New Pressure Tank

[Nitrors4]

I bought a place that has an above ground well that is about 1000 feet from my new house. I am pretty sure the tank is just a galvanized tank and I would like to replace it with a nice pressure tank to ensure my water pressure is sufficient. I will also be using a good amount of water considering I have several horses.

So what tank would be best and should I go with something larger than 120 gallons?

THANKS!!!!!!!

 

[Rancher]

that has an above ground well

I don't think I've ever seen an "above ground well", can you send us a picture?

Rancher

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Nitrors4]

HAHA.....Above ground pump.

I am reading and it looks like I might not need as large of a tank as I thought.

What do you all think?

 

[Jadnashua]

A lot depends on the volume of water your well can produce. If you are trying to use more than it can pump continuously, you would potentially need a much bigger storage tank that you could draw from. So, how much water in gpm do you think you need and for how long, and how many can your pump provide. If the desire is greater than that available, would dictate one path, if the pump can keep up, would dictate another.

 

[Bob NH]

What are the size and condition of the pipe? That is likely to determine the GPM that you can put through the pipe.

After you find what can be put through the pipe, and determine your demand, you can decide what you need for storage.

The control system could be a little tricky unless you have 1000 feet of wire pair running to the pump.

The reason that 119 gallons is the largest bladder tank in many product lines is that larger than 120 gallons usually requires a tank designed and built to conform to the ASME Pressure Vessel Code. That results in a much more expensive tank. If you need more capacity it is usually less expensive to use multiple tanks.

 

[Speedbump]

Tank size isn't really as important as it seems, since above ground pumps don't always supply a large amount of water especially if it is a deep well jet. This means it will take much longer to fill these tanks than it will to drain them. Usually you have just what the pump will provide plus the storage of the tank which isn't much in a bladder tank. The largest one only holds 40 gallons of water. How long would it take for a horse to drink that?

bob...

 

[Nitrors4]

I will try to figure out my gbm.

Not worried how fast a horse can drink, but how much water i will use at once when filling there water. Right now I have a 150 gallons and we paln to have another one real soon as the number of horses grow.

The well is 2 inch with a 1 HP motor.

So a 120 gallon pressure tank only holds 40 gallons of water?

 

[Speedbump]

I take it to mean your house troughs are 150 gallons. Once they are full, the pump will only have to top them off once in a while, not refill them.

A 315 gallon tank bladder tank only holds 40 gallons. A galvanized tank will be equal to that with atmospheric filling. But if you add air, you can better than double that amount. Still, you will only get what the pump can provide once it turns on. That amount will likely be somewhat less than 10 gpm.

bob...

 

[Bob NH]

Not worried how fast a horse can drink, but how much water i will use at once when filling there water. Right now I have a 150 gallons and we paln to have another one real soon as the number of horses grow.

Tractor Supply and most large farm supply stores sell float valves that go on the watering tank. You connect them with hose or flexible pipe.

I visited a small place in Texas last spring that had two tanks. They were going out to fill the tanks with a hose 2 or 3 time a day; the last after dark.

I installed a float valve on one of the tanks and connected the two tanks with another piece of hose. The two tanks had 1 1/4 pipe fittings at the bottom. You can put a 1 1/4 x 3/4 PVC reducer where the plugs are, put a male hose adapter in one and a female in the other (or cut the hose and put appropriate adapters on both ends) and connect the tanks.

The tanks must be about the same elevation but if one is higher put the valve on that controlling so the lower tank doesn't run over. Make sure you bleed all of the air out of the connecting hose or it won't work well.

 

[Nitrors4]

So how much water does a 87 gallon bladder tank hold?


Yea, I was thinking about installing a automatic system. I guess that will be the best option.


Thanks!!!!!!!

 

[Bob NH]

So how much water does a 87 gallon bladder tank hold?

Yea, I was thinking about installing a automatic system. I guess that will be the best option.

Thanks!!!!!!!

A bladder tank with proper air precharge will have a drawdown of about 30 percent of its actual volume for a pressure switch setting of 30 psi to 50 psi, so an 87 gallon tank will have a drawdown of about 25 gallons. A lower setting (20 to 40) will have greater drawdown and higher (40 to 60) will have less. Increasing or decreasing the range will increase or decrease the available drawdown.

The calculation is based on an assumption of isothermal (constant temperature) compression and expansion of the air and the actual drawdown is probably a little less.

 

[Nitrors4]

Wow, that kind of sucks. Guess you learn something new everyday. I don't think it is right they can call it a 87 gallon tank when it only holds about 25.

So if I go with the 87 Gallon unit and get 25, but wind up needing more what other ways can I get it? Two tanks?

Thanks!!!

 

[Bob NH]

Wow, that kind of sucks. Guess you learn something new everyday. I don't think it is right they can call it a 87 gallon tank when it only holds about 25.

So if I go with the 87 Gallon unit and get 25, but wind up needing more what other ways can I get it? Two tanks?

If you think that sucks, what would you think if someone sold you a "120 gallon equivalent" tank that was really only 44 gallons and had a drawdown storage capacity of less than 14 gallons at a 30 to 50 psi switch setting?

You are out in the country and are going to be keeping horses. People who get involved in country living need to learn about things like how to maintain air in that galvanized tank that is probably still in good shape.

 

[Raucina]

Thanks Bob, could not have said it better. The 80 and 120 gallon "equivalent" ratings is a real piece of sales work that has no meaning whatsoever outside confusing the consumer.

I have a shop-vac I'll sell you- its a ghee wizz 5! horsepower... funny thing is it has a 18 gauge cord and runs on 115 volts and draws about 12 amps. But its 5 HP because its in big writing on the label. No?

Maybe its based on how much air 5 horses can suck in if all inhale at the same time?

 

[Speedbump]

Thanks Bob, could not have said it better. The 80 and 120 gallon "equivalent" ratings is a real piece of sales work that has no meaning whatsoever outside confusing the consumer.

I have a shop-vac I'll sell you- its a ghee wizz 5! horsepower... funny thing is it has a 18 gauge cord and runs on 115 volts and draws about 12 amps. But its 5 HP because its in big writing on the label. No?

Maybe its based on how much air 5 horses can suck in if all inhale at the same time?

Way back when Bladder tanks came out. Well-X-Trol being the first. Everyone in the business bought Bladder tanks by their equivalent cousin the galvanized tank. The whole idea of doing things this way was not to confuse anyone, but actually tell it like it was. A 42 gallon galvanized tank gives X gallons of water between this and that pressure. So a 42 gallon equivalent bladder tank does the same.

You have it backwards if you think people back then were trying to confuse anyone. The big box store folks sure like calling a tank by it's actual volume. What the hell is the sense in that? Have you heard any of these posters talking about bladder tanks like an 80 gallon holds eighty gallons of water or even worse, an eighty gallon drawdown.

Wow, that kind of sucks. Guess you learn something new everyday. I don't think it is right they can call it a 87 gallon tank when it only holds about 25.

Maybe you should pay more attention as to who is really confusing who.

bob...

 

[Nitrors4]

Thanks for your responses.

Trust me I am trying to learn everything I can so I will be making an informed purchase. I figured the bladder tank would work better due to the well being 1000 feet from the house. The system does have a galvanized tank now, but the water has a metallic taste. I was thinking if I went to a bladder tank I might remove some of that undesirable taste.

Troy

 

[Speedbump]

That metallic taste might just be iron Troy. If you have a yellow/gold staining going on, it is probably just iron. If the tank is old, it may have a lot of iron build up inside.

bob...

 

[Nitrors4]

Water looks really clear, but it is not connected to the house right now, so it is hard to say 100%. The tank is a good 10 years old and has not been used for about a year.

 

[Speedbump]

When you hook it up for the first time, let water run on ground for a while before hooking up to the house. This will keep a lot of the rust etc. to settle out.

bob...

 

[HandyAndy]

a 30 gallon bladder tank will do all you need,

what you want is a "stock tank" that you fill, and is the water reserve for the animals, you want a tank that will hold enough that they can get a drink before the tank is empty, prefable less than a 1/3 or 1/2 empty, and then put a float valve on the tank to automatic refill it,

I have two 8 foot galvanized tanks for the cattle in the summer time and usually run up to 100 animals on the grass land,

my windmills pump about 2 gallons a min, so it is not the wells capacity or the wells pressure tanks, but the stock tanks that you need the reserve in.

if you have 20 gallons a day per horse I think would be plenty,
http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0012.html
Horses, 10-15 gallons

http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/water/waterreq_e.htm
Horses - winter 8 gallons, summer 12 gallons

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also I have one water line that goes into the pasture, a 1/2 mile and will provide water at good pressure and gpm as if it was at the house,

and I have one windmill yes windmill that pumps 265 up out of the ground and then horizontal 3000 feet to a storage tank, with a slight elevation on the horizontal of approx 60 additional feet of elevation,

On the distance run have a large enough pipe to reduce the flow restriction, (there are charts to show friction lost), and you can pump water for literaly miles and miles , jsut like city water does.
your only doing it on a smaller scale,
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One other item if your wanting to flush the pipe out for fresh water, it may take a long time, you should look up the gallons the pipe holds pre foot, and then the gallons per min your well pumps, and you can estimate the approx, time it will take to flush the pipe, if your coming out of a hose bib, then measure the gals of water you get out of it, it may take 30 Min's to an hour, or more to flush the pipe with jsut fresh water.

I know the first time I filled the pipe from the windmill it took hours to reach the end of the pipe.