Location of Sand Trap?

I have a submerged pump(120' deep) which has been pumping black sand since it was new, 12 yrs. ago. The amount of sand present in drinking glasses, and sinks varies over time from just a trace to a lot. During this time the water heater, toilet tanks, and the pressure tank all have accumulated alot of sand. Additionally it seems the bladder in the pressure tank is broken. So I'm planning on installing a sand trap, replacing the pressure tank and cleaning out/or replacing fixtures, water heater, etc. My question is, will it be ok to install the sand trap upstream of my pressure tank? My well piping enters my house crawlspace and runs about 20' , then into my attached garage where the pressure tank is located. I want the end of the 20' run to connect to the sand trap first, then to the manifold on the pressure tank. The reason I want to do this is to prevent sand building up in the pressure tank. Link for sand trap is below. thanks

http://www.apwinc.com/mini-sand-trap.html

The problem with putting the trap before the pressure tank is that if the trap ever plugs up or becomes full, the pump will keep running until it burns out.

I recently installed a Lakos 10-20 GPM sand trap between the pump and tank. The Lakos supposedly won't plug up like a traditional filter since it is a cyclone separator. If it does fill up then it simply sweeps the excess sand to the tank and doesn't restrict the flow from the pump. I really like the Lakos brand and I mounted the filter to the wall. The only thing I have heard is that if your water quality is not great then choose the stainless. I'll see if I can attach a few pics...

Thanks for the replies. I agree a plugged sand trap is a show stopper. I believe the one I'm looking at uses the same method to remove sand as the Lakos model. Stainless is nice, but my pressure tank is fiberglass, so a fiberglass sand trap is ok with me. I think I'll talk to the manufacturer about the dangers of someone not flushing out the sand on a regular basis. The risk seems low to me.

Most of these type of sand traps need to be installed between the pump and tank. They require a certain flow rate to operate properly. Between the pump and tank, they always have enough flow rate to work. After the tank they only have as much flow as you are using at the time, which may not be enough to function properly.

varunner said:

The risk seems low to me.

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The risk can be mitigated with a PRV.

How would a PRV function in this situation ?

My bad for using a TLA. A pressure relief valve would relieve excess pressure either to the drain or to atmosphere depending where you plumb it to. It would work pretty much the same as a TPR valve on a water heater less the temperature component.

On my system, there is a PRV on the manifold attached to the pressure tank. I think what I'll do is add another one on the pump side of my sand trap, that should take care of an over pressure if the sand trap becomes clogged up.

varunner said:

On my system, there is a PRV on the manifold attached to the pressure tank. I think what I'll do is add another one on the pump side of my sand trap, that should take care of an over pressure if the sand trap becomes clogged up.

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...hmm... Sounds good to me (I am not a professional). Any further comments?

Would a system such as attached protect the pump if the sand/sediment filter actually plugged? Not have to worry about a relief valve relieving pump pressure?

- http://www.amtrol.com/media/documents/wellxtrol/MC10187_4_11GuardianCPflyerlow.pdf

Won't do a thing to help. It would be just like this one.
http://www.cyclestopvalves.com/pdf/eps1599_brochure.pdf

I have had great luck using the Lakos in well separators.