Need help with gravity fed spring

[dwb]

I hope this is the correct forum for this question. Thanks in advance for the professionals who offer help to us beginners.

I have a gravity fed spring system that is having water pressure issues. The pressure has always been low but now is just barely trickling out. The hot seems to be worse than the cold. The spring is about 200 yards away from the house and about 50 yards uphill. The spring empties into a 100 gallon concrete tank a few feet away which then flows to the house thru a 1" line. The house has a full basement and the water heater is down there. The concrete tank is full. I did drain and flush the water heater and the pressure seemed to get worse.

What else can I try? Would a pressure tank work down in the basement? What would I need to do to be able to have enough pressure to install a dish washer. Thank you!!

 

[Valveman]

For every 2.31' the tank is uphill you will get 1 PSI pressure. 50 yards or 150' up is the same as 65 PSI. You should have plenty of pressure. The 150' of elevation is giving you plenty of pressure, you must have a clogged filter or a restriction in the line somewhere?

And no a pressure tank won't help anything.

 

[FishScreener]

Typically concrete tanks aren’t pressurized. So, I’m a bit confused about how you're system works. Can you post pictures or a drawing of the system?

 

[dwb]

For every 2.31' the tank is uphill you will get 1 PSI pressure. 50 yards or 150' up is the same as 65 PSI. You should have plenty of pressure. The 150' of elevation is giving you plenty of pressure, you must have a clogged filter or a restriction in the line somewhere?

And no a pressure tank won't help anything.

Ok, thank you.

 

[RS]

When you say 50 yard up the hill, I doubt that is a vertical distance, and that is what affects pressure! Horizontal distance only lowers flow rate. I suspect you have a restriction in a line somewhere, either a piece of crud or a buildup of lime/calcium. Did this happen all of a sudden, or slowly over time? You need to attach a gauge and see what you have for pressure, and how much it drops when using water. You don't need a lot of pressure for a dishwasher, they have their own pump to provide that.

 

[fixitron]

I would first look at the connection of the spring line to the concrete cistern up the hill. In my experience, that would be the most likely place to have a clog or restriction in the line. There should be some sort of strainer at the end of the pipe in that cistern. If the strainer is metal, it may be eaten away. Spring water is often acidic.

For RS- the water to a dishwasher (or clothes washer) is provided by the water supply pressure and controlled by a solenoid valve in the appliance. They do NOT have a water pump to bring water into the appliance. They DO have a pump to pump water out of the appliance.

 

[RS]

I fully understand how dishwashers work, the pump is what does the washing, as well as pumping the dirty water out. If you have low supply pressure/flow it will only take longer to fill, it should wash just fine.