Having a water tank installed in the house for storage is a great feature; it underlines the wisdom of having a backup in case any complications may arise from your primary source of supply; in certain regions, water tanks do serve as the primary source of water supply for many houses. Selecting an ideal tank material to fit the uniqueness of your home, its aesthetic feel and the ability to retain and supply required volumes of water are subjects to be studied when going about the business of trying to install a tank for your house, it’s quite fundamental, luckily we made researches on these,” size of tank required for houses” and “tank materials that are best required for houses” if you would want to check them out before continuing here.
Installing a pump to supplement and maximize the functionality of a tank is proper. It improves the water pressure which in turn saves time and enhances user satisfaction; so if the water flow from your tank is minimal or slow, then you need a pump.
Factors to Consider in Installing a Water Pump
One cannot just go around blankly trying to install a pump; there are some factors to consider to determine if it’s needed or not:
- Primary source of water
- Placement/position of tank
- Distance of final water outlet from tank
Primary Source of Water
The primary source is a fundamental factor; it can be a “body of water such as a stream”, a general supply line, rain water or underground water. When considering it being sourced from a body of water, distance from water to the tank is taken into consideration, in our modern society, filling a 2000- 4000 liter tank manually with buckets can be time consuming and very, old-school.
Hence in a case where there’s substantial distance in between tank and stream, and tank is a size above 1000 liters, a pump is required to move water from its primary body to a storage tank close to the house.
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In cases of general supply lines and rainwater, water is supplied by specialized means to the house( by rain or organized water supply from treatment plants) making it easier to direct water flow to storage units without the need of personal pumps.
Underground water when considered as the primary source, it does require the need of a pump; to be used to force water flow from aquifers by suction and pushing them into storage tanks to be kept till when required.
Placement/Position of Tank
According to a slight research made, it was derived that in most cases; tanks are placed or suspended between 16 – 22 feet above ground level which is roughly, 5 – 7 meters. This is not the typical case for all houses. Tanks can be placed above the ground, on the ground and beneath the ground level depending on the preference and design of client and specialist respectively.
When a tank is suspended above the ground, law of gravity sets in, which controls the pressure of the water from tank to outlets, Hence; the higher the tank, the higher the pressure, the lower the tank, the lower the pressure.
However if the tanks are placed on or underneath the ground level, a pump will be required to move water from the tank and to supply at an adequate rate. Such pumps are to be constantly functional, as there will be little to no water if it stops.
Suspended tanks in certain cases provide enough pressure but pumps can also be utilized provided it’s not providing enough pressure for the user.
Distance of Final Water Outlet from Tank
There’s a principle in water distribution, this principle is utilized to determine the size of pipes for supply lines, volume of water it can convey and the pressure of water supply itself. The principle is partly factorized on distance. When certain outlets are realized to have poor water pressure; pumps are provided at needed points to boost flow rate and satisfy detriments.
In a simple form, if the distance of the last pipe outlet is too far for gravity to cover. Hence, leading to poor water pressure from this outlet or various others, a pump is to be provided to further boost flow rate / pressure and increase user satisfaction.
Questions to Ask to Know If You Need a Water Pump
- Do I have a proper source of water supply? – If you do have a standard and constant source of water supply which is convenient enough for you, you do not need a pump of any kind except you’re trying to have an alternative.
- If so, is this source close or sufficient enough for me? – If it is, there is absolutely no reason why you should get a pump, except of course if your reasons are beyond the normal cases.
- If close enough, I don’t need a tank to store my water from this source, do i? – As long as the supplied water is constant and functioning, you might not necessarily need a tank, but we strongly recommend it; as it might make a good alternative, back up or can be further used for other deeds.
- If I do have a tank, does it supply with adequate pressure to the direct outlets? If you’ve done the deed by purchasing and installing a tank as a primary source of supply or as back-up, if due to placement,the water doesn’t seem be running at a pressure you’re happy with, we suggest you get a booster pump
If by any chance, the word “NO” happens to be your answer to any of the above questions, then you need a private water pump (either to convey water from source to your tank or to increase pressure/flow rate).
Types of Water Pumps Needed for a House
In the world of plumbing and hydraulics, pumps exist in different forms and sizes which can be categorized based on various factors such as mode of operation, power generation etc.
However, for domestic use, three forms of pumps are mostly used:
Submersible Pumps
Submersible pumps are the kinds that are placed inside the water body itself, when placed, it sucks in water and pushes them at its specified flow rate either to be supplied for use or to be stored in a tank. Submersible pumps can be used for boreholes because can be put into the ground and placed in aquifers (water bodies underneath the ground level) or they can be put in storage tanks to supply water directly; although you would have to find one with a usable horse power for direct supply; the pressure of water might be too much if you choose to use directly in a domestic environment.
Surface Water Pumps
Surface water pump is just a fancy name used for conventional pumps, it’s the one you see your neighbor or friend use to pump water by suction and supplying into required placements. They come in various forms and have different modes of operation but in all, they majorly perform the same function.
Booster Pump
Booster pumps work with a system that utilizes air and water; both are in direct contact and systematically operate in such a way that constantly pressurizes contained water. Therefore water tends to supply faster than usual, provided the pump is powered on, this pump is utilized mostly to supply from the water storage tank to the direct outlets in the house. It is used in cases where water pressure in house is low and is in need of boosting.