# Plumber water pressure issue



## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

Anyone out there a plumber?

I have H2O coming (downhill) gravity fed into my basement where its pumped upstairs to the main floor to the sinks, toilets, and showers. Obviously a generator will work to pressurize my water system but I was wondering about a MANUAL force suction pump like this one to manually pressurize the system. Does anyone have this situation at their BOLs? Any thoughts? I have thought about a water tank in the attic but even with one I would like a means to move water into the upper house manually.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Need an Accumulator in there somewhere would be my recomendation.

http://www.shopwiki.com/l/Accumulator-Tank

like these the pump pumps into it then it keeps a steady pressure to the upstairs. need to kinda match it to the working pressure of hte pump and make sure the plumbing upstairs can handle the pressure you are feeding it. ie' some older homes older piping cant' handle too much andyou will quickly find the weak joint or thin spots in the piping. BTDT


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## pawpaw (Dec 21, 2011)

All motor homes have fresh water holding tanks & electric pumps to deliver to showers, sinks, & toilets. 12 volts to boot. Just sayin'....


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Let it gravity feed into a tank in the basement then use a regular tire pump to pressurize the tank. You would need a check valve on the incoming line. And a bleeder valve on the tank.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

with a gravity feed you can't get more pressure with a pump. as any pressure that exceeds the head pressure will just push water back into the feeder line if it is a top feed as soon as the valve opens the pressure will back into the feeder line. To pressurize in that way you need a accumulator past the pump he already mentioned. if the cabin is really small you can actually get little bitty ones like are used with the 12 RV systems and a lil 12v pump to pump just where you need it.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

jsriley5 said:


> Need an Accumulator in there somewhere would be my recomendation.
> 
> http://www.shopwiki.com/l/Accumulator-Tank
> 
> like these the pump pumps into it then it keeps a steady pressure to the upstairs. need to kinda match it to the working pressure of hte pump and make sure the plumbing upstairs can handle the pressure you are feeding it. ie' some older homes older piping cant' handle too much andyou will quickly find the weak joint or thin spots in the piping. BTDT


Yep, I know that I need the tank in the attic. We flash heat the water in the basement, and drain the system when we aren't there so the pipes don't freeze, so for now its set up the way its set up. But my question is how to get water up into the house? I had never thought about a 12 RV pump, but that still needs electricity. I wonder how many amps that would draw? I know a lot of folks are big into solar/wind power but my thought is to not depend on ANY electricity if possible, that way even if I have it, I won't need it. That is why I am interested in a manual pump that could move potable water to the faucets. We could fill containers and carry them up the stairs to the main living area without too much difficulty but I would love to be able to use the sinks and toilets as designed.

So yes to the tank but I still need a way to fill it?


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

You'll need a backflow valve if you choose to pressurize the tank in the basement.

Easiest solution I can come up with offhand is to install a hand pump to pump water up to the attic where you install an old tank from an electric water heater. The line from the basement goes to the top of the old water heater and the drain at the bottom of the tank ties into the house plumbing. The only issue is your water pressure at the tap will be low. The equation is P(psi)= .43*h(in feet)

Alternatively, you could install 2 water tanks in the attic connected together with a 12V pump in between. The pump would pressurize the 2nd tank to a higher pressure. 50-70 psi is normal for tap water.



> I have H2O coming (downhill) gravity fed into my basement...


How far downhill does it flow and how high is your house?
For instance, if it flows 100' (in a pipe) downhill at an angle of 45 degrees, the water will rise 70' vertically without any help. The steeper the grade of the hill, the further the water will rise up to nearly 100'.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Do a search on Ram water pump they use down hill flow to increase water pressure and lift into your home.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

jsriley5 said:


> Need an Accumulator in there somewhere would be my recomendation.
> 
> http://www.shopwiki.com/l/Accumulator-Tank
> 
> like these the pump pumps into it then it keeps a steady pressure to the upstairs. need to kinda match it to the working pressure of hte pump and make sure the plumbing upstairs can handle the pressure you are feeding it. ie' some older homes older piping cant' handle too much andyou will quickly find the weak joint or thin spots in the piping. BTDT


Accumulators don't increase the pressure, they just act as a reserve to reduce the cycling of the pump itself. That makes the pressure delivered to the faucets mote consistent instead of surging.

The pressure in the bladder should be charged to the same pressure that turns on the pump. That allows the entire accumulator volume to be used.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

yup allows the pump to try to keep up with the usage and maintain a constant flow rate. he was already getting water up stairs I thought so has a pump was just wanting a more steady flow. Is the way I read it at least.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

jsriley5 said:


> yup allows the pump to try to keep up with the usage and maintain a constant flow rate. he was already getting water up stairs I thought so has a pump was just wanting a more steady flow. Is the way I read it at least.


Ok, I mistook the statement about making sure an older home's plumbing could take the pressure to mean that the accumulator was somehow increasing the pressure.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

I was probably unclear I"m not a pro plummer either just usually figure out and work on my own stuff. but I do know you can't get more pressure than your pump will put out unless you pump it high and get head pressure. I frequently re read my posts and notice they don't resemble what I had intended to say. results of being chronically tired and multiple pain meds, and thats my excuses and I"m stickin to em


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Padre, That pump that the link went to was a chem pump for a barrel if you go to www.simplepump.com they have a hand pump and 12 volt pump designed for backup house supply water but with the use of a self powered water ram pump you'd get enough head for supplying up into the house. One of the websites shows how to make one yourself.


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