Tom,
Yes, you can use a Cycle Stop Valve on your pump system. Once the valve is added to your system, you can use a pressure tank with as little as 10 gallons of drawdown because the pressure tank is no longer used to keep the pump from starting and stopping too often as that is now the valve's job. Now the pressure tank serves a different purpose....to allow us to automate the system using a simple pressure switch, guarantees a minimum run time anytime the pump is called to come on, and the bladder adds some give to the system to reduce any surge. Because the valve makes your pump exactly match your demand, no water goes into the pressure tank as long as your demand is more than 5 gpm. If your demand stops, the valve only allows the pressure tank to fill at a max rate of 5 gpm so until your shut off pressure is reached and the pump is turned off. You can still get a minimum run time of 2 minutes with only 10 gallons of drawdown. Not only will you be able to save many dollars using a smaller tank but you will also save many repair bills due to broken lines and worn out pumps. Starting and stopping a pump tears up your pump but also causes additional wear on pressure switch points, pressure tank bladders, pipe lines, and capacitors and relays. Keeping a pump running and holding constant pressure is best your system for a mulititude of reasons and with a Cycle Stop Valve in control of your pump, you can expect a constant pressure, variable demand system and still use a small pressure tank.
Karen Austin
