand at the faucet and do that every 4 minutes 360 times a day, you can make the pump cycle 360 times a day with the 4.5 gallon size tank. But water is never used that way. The very worst case scenario would be a continuous leak 24/7 of about 0.5 GPM. Even that will only cause the pump to run for 2 minutes and be off for 2 minutes. That is still 2 times better than the minimum 1 minute on and 1 minute off, which is the way big pressure tank systems are sized.
Again, there is no set flow rate (0.5 GPM) or number or times a day faucets can be opened and closed that will cause the pump to cycle anymore than 2 minute on and 2 minute off. Only in cases where a drip system is used at 0.5 GPM for long periods or have multiple houses causing extra intermittent uses would I recommend a tank larger than 4.5 gallon size. Even then I would only recommend going up to a 20 gallon size tank at most. The 20 gallon tank only holds 5 gallons of water, but that then becomes a 5 minute mechanical timer. Worst case scenario of 0.5 PM used 24/7 with a CSV and a 20 gallon size tank would be 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off, which is only 75 cycles in 24 hours.
But again, water is never used that way. With all irrigation zones sized to more than 1 GPM, the CSV will NEVER let the pump cycle. With the mechanical timer thing, even very sporadic use of water in a house will still only allow maybe 30 cycles per day.
The way a CSV works is counter intuitive, which is why it is hard to understand. It even took the best pump engineers in the country a couple years to figure out that with a CSV and a small tank, there is no water use scenario that will cycle the pump to death. That makes the CSV disruptive to the pump industry. Using the CSV with any larger tank just makes it even more disruptive to people who sell pumps.
In the last 30 years I bet I have explained this several thousand times in many different ways. But again, it is counter intuitive and you are not going to understand it until you actually see it work. Counter intuitive means it works the opposite of what people have in their heads, which is (big tank, less cycling/small tank, more cycling). All of that goes out the window when you add a Cycle Stop Valve.
