Pressure pump

Hi,

I have been doing some research into pressure pumps to increase my home's water pressure.

Here is the situation:

I noticed that the water pressure in the house seemed low, so I bought a pressure gauge and fittings to hook it up to a shower pipe (after I removed the head) the reading was 30 psi with no water running and about 25 with water running. I contacted the city water foreman and he said "just short of raising the water tower there is nothing we can do about the low pressure in your area." So, I contacted a plumber who suggested a Davey pressure pump at the cost of about $1200. I have been researching doing this myself and am wondering if this will in fact fix the problem. My home's lines are mostly 1/2" copper the basement bathroom is using some clear plastic tubing that I have never seen before.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Thanks

I don't know about your plumbing, but a simple 1/2hp jet pump with a flow switch will give all the boost that is possible. What you have to remember, the booster pump can only boost the pressure by as much as the additional water it can get from the 1/2" pipe it is installed in. Pressure comes from additional water that can't be used as fast as the pump is supplying it. If no more water can be pulled through that line, the pressure will be the same.


bob...

Would i be better off with a tank and a pump or just the pump?

If you use a bladder tank you will only have what is stored in the tank before going back to what the booster pump can do. The biggest bladder tank made only holds around 35 gallons and has a pretty pricey price tag.

You can go with the storage tank method. Which means putting the city water in an open type tank and pulling from it withe the jet pump and pressurizing a bladder tank. But your still getting into a pricey system.

bob...

You should at least have a small pressure tank to absorb the shock of the pump turning on and off. If you want to go really high tech you could go with a variable speed pump. There are many jet pump setups that have built in tanks. Gould has the aqua boost II kit and grundfos has a good system. The variable speed or “constant pressure pump†offer slow pump start (ramp up), ramp down, constant pressure, and a lot of great troubleshooting features that help you to determine what is wrong with your pump if it were to stop working. Chances are that the water service into the house is ¾†and under city pressure that should give you a good amount of water. Mount the pump as close to the water service entrance as possible.

Towle-Whitney Associates

Hello,

I invite you to visit our website at waterpressureboosterpumpsmadeeasy.com

Thank you,
and I hope we can help you...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, the local plumber that suggested this, said that I should use the davey pumps whats your opinions of them?

If that plumber is a dealer it might not be a bad idea. Make sure you know the plumbers history and reputation. The most important thing is that he has a good supply of repair or replacement parts and an excellent knowledge of the product. If he can’t service that pump you don’t want it.

I looked at the Davey pump on line. I was not impressed if you want my opinion. They are very similar to the Myers QD (QuickDraw) which is a Chinese knock off of an Italian pump that isn't very impressive. Parts are hard to get and the quality is not there.

Probably for the same price or maybe even less you could buy a simple 1/2hp jet pump with a tank and pressure switch or the same pump with a flow switch to turn it on and off. Parts would be available and you won't have to get out the <Metric> tools to work on it.

bob...

Yep, that's how I see it. A shallow well jet pump and Cycle Stop Valve or tank tee with any added storage if needed, is a much better way to go.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Put the jet pump immediately after the water meter. The suction side of your pump can go as low as 10 psi below atmospheric pressure (Equivalent to 23 ft of lift) but will probably never go below atmospheric pressure, so you will be able to suck a lot of water out of the utility line. You can get a 1/2 HP shallow well jet that should give you at least 12 GPM continuously off the city line. You need a bladder tank after the pump.

Try to get a Grainger catalog (Current issue is Catalog 396) to get some idea what is available. You may need to find a business friend or make up a business name for yourself. Possible Grainger stock numbers are 4TB17 ($215.75) or 1DB76 ($230.25) for the pump only.