Water tank for a cabin.

[JohnBoy45]

I will be installing a water tank to the cabin and just wondering what size tank will I need and if this will work to supply water to the cabins water pipes? Someone told me I would need 60 pounds of water pressure to make a house system work. I've been looking at 500-1500 white plastic gallon tanks at my local farm supply store.

Thanks, Terry

 

[JohnBoy45]

I will be installing a water tank to the cabin and just wondering what size tank will I need and if this will work to supply water to the cabins water pipes? Someone told me I would need 60 pounds of water pressure to make a house system work. I've been looking at 500-1500 white plastic gallon tanks at my local farm supply store.

Thanks, Terry

 

[CurlyDave]

30-50 psi is more typical for homes.

I doubt that you can pressurize a plastic tank as large as you are considering*. If there is a hill nearby, you can get about 1 psi for each 2' of elevation.

How are you going to fill this tank?

If you have a well, the usual setup is a much smaller pressure tank with air over the water. This tank is pressurized by your well pump. There is either a rubber bladder or a diaphram to prevent the air from dissolving in the water.

Even with a spring & spring box, the pressure tank is the way to go, you just need the right pump.

All this presumes you have electricity. If you are off the grid, then the solutions are different.

*Even if you could presurize it, a tank that large under pressure would be very dangerous. Think about what happens when the tank is nearly empty. There is a huge volume of air under pressure. The stored energy is much higher than many people think, and any rupture would be very destructive.

 

[CurlyDave]

30-50 psi is more typical for homes.

I doubt that you can pressurize a plastic tank as large as you are considering*. If there is a hill nearby, you can get about 1 psi for each 2' of elevation.

How are you going to fill this tank?

If you have a well, the usual setup is a much smaller pressure tank with air over the water. This tank is pressurized by your well pump. There is either a rubber bladder or a diaphram to prevent the air from dissolving in the water.

Even with a spring & spring box, the pressure tank is the way to go, you just need the right pump.

All this presumes you have electricity. If you are off the grid, then the solutions are different.

*Even if you could presurize it, a tank that large under pressure would be very dangerous. Think about what happens when the tank is nearly empty. There is a huge volume of air under pressure. The stored energy is much higher than many people think, and any rupture would be very destructive.

 

[JohnBoy45]

So a small tank would be better. The cabin does have electricity. I don't have a well. This tank will be on a platform above the ground. Would a pump that is made to come on when there is a demand in water but otherwise is off. A automatic pump.

Terry

 

[JohnBoy45]

So a small tank would be better. The cabin does have electricity. I don't have a well. This tank will be on a platform above the ground. Would a pump that is made to come on when there is a demand in water but otherwise is off. A automatic pump.

Terry

 

[Highbeam]

The typical RV style pump is an on-demand type pump with its only job being to maintain the 40 psi in the line. They are cheap at 70$ or so but they are for 12 volt systems. Finding a 110 volt pump might be a little tougher.

The bugger will be hauling that water up there for use. It will get tiresome quickly. At least you won't go around wasting water knowing that you have to fill it back up.

 

[Highbeam]

The typical RV style pump is an on-demand type pump with its only job being to maintain the 40 psi in the line. They are cheap at 70$ or so but they are for 12 volt systems. Finding a 110 volt pump might be a little tougher.

The bugger will be hauling that water up there for use. It will get tiresome quickly. At least you won't go around wasting water knowing that you have to fill it back up.

 

[txdon]

Terry, My Grandparents had the setup you are describing. They collected rain water from the roof to two 500 gallon metal tanks on 2' concrete platforms on the side of their house.

They had a faucet from the tank through the wall and would fill up buckets for drinking, washing dishes, and bathing.

They had an outhouse so they needed no water for flushing.

It worked for them for over twenty years.

I do remember that during a drought I saw a water tank truck filling up their tanks.

In my cabin I just connected to the county water main a half mile away with a 2" PVC line. I have 30 PSI and ever thing works well. Connecting to the County water out here cost about $600 and a well about $2500 - $3000 - last time I checked. I still would like to collect rainfall from the roof or get a well water for irrigation. I am using about 5K gallons ($50) of water a month in the 1 bedroom 1 bath cabin and garden.

 

[txdon]

Terry, My Grandparents had the setup you are describing. They collected rain water from the roof to two 500 gallon metal tanks on 2' concrete platforms on the side of their house.

They had a faucet from the tank through the wall and would fill up buckets for drinking, washing dishes, and bathing.

They had an outhouse so they needed no water for flushing.

It worked for them for over twenty years.

I do remember that during a drought I saw a water tank truck filling up their tanks.

In my cabin I just connected to the county water main a half mile away with a 2" PVC line. I have 30 PSI and ever thing works well. Connecting to the County water out here cost about $600 and a well about $2500 - $3000 - last time I checked. I still would like to collect rainfall from the roof or get a well water for irrigation. I am using about 5K gallons ($50) of water a month in the 1 bedroom 1 bath cabin and garden.

 

[CurlyDave]

A demand-type pump would work well. The tank can be any size you want, or can afford, with that kind of system.

Where is the water going to come from without a well?

The more you make this water system like a home system, the more water you are going to use. Trucking it in can be a PITA.

During the construction of our house in OR, we are staying on our land in an RV . We have parked it pretty permanently, and truck fresh water in, and black water out. We only get up there every other weekend, and a few weeks over the summer.

I would make a home-made septic system, instead of trucking it out, if it were not for the fact that our permant septic system is going to be installed in a month or two. The permanent septic system will have to be inspected, and if the inspector finds a homemade setup, the state will fine me unmercifully.

Anyway, I bought two 65-gal white plastic tanks, which fit side-by-side in my pickup. One for fresh water, one for black. One of those ratcheting straps holds them in place nicely.

I also got two 12-volt water pumps from Harbor Freight marketed as bilge pumps This allows me to empty the black water into a dump station and to pump frest water into the RV's holding tank.

65 gallons is enough for two of us to go about a week, if we practice water conservation, and drink store-bought bottled water.

Total cost was about $350, tanks, pumps, everything. You would also need a permanent, stationary tank for you cabin, but this kind of setup might work for you. If you only want to truck in fresh water, you would only need half of it.

I add about 6 oz of bleach every time I fill the 65 gallon tank to chlorinate the water and prevent bacteria and algae.

We have a well in and I have just bought a generator to run it. As soon as we get the septic in, life will be a lot easier.

 

[CurlyDave]

A demand-type pump would work well. The tank can be any size you want, or can afford, with that kind of system.

Where is the water going to come from without a well?

The more you make this water system like a home system, the more water you are going to use. Trucking it in can be a PITA.

During the construction of our house in OR, we are staying on our land in an RV . We have parked it pretty permanently, and truck fresh water in, and black water out. We only get up there every other weekend, and a few weeks over the summer.

I would make a home-made septic system, instead of trucking it out, if it were not for the fact that our permant septic system is going to be installed in a month or two. The permanent septic system will have to be inspected, and if the inspector finds a homemade setup, the state will fine me unmercifully.

Anyway, I bought two 65-gal white plastic tanks, which fit side-by-side in my pickup. One for fresh water, one for black. One of those ratcheting straps holds them in place nicely.

I also got two 12-volt water pumps from Harbor Freight marketed as bilge pumps This allows me to empty the black water into a dump station and to pump frest water into the RV's holding tank.

65 gallons is enough for two of us to go about a week, if we practice water conservation, and drink store-bought bottled water.

Total cost was about $350, tanks, pumps, everything. You would also need a permanent, stationary tank for you cabin, but this kind of setup might work for you. If you only want to truck in fresh water, you would only need half of it.

I add about 6 oz of bleach every time I fill the 65 gallon tank to chlorinate the water and prevent bacteria and algae.

We have a well in and I have just bought a generator to run it. As soon as we get the septic in, life will be a lot easier.

 

[Humbleto]

The black or green tanks are preferable as the do not have the algae problems of white.

 

[Humbleto]

The black or green tanks are preferable as the do not have the algae problems of white.

 

[RobertN]

Our well supplies two houses, ours, and the granny flat my mother in law lives in. The well head and pressure tank is near out house, pretty level with it. Her house is about 50' higher.

Between head pressure loss to her house, and use using water, sometimes her taps just trickle. She's a little over 50' higher than us again; so she loses 25psi right off the bat. Then we use water, and her pressure drops more.

We had a 500gal storage tank put in at her place. It has a on demand pump. She has a good 40psi any time she uses water. 500gal is a lot of storage for her(one person). She has never run it low. And, even at low pressure, the tank fills off the well as needed.

In your washer/dryer/shower head thread, someone said to figue 60gal/person per day?

60psi is on the high side. Most houses are regulated down lower than that. Any higher than 40 or so and you'll start bulging the hoses to the washing machine, dish washer ect.

Specifically, using gravity, you will have 0.434psi/ft. If you simply put the tank 10' in the air(on blocks, a frame ect) you would have4.34psi at your faucet located at ground level. If you placed your tank on a hillside, 100 verticle feet above your house, you'd have 43.4psi of water pressure at the house(ignoring pressure loss through the pipe).

As another example, you pull up on your fire engine at a apartment complex fire. The fire is on the 10th floor. Each floor is about 10' tall. You crew has to make an attack on the fire, with a minimum pressure of 100psi for the nozzle to make a proper pattern/stream. You set your pump at 100psi, but then you have to add anoth 43psi since the engine crew will be 100' above the pump. You actaully have to add more psi, to overcome friction loss through the standpipe and lengths of hose too...

 

[RobertN]

Our well supplies two houses, ours, and the granny flat my mother in law lives in. The well head and pressure tank is near out house, pretty level with it. Her house is about 50' higher.

Between head pressure loss to her house, and use using water, sometimes her taps just trickle. She's a little over 50' higher than us again; so she loses 25psi right off the bat. Then we use water, and her pressure drops more.

We had a 500gal storage tank put in at her place. It has a on demand pump. She has a good 40psi any time she uses water. 500gal is a lot of storage for her(one person). She has never run it low. And, even at low pressure, the tank fills off the well as needed.

In your washer/dryer/shower head thread, someone said to figue 60gal/person per day?

60psi is on the high side. Most houses are regulated down lower than that. Any higher than 40 or so and you'll start bulging the hoses to the washing machine, dish washer ect.

Specifically, using gravity, you will have 0.434psi/ft. If you simply put the tank 10' in the air(on blocks, a frame ect) you would have4.34psi at your faucet located at ground level. If you placed your tank on a hillside, 100 verticle feet above your house, you'd have 43.4psi of water pressure at the house(ignoring pressure loss through the pipe).

As another example, you pull up on your fire engine at a apartment complex fire. The fire is on the 10th floor. Each floor is about 10' tall. You crew has to make an attack on the fire, with a minimum pressure of 100psi for the nozzle to make a proper pattern/stream. You set your pump at 100psi, but then you have to add anoth 43psi since the engine crew will be 100' above the pump. You actaully have to add more psi, to overcome friction loss through the standpipe and lengths of hose too...

 

[CurlyDave]

They collected rain water from the roof to two 500 gallon metal tanks on 2' concrete platforms on the side of their house.

They had a faucet from the tank through the wall and would fill buckets for drinking, washing dishes, and bathing.

Unless your cabin is in a location with no dust, no insects, no rodents, and you haven't seen a bird in a decade, I would not drink rainwater collected from the roof.

I know people used to do it, but between the bird poop, the squirrel poop, and the dead bugs, it sounds pretty unsanitary to me. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[CurlyDave]

They collected rain water from the roof to two 500 gallon metal tanks on 2' concrete platforms on the side of their house.

They had a faucet from the tank through the wall and would fill buckets for drinking, washing dishes, and bathing.

Unless your cabin is in a location with no dust, no insects, no rodents, and you haven't seen a bird in a decade, I would not drink rainwater collected from the roof.

I know people used to do it, but between the bird poop, the squirrel poop, and the dead bugs, it sounds pretty unsanitary to me. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> it sounds pretty unsanitary to me </font>

You shouldn't drink ANY water... fish poop in it! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> it sounds pretty unsanitary to me </font>

You shouldn't drink ANY water... fish poop in it! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif