Deposito water pressure?

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D1ckyS
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Deposito water pressure?

Postby D1ckyS » Thu Feb 06, 2020 5:28 pm

I'm wondering whether my water pipes are partially blocked or, actually, the system is working as it should and I'm worrying about nothing. Mains water flows into a 15,000 litre deposito, the base of which sits about 1.5 metres above our house and is connected to a pump. At the moment when we turn hot or cold taps on the pump ALWAYS fires up and water comes out at good pressure. If I disconnect the pump the pressure out of both hot and cold taps is pitiful.
My question is, should the pump always come on or, as my neighbour suggests, only come on when water pressure is low ie if the deposito were low or pipes blocked? Or is it that a 1.5 metre drop isn't enough to generate sufficient pressure anyway and thus the pump will always be needed? Any thoughts gratefully received before I call in a plumber, possibly unnecessarily.

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peteroldracer
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby peteroldracer » Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:02 pm

The norm is for a pumped system with a demand valve to start the pump. There is little point putting a water tank on the roof as it will be exposed to the sun making it always lukewarm, plus with a litre of water weighing a kilo that is a lot of weight to be supported. Our deposito was at ground level and the system worked fine until things became cal clogged.
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D1ckyS
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby D1ckyS » Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:48 pm

Thanks Peter. I was really just wondering whether or not the pump should be starting every time a tap is turned on or it's doing so is a symptom of lack of pressure.

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peteroldracer
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby peteroldracer » Thu Feb 06, 2020 8:37 pm

https://images.app.goo.gl/fzV3chra1nZH6xzv8
The unit on the top is a demand valve, when a tap is opened the pressure in the out pipe drops and the valve turns the pump on.
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fincalospinos
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby fincalospinos » Fri Feb 07, 2020 9:00 am

I am not sure where your water comes from in Canillas, but I do know that further along the Maroma ridge in Canillas de Albaida and Competa, the water does have a high Cal content. When I lived there it was a constant problem of water pipes, boilers and taps and toilet flushing units becoming clogged. On an annual basis we had the water pipes and water heaters flushed out, usualy with agua fuerte. You may already be doing this, but also remove any water saving nozzles fitted to the taps and clean the filters with agua fuerte.

Another way of reducing cal is to fit a water softening device between the pump and the house. Not the filter type, but the larger salt based units. They are more expensive than the filter type, but far more effective where there is a high cal content, and they can save money in the long term.
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby jhonie99 » Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:39 am

D1ckyS wrote:I'm wondering whether my water pipes are partially blocked or, actually, the system is working as it should and I'm worrying about nothing. Mains water flows into a 15,000 litre deposito, the base of which sits about 1.5 metres above our house and is connected to a pump. At the moment when we turn hot or cold taps on the pump ALWAYS fires up and water comes out at good pressure. If I disconnect the pump the pressure out of both hot and cold taps is pitiful.
My question is, should the pump always come on or, as my neighbour suggests, only come on when water pressure is low ie if the deposito were low or pipes blocked? Or is it that a 1.5 metre drop isn't enough to generate sufficient pressure anyway and thus the pump will always be needed? Any thoughts gratefully received before I call in a plumber, possibly unnecessarily.
Well of course the pump is going to come on if there is only a direct connection between tank and house through the pump.
If the pump is old, the housing might need dismantling and cleaning.

But you really need to modify your system, to feed the house with mains water whilst also feeding the tank with mains water. The pump should be setup to pump water from the tank to the house, when mains water is low. It'll come on and off automatically. Note there will still only be one pipe entering the house. A non-return valve will also be required at an appropriate point in the system. That's how I've setup our system.

D1ckyS
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Re: Deposito water pressure?

Postby D1ckyS » Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:41 am

Thanks both. I agree about the cal problem and will look at options. It does sound as though the pump is doing what it should by coming on every time a tap is on. I understand about having a split feed so that water comes direct from mains but wonder if the deposito water would become stagnant if not being regularly topped up as it currently is. Thanks again.


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