what size water well tank do I need?

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andrewmgsa

andrewmgsa

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I have a small house. Just 2 of us living here. What size water well pressure tank should I get? I hear that the tanks listed gallon size holds about half that in water (the rest air)?
 
Water contained is actually 25% e.g. a 30 gallon size holds just under 8 gallons. We have one bathroom for the two of us and have always had a 20 gallon pressure tank ........ but it is more about your pump cycling that's of issue. I installed a cycle stop valve (CSV).
You should really study up on how your system works and how a CSV functions.
Go to the website and study the videos

Cycle Stop Valves, Inc
 
From what the cycle stop guy told me it only really helps if your pump comes on a lot.

A 2 person house without much use the pump wouldn’t cycle much anyway.

I suppose it would be helpful if there was a malfunction that caused the pump to cycle more.

isn’t that true ?
 
There are many benefits to using a Cycle Stop Valve, even on lightly used systems. If nothing else the CSV system can use a much smaller and less expensive pressure tank. Then even if long showers are the only time you use water for any length of time, there is no reason not to have strong constant pressure from a CSV for the shower. The CSV also eliminates water hammer that slams check valves closed, making check valves last longer. The CSV also causes the pump to draw a steady and low amount of water from the well and doesn't surge the well level up and down like a pressure tank only system. Surging a well up and down while a pump is cycling on and off can stir up sediment and cause water quality issues. Not to mention if you do have a malfunction like a leak, the CSV will keep the pump from cycling itself to death before you figure out what is going on.

So, to answer your question, with a CSV1A all you need is a 4.5 gallon size tank.
 
The Tank should be sized to hold three to five minutes of your pumps discharge.

Welltrol has, maybe had, a calculator on their site.
 
Why do you run 40/60 pressure switches ?

Why not 60/80 ?
 
Another question.

Amps go down when a centrifugal pumps outlet is restricted, we know that.

BUT when you choke the outlet does the pump ultimately use more energy to pump a gallon of water throttled vs full open ?
 
It takes more energy to pump water through a half inch hole than it does a 1" hole no matter where you choke it. Whether it's at the faucet or at the valve. No matter the pump.
 
JG plumbing said:
It takes more energy to pump water through a half inch hole than it does a 1" hole no matter where you choke it. Whether it's at the faucet or at the valve. No matter the pump.
Click to expand...
Cycle stop valves restrict the outlet to match flow rate, that’s how it stops the pump from cycling


So for example while you’re using 1gpm at a faucet your pump is running the entire time once you exhaust your pressure tank.

So your pump running with the outlet restricted uses more energy to pump the same amount of water as an unrestricted pump.

Would you consider that an accurate example if your statement is true ?
 
I'll let him answer. But I think not.

If the valve is restricted more than the outlet it could be.

But all this is doing is not letting the pump catch up as quickly as it would without restriction.

This is so exciting, lol.
 
JG plumbing said:
I'll let him answer. But I think not.

If the valve is restricted more than the outlet it could be.

But all this is doing is not letting the pump catch up as quickly as it would without restriction.

This is so exciting, lol.
Click to expand...

The cycle stop valve would have to restrict the outlet of the pump for it to match a lower demand and not fill the pressure tank back up and reaching cut off pressure. This would cause a “ cycle “ that’s what his valve is trying to stop.

So the pump is pumping through a restriction caused by the cycle stop valve. An artificial head.,

So it takes more energy to pump the same amount of water through the cycle stop valve ( a restriction ) if your statement is true.
 
I guess my thought is if your water is coming through a faucet its restricted. So restricting it at the beginning doesn't matter. Especially since right after the csv it would open up to a larger pipe negating the normal friction loss of actually having a smaller pipe, but keeping the flow rate lower.

That's my thought anyway.
 
JG plumbing said:
I guess my thought is if your water is coming through a faucet its restricted. So restricting it at the beginning doesn't matter. Especially since right after the csv it would open up to a larger pipe negating the normal friction loss of actually having a smaller pipe, but keeping the flow rate lower.

That's my thought anyway.
Click to expand...

But it does matter where it’s restricted. The restriction with a cycle stop valve is placed between the pump and the pressure tank.

This prevents the tank from pressurizing and the pump from then cycling on snd off.

If the cycle stop valve wasn’t used the pump would not be restricted by anything other than the piping sizes, not a cycle stop valve.

The ultimate point and my question is this....
Does a pump use more energy to pump one gallon of water through a system with a cycle stop valve vs a system without a cycle stop ?

If it takes more energy to pump one gallon of water through a restricted outlet then the answer would have to be the cycle stop causes more energy to be used for the same amount of water delivered.
 
I think the answer is yes after the usage is done. During usage no.
 
Not that this extra energy consumption would be significant and could possibly be cancelled out by the lack of cycling by the pump.
 
JG plumbing said:
I think the answer is yes after the usage is done. During usage no.
Click to expand...

But during usage the pump is running non stop and only delivering the demand.

This demand might be 1gpm.

Meanwhile your pump is churning away non stop at a lower amperage for as long as you leave the faucet on.

So does the pumps amperage fall at the same rate as the volume of water pumped ? I’m guessing the valve causes more energy for the volume received, at low demand.
Probably insignificant amount, but more.
 
That was what I was thinking the other day, but amount of water lifted is less, so I think it's matched. Volume and amperage I think are pretty correlated here. I'm not an expert, but this is how I see it when it's pictured in my imagination.

Fun to think about.
 
JG plumbing said:
That was what I was thinking the other day, but amount of water lifted is less, so I think it's matched. Volume and amperage I think are pretty correlated here. I'm not an expert, but this is how I see it when it's pictured in my imagination.

Fun to think about.
Click to expand...

Thats the thing. If the energy usage drops as the water volume pumped drops at the same rate then that’s great.

There’s no free ride though, I’m guessing it’s slightly less efficient but not enough to offset the benefit of the cycle stop.
I’m guessing the lower the flow rate and the longer the draw at the low volume the less efficient the cycle stop valved system gets.
Again, not saying it’s not worth the energy for the other benefits of the valve.

I don’t deal with pump systems but I like to learn about things., I also don’t do septic but I’m very well self educated on basic systems. I do city plumbing🤣
 
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