Water Tank Towers.

[Huggybearman]

4 hours ago, Onemore52 said:

Thanks for the information as well as the photo, sure helps in my research to get water, luckily the house is only one level with not many outlets, so this might be what I am looking for.

Would this setup negate the need for a bigger tank on the supply side, or would it help to have the bigger tank for a supply?

 

Depending of course on your anticipated usage, it could mean you need a smaller storage tank. And as you are only going to use it in a single storey building you wouldn't need a very high powered pump. The pump and accumilator combo's come in various tank sizes, typically 20 to 100 litres.

The advantage of a bigger storage tank (not the accumilator tank) is one of convenience in the event of water supply outage. It gives you a degree of independence from the main supply.  But of course it wouldn't help in the event of a brown out, apart from what you have in the accumilator, unless you have an alternative electrical supply such as a generator or solar.

Ken

[Onemore52]

Thanks Ken, thinking about it everything depends on the supply from the street, I am having a rest day today but tomorrow I will break the line and see what the supply is like.

[Arizona Kid]

9 hours ago, Onemore52 said:

I am wondering what the reason is for having these water tanks elevated to service the houses with water, I have given it great thought over Heiniken, San Miguel even gin and tonics to come up with the physics behind it, so readers I welcome any suggestions why my reasoning is flawed.

My thinking is the water goes up to the tank from the mains service, so on the discharge side of the tank at the bottom the hydrostatic head forces the water into the pump, which in turns pressurises the pressure tank to the preset pressure, so the water pump is just a means of transferring the water from the tank above to the pressure tank.

How am I doing so far? All theories put forward are welcome as I don't have an engineering background, drinking in bars and women are my forte and downfall.

Huh?  That sounds like too much info to explain gravity!!

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, Huggybearman said:

That seems to be quite common. My reading of the 'rules' regarding pumps is that you cannot use one to 'suck' water directly from the mains. If you have a water tank then you can have a pump ''down stream' of the tank to pressurise the house system as that will not affect the mains supply side.

Our HOA rules simply state no pumps, but they also state no water tanks allowed  so anyone with a pump will be sucking from the mains I'd imagine? 

[Gary D]

Pressure tanks are widely available but not many are bladde tanks because they are more expensive. We have had several pressure tanks over time but trying to stop the family saving us money is very difficult from a distance. The beauty of a bladder tank is that the pressure is better regulated, it doesn't drop off so quickly as the tank empties compared to the cheaper non-bladder type.

[Onemore52]

Evidently my wishes have been answered, as there was a meeting on the steps of the water provider demanding answers to why no water, I have yet to view the video but should be interesting, I wasn't invited to it because it would not have been a good look, a foreigner in the midst of all the locals, if you know what I mean.

[Mike J]

In Moalboal they have overbuilt and a lot of the newer houses have to have water hauled in.  We have very low pressure coming into our lot so we have storage and a pump.  The storage is a 500 litre stainless steel tank, 20 gallon bladder type pressure tank, and 1/3 horse pump to pressure the tank.  Works well unless we lose electricity.   When that happens we have two outside spigots that run off the main supply line.  We can use them to SLOWLY fill buckets to use for the CR, wash dishes, etc.   If we lose electricity and no pressure in the main supply line, we can dip water out of the 500 litre tank.

[Tommy T.]

Hi guys... I will weigh in here just with my plans for the new home...

Currently, in Davao City we are living in a 3rd floor apartment. Water supply is dismal at any time - just a trickle. However, the owner installed a tank on the roof - 750 gallons or thereabouts? Overnight, the tank seems to always eventually fill up. Also, he installed a pump. Any time we draw water, it's supplied from the tank through the booster pump. There is no pressure tank - which I think is a mistake - but we get fairly even pressure always. The downside is that the pump needs service about every six months to remedy short cycling... So I would not recommend that method.

In our new home we plan to install a small tank on the roof - maybe 250 gallons? - enough for showers and toilets for several days, but maybe no laundry unless done by hand. I intend to get a pump with pressure tank to boost the pressure if the mains supply is insufficient or there is a water shortage. I see no issue in a shortage situation with just choosing which water taps to use - shower, kitchen? - but just one at a time. Having the pressure tank eases the use of the pump. And, for some uses, the pump may not even be needed. Here, it definitely is required because the lift from the tank to this floor is really not enough to shower or do laundry.

I personally think that trying to draw water from the mains with a pump is a bad idea. It certainly is anti-social to others... but, as noted, that is not always a consideration here, right? Just not for me - my opinion...

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

a small tank on the roof - maybe 250 gallons?

You could do this but do you have any idea how much that weighs?  I used to haul around a 250 gallon water tank on the back of my 3/4 ton pickup us truck and when it was full of water the springs bottomed out.   One time my buddy drove the truck drunk with a full tank of water on the back and it was no secured so it slid out and landed on the road.  He called a tow truck to lift it back into my truck.  No f'ing way!  He had to drain out the water to lift the tank onto the truck.

So this should give you an idea of how strong your roof needs to be.

[Tommy T.]

15 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

You could do this but do you have any idea how much that weighs?  I used to haul around a 250 gallon water tank on the back of my 3/4 ton pickup us truck and when it was full of water the springs bottomed out.   One time my buddy drove the truck drunk with a full tank of water on the back and it was no secured so it slid out and landed on the road.  He called a tow truck to lift it back into my truck.  No f'ing way!  He had to drain out the water to lift the tank onto the truck.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, Dave! Yeah... we considered the weight... That really is a huge consideration - it adds cost to roof, tank size... potential for leaks....all of it.

About 2,000 pounds US (about 8 pounds/gallon?)? I have already discussed this with the contractor and the roof will be constructed to handle extra weight. The tank over our bed here now is 600 gallons... and there are actually two of them!...

Just having a water bed back in the 70's was sobering too! (But it sure was fun!)

Edited August 14, 2019 by Tommy T.