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WVBill
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Silver Member
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Reged: 09/12/02
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Posts: 138
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Loc: Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
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Well Pressure Tank Upgrade
03/19/03 10:04 AM
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This past weekend I replaced and upgraded my failed well pressure tank with a WellRite SmartTank and so far I am very pleased with the result.
I wrote in a previous post that I was considering doing this.
The SmartTank basically adds a pressure regulator valve (PRV) to the tank's "T". The PRV is set to 50PSI and the pump control switch is set to 40 PSI on, 60 PSI off.
As a result, if you start with a fully charged tank and turn on the water, the system draws down to 40 PSI and the pump kicks on. The pressure at the tap immediately goes to the 50 PSI as set by the regulator and remains there.
The pump does not turn off as long as you are drawing water because the regulated 50 PSI is less than the cut-off setting of the pump control and the flow is sufficient to operate the PRV at the 50 PSI point of it's flow/pressure operating curve.
When you turn off the tap, flow continues into the pressure tank but the flow rate eventually reduces and the PRV begins to operate into the higher pressure portion of it's operating curve. When the pressure reaches 60 PSI, the pump control switch reaches cut-off and stops the pump.
My wife and I are very pleased with the result. The fluctuations in water pressure we used to see as the control valve cycled between cut-in and cut-out are virtualy eliminated. It now occurs at most only once during any drawing of water. Cycling of the pump (the killer of pumps) is also drastically reduced as it too now occurs at most only once during any drawing of water. We still have the full draw-down of the pressure tank before the pump kicks on as we did before, to eliminate pump cycles for small draws of water.
As I said, based on 3 days of use so far, we're very pleased. 
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BrianP
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Silver Member
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Reged: 09/19/02
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Posts: 139
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Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Re: Well Pressure Tank Upgrade
[re: WVBill]
03/19/03 11:37 AM
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Thats a neat idea.
We see a small change as we draw down, but not much. Maybe it depends on how the pressure switch is set, size of pipes, etc..
Still, its neat idea. Whats the additional cost compared with a regular diaphram tank?
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RedRockRanch
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New Member
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Reged: 03/10/03
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Posts: 9
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Loc: N. Idaho
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Re: Well Pressure Tank Upgrade
[re: BrianP]
03/25/03 01:00 AM
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this sounds blissful do you need a bigger tank?? We have only a 15 gal. for 6 people thinking it is too small but I have no clue  plan on a bigger tank when we get a new mobile on here....would we need to if we got the upgrade??
Katey mom to
my 4 Carhartt
kids
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WVBill
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Silver Member
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Reged: 09/12/02
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Posts: 138
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Loc: Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia
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The reason for the tank is to keep the well pump from coming on every time you turn on the faucet for "little" uses (like each time you flush of the toilet or each time you wash your hands). The number of flushes or hand washes you can get before the pump needs to come on and re-fill the tank is the drawdown capacity of the tank. A "15 Gallon" tank has a drawdown capacity of about 3.8 gallons when the pressure switch is set for 40-60PSI.
Your ultimate objective is to keep the well pump from coming on. A well pump's life is measured by the number of times is kicks on not how long it runs and replacing your well pump is the most expensive component of the system.
Ideally, you would want a large tank (IMHO, 15 gal is too small for 6 people) and the Smart-Tank type system. This way you would get a lot of "toilet flushes" before the pump kicked on and you could take long showers and have the pump kick on only once during the shower.
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RedRockRanch
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New Member
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Reged: 03/10/03
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Posts: 9
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Loc: N. Idaho
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Re: Well Pressure Tank Upgrade
[re: WVBill]
03/25/03 10:18 AM
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Ideally, you would want a large tank (IMHO, 15 gal is too small for 6 people
Ya I agree that size is what was here when we moved in and we will probably get a bigger one when we get a bigger house....with 4 kids there is a lot of hand washing ans teeth brushing not to mention the 3yr old that plays in it
thanks for the advice
Katey mom to
my 4 Carhartt
kids
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turnkey4099
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Reged: 09/17/02
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Posts: 36
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Loc: SE Wa
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While bigger is better, with a low producing well too big can cause real problems, as in pump trying to pump water that isn't there. If the well is a low recovery rate, e.g., down around 5 gpm or less, the tank needs to be sized for that.
Harry k
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egon
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Veteran Member
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Reged: 09/12/02
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Posts: 3031
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Loc: Nova Scotia,Canada
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Re: Well Pressure Tank Upgrade
[re: turnkey4099]
03/29/03 11:56 AM
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The well pump is sized to the well flow rate. The larger the storage tank the better.
Egon
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