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If your home gets its water
supply from a private well, then located in your basement or utility
room, near where the water pipe comes in from the well, is a large metal
tank known as a water pressure tank
Purpose of
Water Pressure Tanks
Water pressure tanks work in
conjunction with private wells to supply water to your home.
Water pressure tanks serve
three key functions. First, they provide a constant water pressure to
your home’s water supply system. |
Second, they help protect and prolong the life of the submersible well
pump that sits in your well. Third they act as a reservoir for holding
water.
How Do Water
Pressure Tanks Work
A water pressure tank is a large
steel tank that contains a rubber diaphragm in it that separates the
pressure tank into two sections. The upper section of the tank is filled
with air. As water feeds into the bottom of the tank the rubber diagram is
forced upwards toward the top of the tank and compresses the air.
| The result is a pressurized holding tank of water. Via
a pressure switch hanging off of the pressure tank and the well pump,
the pressure in the tank is kept constant between a range of 20 and 60
pounds per square inch, or PSI. So for example, when someone turns on
a water faucet in the home the water pressure tank supplies a relative
constant water pressure to the faucet. |
Photo By Mark Donovan |
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When the tank pressure eventually
drops to a level of around 20-30 psi a signal is sent to the submersible
well pump to turn on and replenish the water in the pressure tank.
When the tank pressure reaches
around 40-60 psi, a signal is sent to the submersible well pump to shut off.
As a result a relatively constant water pressure is maintained in the home’s
water supply system.
In addition, with a water
pressure tank, the submersible well pump does not need to turn on every time
a faucet is turned on in the house, thus prolonging the life of the well
pump.
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A well pump’s life is directly
proportional to the number of times it is switched on and off.
When Shopping
for a New Water Pressure Tank
Over time the water pressure tank
will fail. It is either caused by the loss of air pressure in the upper half
of the tank, or the diaphragm has failed. You can tell if this is the case by
tapping on the tank. If it sounds hollow at the top and like a dull thud on
the bottom, then the tank is most likely okay. On the other hand, if the tank
sounds like a dull thud both at the top and bottom then chances are the
diaphragm has failed and a new pressure tank is required.
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When shopping for a new pressure
tank it is important to know the number of plumbing fixtures in your home and
the gallons per hour flow rate of the well pump. With this information you can
look at a pressure tank manufacturer’s buying guide to determine the right
tank for your specific home’s needs. Note, however it is always better to go
bigger when buying a pressure tank as this will reduce the number of on/off
cycle times of the submersible well pump.
Additional Home Plumbing Resources
Water Pressure Tanks from Amazon.com
