How Big a Tank?

Old John · #1 12/09/04, 09:35 AM

Hi Y'all,

Well, we've been here a year & a half. We are on city water.
We have a well, with a Sears submersible pump. (box on the wall looks
new). We had an old prsssure tank, outside the house, with a set of valves, hooked partially to it by broken PVC pipe. There was rotted garden hose hooked on both sides of the valves. There is a PVC pipe, through the basement wall, that was hooked to the house water system, with double valves for it & city water, but itno longer is. (I had it unhookedbecause I was unsure of it.)
The pipe through the wall appears to go out directly to the well.
The older couple that owned our Place are not capable of answering detailed questions on things around here.

So now the questions.......
I want to get a pressure tank, and valve set and get it hooked up.
But, is there a chance that I do NOT need a pressure tank and valves?
Could the Sears submersible pump be one of those "constant pressure
pumps" that do not need a tank? Do I need to get a plumber/well man
out here to check it out *before* I buy a tank & valves?

If I need the pressure tank, how big should I get? There's only DSW &
I all the time, but the Kids & grand-Kids are up here about once a month, for the day,4 more adults & 4 kids.
Oh yeah, we have a two story house, including the basement & main floor.
We have an automatic washer, and a dishwasher, too & I cook a lot, so
there's a lot of dishes. So how big should the P.tank be & how much presssure?
I'd like to get this together & working

Thanks for any help you can give me. I need answers, before I do any
thing.

uncle Will in In. · #2 12/09/04, 10:06 AM

You need a bladder tank or the pump will kick on and off continualy. 30 or 40 gallon is a common size.

rio002 · #3 12/09/04, 11:45 AM

From the problems we have had in the past we've learned the bigger the tank the better. If the tank is too small it will overwork your pump and it will wear out faster, where with a "larger than you need" tank your pump will rarely need to kick on to refill and thus adding years to the life of your pump which is not cheap to replace. One gentleman I spoke to said you either want your pump to run continually or rarely at all, being that it isn't so much the running of the pump that wears it out as the constant turning on and off. Good Luck!

rambler · #4 12/09/04, 01:42 PM

As the others say, a bigger tank is better. You will also need a new pressure switch. 40/60 is typical on a farm 'here', a little less is also workable - 30/50. You will lose a lb of pressure per 2 feet of rise, so make sure you have enough to get water upstairs if the tank is in the basement....

Installing is pretty straight forward, but helps to have someone with experience around...

Does your city / insurance allow a well hookup with the city water? Many do not, cross-contamination becomes a _huge_ liability, if an unlikely situation....

--->Paul

Darren · #5 12/09/04, 01:57 PM

"Does your city / insurance allow a well hookup with the city water? Many do not, cross-contamination becomes a _huge_ liability, if an unlikely situation...."

To expand on what the previous poster said. If both the water from the well and the water from the city are tied into the same piping you will need a backflow preventer if the interconnection is allowed by the city water supplier.

wy_white_wolf · #6 12/09/04, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darren

"Does your city / insurance allow a well hookup with the city water? Many do not, cross-contamination becomes a _huge_ liability, if an unlikely situation...."

To expand on what the previous poster said. If both the water from the well and the water from the city are tied into the same piping you will need a backflow preventer if the interconnection is allowed by the city water supplier.

And the pressure switch will have to be to turn on at a higher pressure than the city water or else it will never turn on.

Darren · #7 12/09/04, 07:02 PM

"And the pressure switch will have to be to turn on at a higher pressure than the city water or else it will never turn on."

I'll be hooking up "city" water sometime this year. At the meter the pressure is 90 lbs. I'll use a pressure regulator to hold that to 40 lbs. which is the current adjustment of the pressure switch. The last thing I want is 90 lbs. on old piping.

fordy · #8 12/09/04, 08:11 PM

.....................John , I have a 1 hp. pump activated by a 40\60 pressure switch . I had the well guy install a 100 gallon pressure tank with the air bladder . They are really easy to hookup. Once you get it plumbed in , look on top of the tank and you should SEE a Valve stem just like on a tire rim. You fill the Air bladder thru that valve stem just like you do on your vehicle . BEFORE you turn on your Pump , pump the air bladder up to about 35 to 38 psi. This is to facilitate the lowside , of the pressure switch when it turns on the pump motor . This , is the way a knowledgeable well man explained it to me , anyway . I'm sure someone will correct me if I've got my facts scrambled , although I do like my Eggs this way , fordy..

Old John · #9 12/11/04, 07:32 AM

Thanks Y'all,for the information.
We're going down to Lowes today to get a tank & Valves.
But, I'm going to have a "Paid Professional Plumber" hook
it all up. I want to know it is "Right" & bonded.
I always try to take the sensible way, when I don't know what
I'm really doing, hunnh.
Thanks again.