Pressure Tank outlet Size

[trivium91]

Hi Guys,

the house i bought has the pressure tank in what is now the spare room (after i gutted everything and framed and what not). Currently in the stage of putting in the drop ceiling since this is in the basement but i need to move the pressure tank first into the utility room. I have an indoor 2500 gallon water cistern with a pump, right now the pressure tank as mentioned in one of the spare room downstairs about 15ft away from the pump. Its the original tank from the 1970's so im looking to replace it with a similiar sized unit im pretty sure it has a 1" inlet/outlet and the previous owner had it hooked up to a 3/4" ID piece of oldschool pex. I was planning on reusing the Pex with a coupling right there and a new length of pex and additional 20FT to the furnace room. Is reducing the 3/4" from 1" for a 40FT length going to matter? The other option is to replace the whole section with 1" pex but that is harder since i need to move some ceiling tiles around to get to the pump/indoor cistern.

 

[Valveman]

The important thing is to keep the pressure switch close to the pressure tank. The 3/4 line before the pressure tank might restrict the pump as we don't know what size it is? We also don't know the tank size or model to be able to tell you the inlet size. But most tanks less than 30 gallons have a 1" inlet while 40 gallon and larger have 1 1/4".

You might also look into a PK1A as it would save a lot of space and actually work better than a huge tank.

 

[trivium91]

The important thing is to keep the pressure switch close to the pressure tank. The 3/4 line before the pressure tank might restrict the pump as we don't know what size it is? We also don't know the tank size or model to be able to tell you the inlet size. But most tanks less than 30 gallons have a 1" inlet while 40 gallon and larger have 1 1/4".

You might also look into a PK1A as it would save a lot of space and actually work better than a huge tank.

I was looking at a 35 gallon tank with a 1" fitting, Looks like im going to cutover the existing 3/4" pex line into a 1" line from the spare room in the ceiling to run the additional 20FT for the new pressure tank. I figured i would upsize it since im now running a further distance. I want to keep everything simple as whats in place has been working for 40 years with what i could only assume is the original pressure tank. Im only getting a new one since its a little bit rusted on the bottom and since i want it moved anyways i might aswell get a new one. Unfortunately this would place the tank about 40FT or so away from the pressure switch, would this be an issue? I tried to find the specs on the pump but couldn't since there was no model number on it, all i know is that it has a 3/4" discharge. The motor attached is a 1/2HP. The motor i have is this one:


https://www.eis-inc.com/jet-pump-motor/p-motjj0502-2v

Also i never had any issues with water pressure and i have it set at around 45 PSI

 

[Valveman]

40' from the pressure tank is too far for the pressure switch. There is no "set at 45 PSI" with a regular pressure switch system. The pump should be continually going on and off between like 30 and 50 PSI. People just get use to it and don't realize the pressure is surging between 30 and 50 until they first experience a strong constant 45 PSI instead with a CSV. They don't realize how bad the pressure is until they have constant pressure to compare too.

 

[trivium91]

40' from the pressure tank is too far for the pressure switch. There is no "set at 45 PSI" with a regular pressure switch system. The pump should be continually going on and off between like 30 and 50 PSI. People just get use to it and don't realize the pressure is surging between 30 and 50 until they first experience a strong constant 45 PSI instead with a CSV. They don't realize how bad the pressure is until they have constant pressure to compare too.

Hmm well i lived in the city before, only been in here for about 1 year. I mean i guess the city had better pressure but never really had anything to complain about. What are my options? Currently the tank is sitting about 20FT from the pressure switch, and i want to move the tank another 20FT. I cant have the tank right next to the pump as it would look hideous.

 

[trivium91]

Alright what if i installed one of those horizontal pre-charged pressure tanks above the water tank? That way it would be very close to the switch and pump? The water worker one says even though its only a 20 gallon one that its equal to a 42 gallon? is this true? i probably have a 35 gallon if i were to guess but its extremely old. I can build a frame from the joists above the water tank to support it considering it would weigh around 100 LBS or so im guessing loaded up.

Another option is i have two of them connected with a T.

They recommend 6 faucets or devices per tank which is a terrible way to measure this. I have substantially more than that because the house is an 1800 square ft bungalow not including the basement footage but there are only two of us living here right now with maybe a kid or two on the way. Also what if you are only ever running two faucets at once.

 

[Valveman]

A 20 gallon pressure tank only holds 5 gallons of water, and a 35 gallon tank holds about 8 gallons of water. Water doesn't come from the tank it comes from the pump. The only purpose of the tank is to limit the number of on/off cycles. With a Cycle Stop Valve reducing the cycles you don't need a large tank.

 

[trivium91]

A 20 gallon pressure tank only holds 5 gallons of water, and a 35 gallon tank holds about 8 gallons of water. Water doesn't come from the tank it comes from the pump. The only purpose of the tank is to limit the number of on/off cycles. With a Cycle Stop Valve reducing the cycles you don't need a large tank.

just looked up the cycle stop valve, not sure its for me at the moment as i dont think it will make a big difference plus the pump running constantly is really loud and annoying from the basement. We have all brand new HE appliances that use minimal water our showers we typically turn off the water when we lather because when we put in our our new glass shower in the ensuite we installed a soaker tub and it limited our shower size. You pretty much need to turn the water off to lather soap...it does save water aswell i imagine. Either way mostly the way our water gets used is small amounts at one time. I may get a CSV down the road though. I find it funny though why everyone is trying to make the motor last, motors are cheap to buy mine is about $200. I checked the current galvanized tank and its a 42 Gallon, a 20 gallon horizontal bladder tank should be equivalent to a 42 gallon old style tank. Im thinking of installing the bladder tank above the water tank so its very close and bracing the tank with some framing coming off the floor joists in the basement, also installing a t valve so i can add a second tank down the road effectively doubling our drawdown to what we currently have. Also i should mention the galvanized tank the pressure has not ever been touched so its probably not even getting the full 4 gallon drawdown its supposed to, there is no pressure releif valve installed so im afraid to put pressure into the system at all.

 

[Valveman]

Take a look at this cycles per day chart. Even with no irrigation and water used sporadically in the house, the pump will cycle less with a CSV and a 4.5 or 10 gallon tank than a 20 gallon tank without a CSV. They can say "equivalent" to a 42 gallon tank, doesn't mean anything because a 20 gallon tank still only holds 5 gallons of water.

See the Cycle Per Day chart here.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/pk1a-pside-kick

 

[trivium91]

Take a look at this cycles per day chart. Even with no irrigation and water used sporadically in the house, the pump will cycle less with a CSV and a 4.5 or 10 gallon tank than a 20 gallon tank without a CSV. They can say "equivalent" to a 42 gallon tank, doesn't mean anything because a 20 gallon tank still only holds 5 gallons of water.

See the Cycle Per Day chart here.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/pk1a-pside-kick

interesting, well just dont want to go through the hassle of installing one at the moment plus the expense. By the time i ship that to canada its going to cost me $700 Cad with the crappy exchange. I just calculated my galvanized tank and its 42 gallon which would hold about 5 gallons of water. So in theory one 20 Gallon bladder tank will cover me off, than i can install a T to add an additional 20 gallon tank down the road or more if i desire. Three horizontal tanks will cost me the same as a CSV i figure which would cycle even less, the downside is im dealing with more equipment to fail or corrode but my water is super clean as i get it trucked in...its not from a well. Like i said im on the original galvanized tank from 1977 and it still functions, im only swapping it because i hate the location its in and since i cant move it further from the pressure switch i need new smaller sized bladder tanks which ill install in the crawlspace above the water tank in the basement. I hate having the water tank in the basement built into the foundation, but it has its merits beyond the substantial cost of putting a new one outside. For example, my basement is 12Deg cooler than outside temperatures likely due to the fact the water tank wicks cool air from the ground.

 

[Valveman]

Yeah $77US to ship it to Canada.