What is this? (Might need input from an old timer on this)

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Don Hiebert

Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2018
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
Lenexa, KS
I am trying to figure out what this fixture/appliance in in the basement of a house over 50 years old in the Kansas City area. It's about 3 feet tall and maybe 18 inches in diameter and seems to be a cast iron or steel tank. It has no power source, either gas or electric. It's fed by a main house water supply pipe pipe and the water coming out supplies the home with both of these lines connected near the base. It has a threaded plug on top and on the side. The water in and out is cold water. The homeowner has no idea what it is and basically just wants it gone. Wondering whether this could be some sort of water filter? I took a pic of it but the file size was too big to post so I'm trying to work that out.
 
Update: I only see one pipe connected at the base which is teed off of the main water supply line. So maybe this is a storage tank or reservoir?
 
Does it matter what it is? When you remove it, you'll most likely know. But yeah a pic would help!

FYI: If you set your camera to the lowest quality you should be able to upload it.
 
Without a picture the only thing I could guess at is maybe a well component. Is/was this house on well water?
 
My guess is that it is a pressure tank for a well, similar to today's tanks but without a bladder. Compressed air is introduced into the top, much like we do with today's tanks. Eventually, the air is absorbed into the water and the tank becomes "waterlogged". At that point, more air is introduced.
It should be replaced with an appropriately sized bladder tank from Welltrol or Amtrol or similar.
 
The house has two water supply lines. I believe the one feeding this tank is from a well. Both supply lines are currently connected and they both have a shutoff valve at the basement wall. Either one or both can supply water to the house.
 
google photos
To resize an image or video using the Properties panel:
  1. In the toolbar, click the Selection tool.
  2. Select the image or video you want to resize.
  3. In the Properties panel, change the width and height values. Click the lock icon before resizing to maintain the original aspect ratio.
 
Yes Frodo, that is the little misses. She obviously likes those big guns, unlike what she gets from a white boy!
 
We just returned from a trip to Paris. That was the German bunkers over Omaha Beach. At the Palace of Versailles, Omaha beach, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and collecting sand from the historic beach.20181106_090734.jpg 20181030_172342.jpg 20181104_110944.jpg 20181104_143042.jpg 20181104_160337.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top