Water tower

Post by **sgwinpochai** » April 24, 2007, 8:42 pm

Just had a borehole drilled near Nong Khai, and so far no problems. I would like to build a water tower to provide an emergency back up if the electricity supply to the pump is disrupted for any reason. Any ideas on a suitable height for the height of a water tank (top or bottom?) in a tower to provide an adequate water pressure in a single storey building.

Post by **jetdoc** » April 24, 2007, 9:27 pm

Each foot of hight will produce 1/2 psi of water pressure.

Post by **tawan3** » April 25, 2007, 3:10 am

If I remember correctly 60psi is a safe water pressure that does not harm appliances like Ice Maker, Water Heater etc. any higher pressure have to install psi regulator.

Post by **jetdoc** » April 25, 2007, 10:50 am

For home use 60 psi is a bit much. In the US 30 to 40 is the norm.

Post by **Mainer** » April 25, 2007, 11:12 am

It seems like quite a project to undertake. A water tower perhaps 60+ feet in the air is a BIG project. What do your neighbors do in the case of no electricity? What is the water used for? Showers only? If so, perhaps you can rent a hotel room a few times a year to get clean.

I often run out of water in my home in Udon, but I just keep a large bin full of water, for that emergency.

I wish you luck with the project. Keep us posted.

Post by **redbeard** » April 25, 2007, 1:19 pm

we had water towers at beach houses and they were our whole surply bottom of tank was about level with the ceiling so 8 to 10 foot or 3 meters above floor level was enough and unless you need high pressure for something thats all you will need

Post by **aznyron** » April 25, 2007, 9:24 pm

why not look in to installing a well with a holding tank of about 1500 to 2000 litres of water and low pressure pump to your house there so many options out there do some research and find out what is best for you

Post by **sgwinpochai** » June 4, 2007, 7:01 am

Thanks for the advice and I apologize for taking so long to reply. I have decided to build a 7 metre tower. It will be built in concrete, cost 39,000 baht (tank extra). If the water pressure is not adequate, I shall bypass the tower and use it only when there is no electricity to operate a pump.

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 4, 2007, 3:12 pm

wow, that's high. i have a tank, sits no higher than the house (single story), as in, starts just a bit higher than the wall (about 8 ft/9 ft maybe/3 meters at the most), and provides good pressure for shower head, directly under it, then facet coming out of wall at waist high. when using hose, very long, still decent pressure. remember, it's just a back up, so don't go crazy. but an excellent idea, just don't forget to keep it full, and turn it off when you fill it. i usually only fill it when showering, so i don't forget to turn it off, or when chilly out, only while drinking coffee. it is constantly used as water source for kitchen, excellent pressure, so needs to be filled weekly. plus i use it for most showers this time of year. if i don't turn it off, when filling, it comes in the kitchen. tank was about 12000 baht, metal, heats up nice, so nice ice cold this time of year, but refreshing. cool season, it's a bit cold. good luck

Post by **AussieBoy** » June 4, 2007, 4:11 pm

20PSI in the town we just completed in Oz,, if you go for lower pressure increase the pipe size for the same flow rate, generally 3/4 mts for the tank above the ground is all you need for sink / shower use, may be more for a external house. depends if you are wanting volumn or distance, when hosing

7 mts high, you must be going into business of fire fighting for that pressure NOT NEEDED

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 4, 2007, 8:20 pm

agree, just looked at my hook up, and between tank and shower head, it's less than a meter. it is a large tank, the big aluminum or what ever it's made out of, and the faucet/hos bib, is 2+meters and has nice pressure. the kitchen sinks are2-3 meters away, and goes thru couple 90's and then of course an up and over faucet and the sink has the highest pressure in the house. everything is 3/4 in, but faucet are mostly 1/2. and according to the book (?), sorry gals, size doesn't matter, more height and holding tank. but again, it is a back up, so don't go crazy. i use mine regularly, and my shower pressure is the best in the house, of the 3. no matter how much pressure you have, for hot water, it ends up going thru that little copper tube in water heater, so you shower head will determine the pressure. again, good luck, i'm think 15-20,000 baht for whole job.

Post by **tigerryan** » June 5, 2007, 9:53 am

The rule of thumb we use in the rig is about a psi per foot of head on relativly shallow water. My advice to you is to use a big inch and a half or two inch pipe comming out of the tank and to your supply manifold that way you have lots of options. The college boy engineers I work with always get snake bit when they try to get things specd perfect and end up going to small to early. Remeber that your static preassure will not be you dynamic preassure you will need to play with this by goofing with different size pipes and fixtures to get that oh soo perfect showerhead pressure, you can only do so much with 7 meters of head and you stuck with a trade off of press for volume.

Post by **lighspur1** » June 5, 2007, 10:00 am

If you have your own well can't you just buy a generator to run the pump if the power goes out? I live in Florida thats what I do, but don't know if it would be feasable in Thailand but seems a much simpler and cheaper solution.

Post by **Thai_1_On** » June 5, 2007, 10:44 am

I still like my old idea of using a air compresser and pressurized the tank.

Just think about it crank up the pressure and you could hose down the whole village and during Songran well...youll be the biggest gun in town

laphanphon · Post by **laphanphon** » June 5, 2007, 12:00 pm

here's a pic of mine, you can see not very high and plenty of pressure

Post by **jetdoc** » June 5, 2007, 5:06 pm

The lower the water pressure the less waste, however water heaters wont work if pressure is to low.

Post by **lighspur1** » June 6, 2007, 4:23 am

Unless he has gas waterheaters he won't have to worry about hot water if the power goes out so the low pressure cutoff on the heat shouldn't matter.

Post by **jetdoc** » June 6, 2007, 9:15 am

True but not to common;o)

Post by **tigerryan** » June 6, 2007, 10:43 am

Thinking out loud in response to a previous post asking why an elevated tank would be better than a generator for a water supply during a power outage. Some thoughts.
1.A water tank most importantly buffers the supply with the demand if a well only makes 10 gals per min and you need 12 the well would start spitting after a few minutes and this could damage the pump.
2. Filling a pressure tank and pumping up gradient to a tank is the same to the pump on the effluent side of the pump.
3. Fewer start stops for the pump/seems more efficient
4. Water temp increases with the tank in the sun
5.A generator that you would want to depend on for water is pretty expensive and you would need to start it every time you need any significant amount of water.
6. (Only a real redneck can appreciate this) The time honored tradition of ascending the local water tower with a can of paint and a brush to defend your sisters honor. Do water tanks get grafetti in Thailand? Cant say I have noticed.
7. ?

Post by **hey you** » June 9, 2007, 5:38 pm

IN THE U.K. EVEN IN A SINGLE FLOOR HOME THE WATER TANK IS IN THE ROOF SPACE AND THE WATER IS JUST GRAVITY FED TO BATHROOM AND KITCHEN