Getting The Right Water Pump With Your TankA water tank pump, which is also called a pressure pump, is needed for the even distribution of rainwater stored in a water storage tank to parts of your home where it’s needed. It pushes water out the tank to provide adequately-pressurised water at the many tap points of your residence.

While beneficial, a homeowner cannot just purchase and install any water pump. A number of factors need to be considered in order for a homeowner to get the tank that’s right for him / her.

The factors that need to be considered are the following:

* Distance that water should travel between tank and house.

* Water pressure requirements.

* Noise that the pump makes.

* Energy usage.

Distance Between Rainwater Storage Tank and House

What makes distance a factor is the fact that a powerful pump will be needed to move water from tank to house if the tank is situated somewhere far away or if your property is composed of several stories and water needs to be moved to higher floors.

There are pump models that are labeled suitable for small or multiple-storey houses, but in general, you require a pump with head pressure of about 50 meters to move water up, against gravity.

Water Pressure

It’s important to consider how you will be using rainwater and the amount of pressure that is needed.

Pressure can be measured in LPM or liters per minute. If using stored rainwater for washing machines and toilets, a low flow rate is acceptable if the additional minutes it will take to fill the washing machine bowl or toilet cistern is something that you don’t mind. However, it’s a different story altogether if you will be using the water for the shower and the garden. You will need a much powerful pump, one that’s capable of pushing out water at a faster rate—approximately 20 LPM or liters per minute, which is more or less the same flow rate as that of a mains tap.

In the process of acquiring a pump capable of pushing out water at a certain LPM, you have to consider total pressure that’s needed when you have many taps operational at once. So if water needs to flow into the kitchen, laundry, and toilet at once, then add the desired pressure for all locations in order to determine the flow rate that’s needed. Match the number with the maximum LPM of a pump model.

Noise the Pump Makes

How much noise a water pump makes depends on type and level of activity.

In order to reduce noise, a pump cover needs to be set up with the rainwater storage tank. A submersible tank pump does not need a cover since the fact that it’s installed in the water tank and sits under the water means it doesn’t make a lot of noise.

Energy Usage

Although it’s tempting to get the biggest one that you can possibly buy, remember that a pump consumes energy each time one turns a tap on. More powerful pumps draw more energy. As such, the purchase of a pump too big for your needs results in higher electric bills, and this offsets the savings in your water bill.

To reduce energy consumption, make it your aim to reduce how much time the pump needs to switch on. You can only do this if a header tank or gravity-fed system is set up, or with the use of a pressure tank.