Will a CSV help? Already have big new pressure tanks...

[Martha]

We have two huge pressure tanks in pump house. Is there anything to gain by adding a CSV? We paid a bunch to get those two big tanks two yrs ago, so not ready to toss them. The deep well pushes water to a huge above-ground cistern, then a jetpump gets water to the two big tanks. House is far away, but no incline. Water heater is tankless and located in attic. We want as much flow and pressure as we can reasonably get, of course! We were looking at doing some sort of inline booster or additional pressure tank on the roof, then we found this site and info about CSV. Is it a waste if we already have two big pressure tanks? Our jetpump is 1hp, fyi.

[Cary Austin]

How much pressure you can have is determined by how much pressure your pump can build?  What model pump is it?  However, having those two big tank is really what causes low pressure.  Even if you are using a 40/60 pressure switch two big tanks take a long time to drain, so your pressure will be hovering around 40 for a long time.  You really can't get strong constant pressure with a huge tank.

All you need for a jet pump is a Cycle Stop Valve to stop the cycling, then you can use a 4.5 gallon size tank.  The 4.5 gallon tank only holds 1 gallon of water, so the pump is on and the CSV is delivering strong constant 50 PSI for the entire time you are using water.  This will seem like so much stronger pressure than when using two big tanks and having the pressure drop to 40 slowly that most people tell me they no longer even need soap in the shower. Lol!

Even though the CSV has been around for nearly 30 years, a lot of people have not heard about it yet.  You could probably sell those two big tanks to one of the less educated home owners for 500 bucks a piece.  The PK1A kit with the 4.5 gallon tank is only $395.00, so by switching to strong constant pressure you could make enough money to take a good vacation or make a mortgage payment.

This is all you need.

[Martha]

We have a Red Lion 1hp 23gpm pump, model 602208. Specs are here: https://redlionproducts.com/cleanwater/premium-cast-iron-shallow-well-jet-pump-rjs-xx-prem-series/

Would it be adequate with your suggested setup?

Or, how about this: could we simple add a pump, csv, and mini tank at the house before the water heater?

[Cary Austin]

That pump has a max pressure of 65 PSI, which means it doesn't need to work any higher than 35/55 on the pressure switch.  That is an average pressure of 45 PSI.  If that is not as much pressure as you want, you just need to replace that pump with one that makes more pressure.  A Goulds J15S has a max pressure of 83 PSI, which would work with a 50/70 pressure switch and a CSV could deliver 60 PSI constant to the house.  You can even haver more pressure than that if you want, just need a multi-stage booster pump instead of a jet pump.

[Martha]

Hmm, maybe we need to upsize the pump to the house....

another option we've considered: instead of the two pressure tanks in tandem, maybe we separate the irrigation from the house supply-- what do you think? Use one tank with the existing pump, THEN run the house on the other tank with an upsized pump and CSV!?

[Cary Austin]

If you want more pressure, you just need a pump that will build more pressure.  You could use the low pressure pump for irrigation and the high pressure pump for the house.  But there is really no reason you can't do both with a single higher pressure pump.  Find a jet pump with a mx pressure of about 80 PSI.  Set the pressure switch to 50/70 and the CSV to deliver 60 PSI constant and you will have much better pressure than the 45 you have now.  Those big tanks are also a problem as the pressure just keeps dropping until they are empty.  When the pump finally starts the CSV can start delivering constant pressure as needed.

Also make sure you don't have some filters clogged or softener that needs flushing, which could also be the reason for low pressure.