Cycle stop valve questions

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WildWildMidwest

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I LOVE this web page! So much great information here.

I am a novice DIY homeowner, and first-time poster, who has been reading about the miracle of cycle stop valves. I am about to order a CSV1W, but I wanted ask four questions of the experts.

Last summer our well pump suddenly died. It was a 3/4 HP 2W StaRite pump, installed in 1976 (!), at a depth of 63 feet on 1 inch galvanized pipe. The well depth measured 133 feet, and the static water height was 19 feet on one of the driest days of summer.

Our new pump is a 1/2 HP Myers 3W 2300 pump, set at 60 feet on 1 inch PVC pipe, with a torque arrestor and a WellXTrol 203 tank. The pump maintains pressure between 40-60 PSI. It was professionally installed by our local vendor. The Pumptrol pressure switch appears to be original to the 1970s.

Our Southern Wisconsin home is a two story, 2.5 bath single family residence. Our water needs are pretty typical for a family of four. We are about to replace our 25+ year old AO Smith natural gas tank water heater with a Navien 210A tankless NG unit. (I hope NOT to ignite a holy war about tankless heaters.)

My first question is whether the CSV1W is the best choice of cycle stop valves for our home, given our well pump & pressure tank and our soon-to-be-installed Navien heater?

Second question, reviewing the CSV1W above-ground installation instructions, I see a recommendation for "a flow inducer sleeve to be sure the motor is sufficiently cooled at low flow rates." I've read in these forums that a flow inducer sleeve isn't generally necessary with a CSV1W since the flow never actually drops low enough to cause overheating. Is that information correct for our installation?

Third question, I see on our well pump invoice that two check valves were installed: a 1.25" x 1" brass check valve, and a 1: brass check valve. I'm not clear where those check valves were installed. I don't see a check valve in the vicinity of our pressure tank or basement water main pipe. Do I need another check valve just above the CSV1W, as per the installation diagram?

According to this sticky thread, Wisconsin code does not allow above ground check valves. So I think I already have my answer to question #3, but I'm just making sure before I ignore CSV1W installation instructions.

Last question: We have heavy iron sediment in our water. Our Water Boss softener removes most of the sediment, and I plan on installing a dual-stage sediment filter before our Navien heater. But these units are downstream of the CSV. I imagine heavy sediment could wreak havoc on valves and springs. What maintenance will be needed for the CSV1W?

Thanks in advance for your help & tips.
 

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Because of the sediment, the CSV1W is probably the best choice. However, you switched from a 3/4 HP to a ½ HP, and that CSV adds a few pounds of friction loss, so don’t expect the maximum flow available to be as much as before.

One check valve on the pump is all you need.

I always recommend a shroud if it will fit. The CSV will make sure you have a minimum of 1 GPM to keep the pump/motor cool. However, this 1 GPM has to go past the motor to cool it. That is what a shroud does, makes the flow go past the motor. Without a shroud, the flow will not go past the motor unless it is a bottom feeding well.

Installing the CSV in a vertical position will help keep the sediment from settling on the bottom. Other than that the CSV is self flushing and no maintenance. The spring chamber is dry and never sees the sediment.
 

WildWildMidwest

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Thank you so much for the great info. I'm still amazed that a little CSV can triple the life of our well pump and give us more consistent flow. I wish I would have known that before our 3/4 HP StaRite burned out -- but I guess 32 years isn't bad! Unfortunately, as we bought our home in 2000 the previous owner got most of those years.

Regarding the shroud, does it require pump removal? It's probably beyond my strength and skill level to pull the pump myself. I hope to avoid expensive pump removal if possible. I think our well pipe is 6" diameter, if that matters, and the pump is at a depth of 60 feet with a static water height of 19 feet in mid-summer. Our water table is higher at all other times of the year; we're basically water logged without our sump pump. I am not sure if ours is a bottom feeding well.

How much risk is there for a typical family like ours if we skip the shroud? The only times we run water for more than a couple of minutes is when we shower or water lawns. In either case the amount of water flowing should be enough to keep the pump cool. If I understand correctly, it's the constant low flow of a dribbling faucet or drip garden hose that endangers CSV regulated pumps. We don't have any drips or leaks, but I suppose it's always possible a leak could develop while we're away on vacation.

A slight decrease in our current water flow probably isn't problematic. But the issue I see is that our Navien 210A also causes a small flow drop, and I am thinking of plumbing a pair of 10" x 4.5" Watts W10FFPH1CBPR filters into the Navien's water intake to remove sediment using a 20 micron filter followed by a 5 micron filter. Together, the CSV1W, Water Boss softener, series of two 10" x 4.5" filters, and the Navien 210A may add significant flow loss to our hot water supply. We rarely take more than one shower at a time, using water-saver heads, say an infrequent maximum of 6-7 GPM. Do you think that's going to be a problem? I am certainly open to other suggestions regarding the sediment filters, but something needs to be done to keep the Navien burners clear of iron sludge.

Thank you also for the vertical installation tip. That will work very nicely with our basement pipe layout.
 
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WildWildMidwest

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Gary, Thank you for your suggestion. I am planning to send in a water sample for microbiologic analysis. We probably have nonpathogenic iron reducing bacteria in our well, which I have heard is common in our area. For my curiosity I hope to identify the specific genera of responsible bacteria. There don't seem to be any clustered epidemiologic effects in our area (cancers, birth defects, etc.), but the bacteria do add an unpleasant sulfur odor.

We are located seven miles inland from Lake Michigan. The sulfur smell & iron sediment issue extends at least five miles further inland to my knowledge, possibly even more, but I don't know anyone who lives beyond that distance. The semicontinental divide lies about 7-9 miles west of us. Beyond that line, well water has really serious problems like radon poisoning and critical reservoir depletion. I read about those issues often in the newspapers. It's part of the international Water Wars winding its way through Great Lakes state legislatures and Federal Court.

Iron sediment flow is reduced at least 95% by our Water Boss, but the remaining 5% gradually accumulates. It becomes apparent how much sediment lines our pipes when I chlorine-shock our well each Spring. Black water pours out of our pipes for several minutes afterward. Shocking the well also eliminates the sulfur smell. We have the only pleasant smelling water in our neighborhood. I wish the same could be said for iron, but all our neighbors have that problem too. A local restaurant has the sulfur smell so bad that we refuse to dine there. Even their coffee reeks of it. Most local diners just get used to the odor and accept it along with the smell of cabbages growing nearby.

Local plumbers and well installers are very familiar with the problem. They inform us we're doing everything right. I actually learned well shocking technique from our Culligan vendor, who gave me a printed handout in 2000. I confirmed with two local plumbers that annual chlorination is a good idea. We run the chlorinated water out onto our lawn for at least two hours afterward, and we don't drink well water for at least 1-2 weeks. I take our Water Boss offline for several days afterward to avoid damaging the resin beads. We postpone doing laundry until the Water Boss is back on-line.

Municipal water sources have their problems, too, like the deadly Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak of 1993. By comparison our well water probably isn't too bad. I've never heard of coliform infestation in any of the local wells.

I've sometimes thought about getting a R-O system for our drinking water. Most drinking water passes through the activated charcoal filter in our kitchen. Even nonfiltered water in our home tastes and smells perfectly fine.

So, to answer your question, Gary, I doubt there is any water softener big enough to solve our problem. To my knowledge it's a cosmetic issue -- except for the sediment buildup in tankless heat exchangers, which will almost certainly degrade performance.

I am pretty sure our Water Boss is doing its job as well as can be expected. We notice cracked & itchy skin when it's offline. Laundry isn't as fresh either. I did a hardness test with a swimming pool kit several times in years past and found the hardness to be proportional to our itchy skin. I also used the test strips to determine the right number of gallons between water softener regeneration cycles. I don't recall the specific PPM number off-hand, but we were always in the "comfort zone" with our Water Boss running.

I suppose I should send in a water specimen for quantitative testing... that's probably a good suggestion, even if it doesn't tell me exactly what to do differently. I suppose we could petition for municipal water, but our neighbors will be mad if I do that. It would raise everyone's taxes.
 

Gary Slusser

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You can do the tests I mentioned, you don't need a lab for them. Use your pool hardness kit.

Repeated shocking of a well can make the problems worse. Especially bacteria problems. IRB is made up of many various families and of aerobic and anaerobic types. There is no sense in trying to identify a specific type. They all are harmless.

And if you are concerned about health problems, look into DPBs (disinfection by products and THMs (trihalomethanes) that you may be causing by shocking the well so frequently.

You can tell if you have IRB by looking in the toilet tank of a toilet that hasn't had the tank cleaned for some time.

No softener should be used to "reduce iron sediment flow" unless it has a special filtering feature, which your WB may have but, still, it won't get all the sediment.

You should give that restaurant my name and tell them to call me.

You doubt there is any softener large enough for your problem.... Man I have softeners that you and your wife and me and my wife could square dance in but, what you need is my inline chlorine pellet chlorinator and mixing tank followed by a special carbon filter. Then your WB doesn't have to deal with the iron or sediment (rust) and will be more efficient while it lasts much longer. That would give you pristine, clear iron and odor free water.

You'll spend much less money fixing your well water than going on the county water system, and when they get around to insisting you do away with your well and go on their system, y'all should riot.
 

WildWildMidwest

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Thanks, Gary, for all the information. I seem to have blathered about our town's IRB issues quite a while. In reality, it doesn't bother us much. Yes, some dark brownish sediment settles in our toilet tanks. I know the same sediment lines our pipes, but it doesn't seem to do any harm -- nor does it cause a negative taste or odor, at least none that our visitors complain about. That restaurant's situation is far more serious since it's affecting their bottom line. I'll certainly suggest they call you ASAP. It's been a long time since we dined there and I now have a reason to do so.

The main issue with sediments in our home is degradation of the Navien's performance, so I want to remove as much of it as I can before any enters the water heater. The same would be true for a standard tank heater, though perhaps to a lesser degree. I don't necessarily need to treat all our cold water that ends up in toilets, showers, or watering the garden. A simple two stage 10" x 4.5" filter should protect our Navien heater enough that I won't have to purge it monthly. I can try different filter porosities to arrive at the right combination. They even make compound filters, which would allow three or four stage filtering if necessary.

As for shocking the well yearly, I may have mis-written. I did shock yearly for the first four years, but for the past four years I've only shocked when a sulfur smell becomes noticeable at our taps. I didn't keep records of how often that occurs, but it's probably closer to every second year. I take your point about the potential risks of well chlorination. I'll do some reading on DPBs and trihalomethanes. I am aware of published literature on chlorine / chloramine hazards. I don't know anything about DPBs; trihalomethanes sound vaguely familiar from college chemistry, and I don't remember anything pleasant being said about them.

As far as rioting, I think I'll save that for the next taxpayer Tea Party. Those bankster bailouts really have me steamed!
 
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WildWildMidwest

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Valveman,

I am still curious about the necessity of adding a shroud to our well pump. Absolutely necessary? Highly suggested? Take it or leave it?

If absolutely necessary or highly suggested, I'll have to call our well installer tomorrow and get an estimate.
 

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32 years is amazing. You won't get that much with a new pump. They are not made like they use to be. Anyway you either have a shroud or a bottom feeding well or you would not have gotten 32 years. Franklin says you don't need a shroud on 2 HP or smaller but, they like to sell motors. However, I don't think you have to worry about a shroud.
 

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Thanks so much! I'm off to order my CSV1W.

I plan on doing a few other preparations for my Navien install at the same time as I plumb in my CSV1W. I'll have my plumber do the finishing work & gas hookup. We still have a working 40 gallon AO Smith tank heater, so no rush on the Navien. I'll keep our AO Smith installed as a backup for the first 6 months or so, since that seems to be the time frame for most Navien failures. I'll just drain it down and shut off the gas to the AO Smith. Eventually I plan on stripping the insulation off the AO Smith and using it as a pre-warmer to the Navien... free BTUs, and less residential junk for the landfill.

So many great ideas in these forums. Very excited about my plumbing projects & cheaper than a Jamaica vacation!

Regards, WWM.
 

WildWildMidwest

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I'll do my own CSV installation. I feel very comfortable wielding a blow torch on copper pipes. At this point I probably know more about CSV valves than most of our local plumbers. Our well installer really didn't know anything about them when I called.

The reason for hiring a plumber to do our natural gas lines is I've never done NG, and it's probably just not worth taking a chance on it. I want to have everything inspected by the town so we don't void our homeowner's insurance policy or Navien's warranty. Also, by the time I purchase 1" and 3/4" black pipe threading dies and handle, I would be well on my way toward paying the plumber. I can certainly build a 2x4 bracket to hang the Navien, install the power switch and do all the PVC and copper plumbing. Those projects are definitely within my skill set.

Navien recommends an inlet gas pressure between 3.0" and 10.5" WC. I'll have our gas company come and adjust the regulator before the plumber arrives.

While I'm usually a total DIY guy, this is a compromise I can live with. I hope to maximize safety while keeping our Navien installation costs reasonable. There's no reason why a master plumber needs to be doing our carpentry or simple pipe soldering.

Regarding natural gas , I'll hijack my own thread with a gas pipe side question: One plumber I called wanted to run a separate 1" pipe all the way back to the regulator for $3,500 plus tax, including purchase of the tankless unit. That sounds pretty expensive. Reading Navien Installation Manual makes me believe it's probably overkill to run parallel 1" pipes. I believe we can get that price down significantly by doing much of the labor ourselves, and by sharing part of the 1" pipe run with our furnace.

Navien offers a nice pipe sizing chart for NG at 0.60 specific density and 0.5" WC pressure drop. A 70 foot run of 1" pipe yields a maximum NG delivery of 239 cubic feet/hour, or approximately 239,000 BTU/h.

A friend of mine who was an engineer at the gas company for twenty years believe it's unnecessary for us to run a second 1" pipe given our home's very limited demands. Aside from our water heater, our only other gas appliance is a Bryant condensing furnace which draws a maximum of 105,000 BTU/h, and which typically burns 72,500 BTU/h. The Navien CC-201A maximum is 175,000 BTU/h. That's a combined maximum draw of 280,000 BTU. But in reality, our furnace never actually runs except when we're away on vacation or in the middle of a very cold night. We heat our home almost exclusively with wood, so the furnace rarely runs. When the furnace does run, we're either asleep or away from home -- not showering or doing laundry.

I know that in the worst case scenario of the furnace and Navien tankless heater both starting up at the same time at maximum draw (280,000 BTU), we could see more than a 0.5" WC pressure drop momentarily. My understanding is that our furnace's computerized controller shuts down the burn cycle when NG pressure becomes low, so the Navien would get 100% of the gas while the furnace idles. Alternatively, both devices may be able to operate at full power with a slightly >0.5" WC pressure drop if the gas flow is high enough through the regulator.

Our current, professionally-installed black steel gas pipe run to the furnace is 70 feet at 1" diameter, with 6 right angles and one 45 degree bend. There's another 5 feet of 3/4" pipe with one 90 degree turn leading to the furnace. The old AO Smith tank water heater sits beside the furnace, connected via a 1/2" black steel pipe. We've never had any gas flow problems, but we never had a tankless water heater.

I plan on installing our Navien 20 feet upstream from the furnace using a 1" black steel T connector and 10 feet of 1" steel pipe with a 90 degree downward bend near the water heater. The final run to the Navien would be a 3/4" flexible gas pipe. That would be a total pipe run of 62 feet of 1" black steel pipe (including the 50 feet of shared 1" pipe with the furnace) and perhaps 3 feet of flexible 3/4" gas pipe, with a total of seven 90 degree angles and one 45 degree angle -- all in 1" diameter pipe. I want two gas shut offs at the 1" T so I can troubleshoot future problems. I don't imagine installing 12 feet of pipe, a steel T and two shut-offs would cost anywhere near $3,500.

Does anybody think sharing 50 feet of 1" gas pipe for the Navien tankless heater and the furnace is a bad idea? It would save us a complicated and expensive installation.
 

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I prefer to make my mistakes on paper before I start drilling holes and cutting stock. Less frustration that way.

Looking again at Navien's gas pipe sizing table, I think I misquoted the number I should be using. The length of shared 1" pipe is 50 feet, so the 70 foot BTU delivery number isn't what's critical. According to the table, A 50 foot run of 1" pipe yields a maximum NG delivery of 286 cubic feet/hour, or approximately 286,000 BTU/h. That should be sufficient for my maximum BTU load scenario at a 0.5" WC drop. I'm not sure how much loss there is from six shared 90 degree angles or one shared 45 degree angle. My instinct tells me it's going to be OK for real world performance if the furnace (rarely) misses a few minutes burn.

My town's plumbing inspector says it's a question for the gas company, so they're my next call. He's OK with whatever they decide. Our local ordinance allows homeowners to do all the work themselves, but I'll hire out the gas pipe hookup for the reasons I stated yesterday... provided I can find a plumber who won't rip me off. $3,500 isn't reasonable.
 

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I spoke with the senior engineer for my gas company today, reviewed the specs and our planned installation. He did not think there would be any problem sharing our 1" gas line between the furnace and the Navien heater. He stated our regulator is a standard 7" WC unit (0.25 PSI) which should easily provide 6.5" WC at the Navien. If we did have a gas flow problem, WE Energies will supply a 2 PSI regulator which we could step-down at the appliance end.

So it looks like we're good to go. I'll pull a permit tomorrow. Our town ordinance allows homeowners to do all our own plumbing. Whether it's a good idea for homeowners to monkey with gas lines may be another matter. I won't debate that subject here -- it's been beaten to death already.

I look forward to our CSV1W arriving next week. Then I can fire up the blow torch.
 

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I received my CSV1W last week and I installed it yesterday. Installation went very smoothly except for one bad solder joint near the CSV that took me a couple hours to disassemble, repair and reassemble. I turned on the power to my pump and the CSV1W began doing its job. Other than the bad solder joint I'm very pleased with my installation. I would be happy to post photos if anyone wants.

One question for the CSV experts: What should I do to keep my water pressure close to 50 PSI? Water pressure currently fluctuates between 40-60 PSI, same as before I installed the CSV. All of our equipment is in the basement except the well pump. I followed the Above Ground Installation Instructions through Step 4. I skipped Step 5 because 50 PSI setting is probably about right for our home. Due to my confusion, I'm stuck on Step #6. That's probably where my answer lies.

Our 32 gallon Well-X-Trol WX203 tank appears to have a drawdown of 9.4 gallons on a 40-60 pressure switch. I am having trouble interpreting the second half of this sentence:
When working with a tank with more than 5 gallons of drawdown, adjust your pressure switch to its highest setting.
The word 'highest' has two possible meanings -- either the highest physical position of the spring cut-in adjustment nut (lowest water pressure to compress the spring); or the opposite meaning -- highest compression, but the lowest spring nut position. My guess is the first interpretation is correct: highest nut position to allow pump cut in at the lowest water pressure.

The next two sentences are:
Set your pressure switch shut off by closing off all water outlets and timing the tank filling. Wait a minimum of 2 minutes and adjust your pressure switch until the pump is turned off.

This is probably self explanatory to all plumbers but it leave me scratching my head. If I understand correctly, the first adjustment sets the cut-in to the minimum pressure allowed (highest nut position), and the second adjustment involves tightening the nut back down while observing the tank filling time to be at least 2 minutes before pump cut-off. Is this understanding correct? At 1 GPM trickle through the CSV, that would indicate a minimum drawdown volume of 2 gallons in our pressure tank... well within spec. But the last paragraph of the Instructions throws cold water on my understanding:
* Important: Pressure switch shut off point must always be at least 10 PSI higher than the pressure regulated by the CSV1W. For example, valve set at 50, pressure switch at 50/70 or 40/60. Actual pressure switch settings vary depending on the size of the tank used and minimum run time needed.
40/60 is where our pressure switch is currently set. Do I really need to change it? What to -- 50/70? 55/75?

Our pump seems like it runs forever to fill the pressure tank. I suppose that reduces motor cycling but it doesn't produce more steady water pressure than what we had before, nor does it reduce wear on our tank and pipes. Our house hums from the pump running 8-9 minutes with each cycle. That's the same noisy decibels as before, but for a longer duration. Something doesn't seem right and I feel baffled what to do about it.
 

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It should only take 2 to 3 minutes to fill the tank once all water faucets are closed. You can tighten down on the adjustment for the CSV until the steady pressure, when running something small like a kitchen faucet, is about 55 PSI. Or you can loosen off on the pressure switch large adjustment screw until the pump shuts off at 55 PSI, with the CSV setting at 50. I would just increase the pressure of the CSV to about 57 PSI, so you would have a higher constant pressure.

You can loosen all the way off on the small adjustment screw for the pressure switch. This will minimize the difference between on and off from 40/60 to about 45/60. This is just the best you can do with that type pressure switch. Other types of switches would let you lower the pressure differential even further but, it is usually not necessary. The only time you should see a difference in pressure is when you first turn on a faucet. The tank will then drain from 60 to 45 PSI before the pump starts, then the CSV should hold the pressure constant at 50 or 55 according to the setting, as long as water is being used. Only after all faucets are closed will the CSV allow the pressure to increase to 60 PSI and the pump to shut off.

With that large of a tank, you don't need 10 PSI between the CSV setting and the off setting of the pressure switch. That is why it is taking so long to fill the tank. If 10 PSI difference is giving you 8-9 minutes of run time, then 5 PSI difference will give you 4 to 5 minutes of run time. So the best setting for you with that size tank would be to set the CSV at about 57 PSI while running the kitchen faucet, and set the pressure switch to 45/60.
 

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Thank you, ValveMan, for your insightful tips. I set my CSV1W at 57 PSI as you suggested. That made a big improvement in the tank refill run time after a water draw. It now takes about 75 seconds to fill the tank those last 3 PSI. 57 PSI is a great choice for keeping pump noise tolerable.

I am not sure why our pump is so noisy. It's about three times louder than the 32 year old 3/4 HP 2W StaRite pump. I called our well installer multiple times within a week of installation last summer and they advised me to give it more time to break in. Now almost ten months later, the 1/2 HP Myers 3W 2300 pump is still noticeably loud. I doubt we'll ever have anywhere near as quiet a pump as our old StaRite. The Myers pump seems to be functioning fine -- just like our new Energy Star Frigidaire refrigerator with its tiny but loud compressor, versus our 18 year old super quiet Amana refrigerator. It's counterintuitive to a non engineer like myself that small pumps and compressors are noisier than large pumps and compressors, but I guess that's progress.

I am a little disappointed with our pressure switch. I loosened the small adjustment screw all the way but the tank pressure stayed at 40-60 PSI. I tightened the small screw 2/3 down and the pressure range changed to 34-60. I don't see any easy way to achieve 45-60 PSI with our switch. Perhaps a new switch is needed. I'm not sure it's worth the expense, and a narrower pressure range will increase pump cycling for short water draws. We'll see how picky our Navien tankless heater is about pressure changes once it's installed. Navien's tech support told me there should be no problem with a 40-60 PSI pressure range. Even if there's a momentary dip in output from the Navien, with the CSV1W installed it should only happen once per shower.

I took a couple of photos of my plumbing this morning but I didn't have time to upload them before leaving for work. I hope to upload my photos tomorrow.

Thanks again for all your kind help.
 

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One more question I forgot to ask, mostly for the benefit of others who may be installing a cycle stop valve.

If I find a way to make my pressure switch operate from 45-60 PSI, or I buy a new switch that does that, should I add more pressure to the tank? The manufacturer (Amtrol) states in their Installation Guide:
Adjusting Precharge

Well-X-Trol tanks are shipped with a standard precharge of... 38 psig for models WX-103 through WX-203.... Check precharge pressure (pressure should be + or - 10% of the factory setting). Release or add air as necessary to make the precharge pressure 2 psig below the pressure switch pump cut-in setting. (Example, if you have a WX-202-XL with a precharge of 38 psig, and you have a pressure switch setting of 30/50 psig, adjust precharge of your WX-202-XL from 38 psig to 28 psig.)
I think you'll probably tell me to follow Amtrol's instructions, but I didn't see this subject discussed anywhere else.
 

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If I find a way to make my pressure switch operate from 45-60 PSI, or I buy a new switch that does that, should I add more pressure to the tank?

The air pressure in the tank should be at least 2 PSI under the start pressure. However, with the CSV, the amount of draw down is not nearly as critical, so even 10 or 20 PSI less air than the start pressure will not hurt anything.

Thanks for the feedback WWM. The CSV can only deliver constant pressure when the pump is running. When the pump is off, the tank delivers the flow and pressure. It is the long term uses such as watering the lawn or filling the pool that causes excessive cycling. In these cases a pump with a standard pressure tank setup may cycle every 2 minutes, which is 30 times an hour, 720 times per day, 262,800 times per year, and so on. This is where the cycling becomes destructive and shortens the life of the pump and system. All this cycling goes away with the use of a Cycle Stop Valve, and the pump system will last many times longer.

A pressure tank only system may only cycle about 3 times while showering or washing cloths. This does not cause enough cycling to be destructive, but the continuous 40 to 60, 60 to 40 cycling can be aggravating in the shower, and can cause tankless water heaters not to stay on as they should. For showers and laundry, the CSV makes the washing machine fill faster, delivers enjoyable constant pressure for showers, and keeps an instant water heater working because of the steady flow.

For intermittent uses of water such as flushing toilets, ice makers, washing toothbrushes, etc., utilizing the water in a pressure tank is a good thing. All 9.3 gallons in your pressure tank can be utilized before the pump must start. This allows you to flush about 5 times, or the ice maker to work for a month before the pump must start. Of course you will see the pressure drop from 60 to 40 as the water in the tank is used, which is the only way you can get water from a pressure tank. Once the tank is empty and the pump has started, the CSV will hold your system at 57 PSI as long as water is being used.

Narrowing the bandwidth of the pressure tank or using a much smaller tank can reduce the time waiting for the pump to start. Although the more narrow the pressure switch bandwidth or the smaller the tank, the more often the pump must run for intermittent uses such as toilets and ice makers. Even with a 4.4 gallon size tank that only holds 1 gallon of water, you get to use the whole gallon before the pump starts, which helps with toothbrush washing and ice makers. With a small tank like this, the pressure drop from 60 to 40 happens before you get the temperature adjusted in the shower, and you never notice anything but "constant pressure". With a larger tank, you may notice a drop in shower pressure when you first start but, the pressure will become constant as soon as the pump starts.

Not being able to utilize any water from a pressure tank is one of the many downfalls of the so called "constant pressure pumps" (VFD), or "tankless" controls such as the Davey or Masscontrol. When a pump system is set to maintain exactly 50 PSI all the time, you never put any water in a tank or get any out. This means that the pump must start every time you wash a toothbrush, no matter how large of a pressure tank you have. It also means that a small leak such as a slowly dripping faucet or a toilet running that you can't see, will cause the pump to cycle many thousands of times. Some of these "tankless" or "constant pressure pumps" have about an 8 second delay built in. So a slight drip anywhere can cause the pump to cycle every 8 seconds, 24 hours a day, which is 8,550 cycles per day, or over 3 million cycles per year, which a pump can never survive.

Conclusion; Constant pressure for long term uses of water is a good thing. Being able to utilize the water in a pressure tank for short term uses of water is a good thing. The Cycle Stop Valve is the only "constant pressure" device that delivers both. This is only one of the many reasons why Cycle Stop Valves are superior to "constant pressure pumps", VFD's, or any of the "tankless" controls that are available.
 

WildWildMidwest

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Thank you, Valveman, for all the help. I think we'll keep our pressure switch for now. If the Navien tankless heater has problems at 40 PSI I'll deal with that situation later.

Here is a photo of our installation. Sorry if it appears too contrasty -- I had to raise the brightness in software. The CSV is plumbed into 1" copper pipe at the bottom center using the CSV's inner threads (tip: staying with 1" copper is much cheaper than using 1.25" copper fittings on the CSV1W's outer threads). Our pressure switch is at the top center. The blue pressure tank is obviously to the right, and our Water Boss attachment bypass valve (Watts Divertaflo) is to the left.
 

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Valveman

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Thanks for the picture. Nice job! I would have plumbed the pressure switch to the line at the bottom of the tank. Pressure switches need to be as close to the tank as possible. However, if it is not bouncing the switch on pump start, then don't change a thing. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The back pressure from a CSV will usually quite the pump vibration a little. It is the hard pipe that transfers the sound to the house. A short piece of high pressure hose before the line comes into the house might isolate the vibration from the house.
 
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