Booster pump for low water pressure
Booster pump for low water pressure
(OP)
The municipal water supply only provides 20 Psi at my home (I'm on a hill). I have a holding tank down the hill, 40' lower than the house, and I pump from that tank on up to the house with a separate pump. I run my system at the holding tank at 85/65 Psi with a small bladder pressure tank and it is OK at the house. The municipal supply is from a 2" line and has good volume.
Can I put a booster pump in parallel with the municipal line at the holding tank location and get good pressure at the house? The pumps I see only go to 60 Psi or so and with the 40' lift this would be very marginal. Does the booster pump add to the pressure of the municipal line or does it just increase the volume?
I have posted a better description and a drawing of the existing system and the proposed booster pump.
I have posted a better description and a drawing of the existing system and the proposed booster pump. A link to the picture is here.
http://www.rblantz.com/~pump
Thanks for the help.
Can I put a booster pump in parallel with the municipal line at the holding tank location and get good pressure at the house? The pumps I see only go to 60 Psi or so and with the 40' lift this would be very marginal. Does the booster pump add to the pressure of the municipal line or does it just increase the volume?
I have posted a better description and a drawing of the existing system and the proposed booster pump.
I have posted a better description and a drawing of the existing system and the proposed booster pump. A link to the picture is here.
http://www.rblantz.com/~pump
Thanks for the help.





RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
The in addition to the existing system you want to add another booster pump "in parallel with the municipal line at the holding tank location". I cannot picture exactly where you want to add a pump, but if it is upstream of the bladder than I don't think it will change the pressure to the house. Bladder with associated pump set to 85/65 controls pressure to the house unless perhaps that pump can't keep up and let's pressure drop further. Pressure at house will be approx 20# lower due to elevation, plus an additional amount lower due to pressure drop.
Off-hand I would think that if you want to increase pressure to the house then you need to increase pressure at the bladder (provided it is designed to withstand the higher pressure). It may be as simple as increasing the pressure control setting of existing booster (but that won't work if pressure control is too close to booster pump shutoff head). Or perhaps the new pump should be added in series with existing booster pump and controlled off the same pressure (with higher setpoint).
I'm just thinking out loud here. You need to make sure that whatever you do is safe and doesn't damage your equipment.
Have I understood the proposed addition correctly? Any other comments from the others?
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
If line is dry, what happen with the pump?
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
If you can find a way to insure this, you will have an increase in flow and pressure from the booster pump.
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
The total system pressure will be the municipal supply pressure + max pump boost pressure. Pumping through long runs of piping or elevated requires more pressure than flat sites or compact plumbing systems. The water level is not just 40 feet above the house there is also 400 feet of pipe between the tank and the house! The answer is that distance does not matter when the water is static (not moving) in the pipes. Because the water is a non-compressible liquid it transfers the pressure horizontally along the pipe route for pretty much any distance without any lose of pressure! If we measured the pressure with the water flowing the pressure would be termed "dynamic pressure". With the water in a dynamic state (flowing in the pipe) the water would loose pressure due to friction on the sides of the pipe and we would get a lower pressure reading at the house. But static pressure means no flow, no friction, and no pressure loss! Estimate your flow (GPM) and pressure (feet of head) requirements and select a preliminary pump model to use.
The ground level is 40 feet below the water level in the tank. Therefore the water pressure at ground level is 40 feet of head, or about 17 PSI. The line pressure loss is a function of line size (2"), type, and flow.
Therefore the required booster pump pressure is simply the desired pressure minus the existing pressure. Just remember the pressures must be expressed in feet of head, not PSI!
PSI x 2.31 = feet head
So in conclusion it will work and supply your house with 40 to 45 psi water pressure.
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
If your bladder tank is by the pump, and down stream from the house, it is only going to measure the pressure at the bottom of the hill. Since your demand is at the top of the hill, don't you want a pressure sensing device up there? Better yet, a tank at the house?
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
I would like to put a pump and tank at the house but the feed outside the house is split into two sources before it enters the building. So, I have to keep the system pretty much as is ... (I bought the house this way) and I'm stuck with leaving the equipment down the hill at a common point.
Thanks again to all for the input ... I don't want to make an expensive mistake!!
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure
Water hammer can be a big problem if you put the tank and switch too far from the pump.
RE: Booster pump for low water pressure