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-   -   Determine external water tank height to ensure adequete water pressure (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=305085)

  • Jan 17, 2009, 09:58 PM
    sujaychohan
    Determine external water tank height to ensure adequete water pressure
    Hi
    Am building a farm house which has two levels, level one floor is 5 feet from ground and level two floor is 17 feet from ground. I draw water from a bore well, to ensure adequete water pressure for the 2nd level bathroom shower, how high should the water tank be to ensure adequete pressure in the 2nd level shower? Unfortunately I can only build the water tank tower approximately 200 feet away from the house (because of the land boundry).

    Question: will a 15,000 ltr RCC water tank, built aloft a 30 foot high RCC tower be sufficient to carry the water over a distance of 200 feet and then climb up 22 feet to deliver sufficient pressure for the shower?

    Thanks and regards
    Sujay
    [email protected]
    Deotali, Alibaug, India.
  • Jan 18, 2009, 06:49 AM
    speedball1
    Quote:

    Question: will a 15,000 ltr RCC water tank, built aloft a 30 foot high RCC tower be sufficient to carry the water over a distance of 200 feet and then climb up 22 feet to deliver sufficient pressure for the shower?
    Are we talking about a 4,000 gallon reinforced concrete water tank? Your 30 feet of tower would give you only 13 _PSI of pressure. How much elevation will the water tower have over the highest fixture in the house? Note: Our water towers are 100 feet high and produce 45 PSI at the base. Don't worry if you haven't enough pressure. We can always add a booster pump(see image) and bladder tank. Let me hear back from you. Regards, Tom
  • Jan 21, 2009, 07:24 AM
    sujaychohan
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by speedball1 View Post
    Are we talking about a 4,000 gallon reinforced concrete water tank? Your 30 feet of tower would give you only 13 _PSI of pressure. How much elevation will the water tower have over the highest fixture in the house? Note: Our water towers are 100 feet high and produce 45 PSI at the base. Don't worry if you haven't enough pressure. we can always add a booster pump(see image) and bladder tank. Let me hear back from you. regards, Tom

    Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately it does not answer my question completely. Am building this on a farm in rural India where electricity is only few hours a day, so using a pressure pump is out. Gravity is the only workable solution, therefore, I need an expert opinion on How High should my water tank be in order for me to get adquete pressure in my shower. My second level shower is at a height of 27 feet and the distance from the water tower will be approximately 200 feet.. hopefully you can help
  • Dec 23, 2013, 09:08 AM
    Lassen Forge
    I realize this is an old question, but in case someone else finds this during a search (I found it in late 2013) looking for this info, it's here...

    It all depends on what water pressure you need for your home.

    The determinant of pressure is how high the BOTTOM of the tank is compared to the topmost outlet in your home. I call this your pressure altitude differential. The length of the pipe run from the tank to the home (as long as it's modern materials - PVC or Copper that's smooth) won't make a pressure difference unless you're talking runs very long runs.

    First, you want the tank on the highest part of your property to take advantage of gravity. This may sound silly, but if you built your tank on flat ground, but that ground is 150 feet above your home, it would be the same as having your tank on a 150 foot tower. But lets assume it's a flat level piece of property...

    If your shower head on the top floor of your home is 27 feet above ground level, and the bottom of your tank is at 127 feet above ground level, your upper shower will have about 45 PSI. That's the 100 foot differential that Tom spoke of above. The actual formula is Height (or the differential height) in feet multiplied by 0.43 to give you what your outlet PSI will be. So if you need 20 PSI (what we run in our home, which is on the low side, but it works for our home) at that top shower head (27 feet) you will need a tower that is 27 feet PLUS 42 1/2 feet tall to set your tank on, for a total of 70 feet.

    The next big consideration is pumping water into the TOP of your water tank. If your water tank is 10 feet tall, then you need to lift the water (using your well pump and, maybe, a booster pump) from your water table level to ground level (for us it's 205 feet) up the tower (70 feet) and to the top of the tank (10 feet) for a total of (in our case) 285 feet. We didn't need a booster, but we can fill over 24 hours - where you have limited electricity, you may want a booster to get your tank replenished faster.

    Remember - this is for a 20 PSI Water System - if you need 40 PSI (which is considered "normal"), your height differential would have to be another 42 1/2 feet higher.

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