Increasing the throughput of my plumbing system

Submitted by crackerjam t3_126woob in DIY

Hey /r/DIY, I'm planning out a project for next month and would really appreciate your input.

Right now, my water system consists of a shallow well attached to a jet pump, attached to a 10 gallon pressure tank, carbon filter, then softener, which then goes into the rest of the house. It's functional, but using water outside for gardening and the like has been frustrating, as I can't get enough flow to effectively operate an oscillating garden sprinkler, among other things.

To resolve this problem, I have this idea:

  1. Replace the 10 gallon tank with a much, much larger one. I'm currently looking at an 86 gallon tank, which is probably overkill, but I'd rather just future-proof the system.
  2. Separate out a new path directly from the pressure tank to a hose spigot, instead of running through filters. For everything behind the carbon filter, I'll just convert to 3/4" and tie into the existing line.
  3. Run 1-1/4" PEX for the whole run outside, instead of the current 3/4" setup.
  4. Upgrade the spigot to something that can maintain 1-1/4", and use a 1-1/4" hose outdoors, converting to 3/4" GHT on the individual implements. Essentially, maintaining 1-1/4" all the way up to the sprinklers.

The biggest issue I see with this right now is at the hose spigot. Winters get real cold, and I'll need a frost free sillcock to keep things from bursting. My thought is that I can just have two valves, one inside, and one outside, where I'll drain the last foot or so of pipe when winter comes around, but that seems like an accident waiting to happen, and probably violates some codes. Is it possible to buy a 1-1/4" NPT sillcock somewhere? Is this a terrible idea?

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starholme t1_jebdx7i wrote

Avoiding the filters, and using a 3/4 line would probably be all thats required as long as your pump is sized appropriately.

I feel that 1-1/4" is overkill for a sprinkler.

What hp pump? How deep of a well? How far from the pump to your house?

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crackerjam OP t1_jebfoye wrote

> I feel that 1-1/4" is overkill for a sprinkler.

Yes, absolutely, but I'd like to be able to hook up multiple sprinklers to the same hose and have them work effectively. I also like the idea of being able to water my garden with a fire hose if I'm short on time. I'm also kind of thinking that if I have the opportunity to make the system overkill for a few extra dollars, why not?

> What hp pump?

3/4 hp

> How deep of a well?

Unfortunately I have no idea.

> How far from the pump to your house?

The pump is in my basement, it's right next to the pressure tank, filters, etc. I'm also hoping the oversized pressure tank will make up for the potential shortcomings of my pump situation.

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starholme t1_jebju60 wrote

Pumps like this are quite sensitive to how high they need to lift the water.

Personally I'd suggest doing a test on the pump/sprinklers first. Just connect the pump and existing pressure tank to a 3/4 hose fitting, run your hose out to the sprinkler, and make sure the pump and well can run your sprinkler. This lets you know if new piping will fix your issue or not.

If the pump does not keep up to a sprinkler, then either it's lifting beyond what it's rated for, or it's badly worn. Some wells tend to pick up a little sand, and the sand chews up the impeller. Or if the pump ran dry for a while.

A larger pressure tank reduces how often your pump needs to cycle, but if the pump can't keep up then the pressure will just slowly drop off. So if your pump just runs (doesn't cycle on/off) the whole time you have a sprinkler going, then a larger pressure tank is not very useful.

Bypassing the filter and water softener will help for sure, and save you money. No point carbon filtering and softening water for the garden!

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iowajosh t1_jecglip wrote

What is the water pressure on the system? I would just try bypassing all filters and see if the sprinkler works then.

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ybonepike t1_jeckuvd wrote

For a few hundred bucks you can purchase a
water pressure booster pump

I'm in MN with cold winters, I've got two outside spigots that are freeze proof 12" long. Pex lines inside connect to them. I never shut them off when winter rolls around and have not had a single issue since I installed them 8 years ago

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GrimResistance t1_jed2z4i wrote

You should post this question to the Terry Love plumbing forum, they're great for stuff like this, the users there have lots and lots of plumbing expertise.

I suspect that they would tell you most of the stuff you're proposing will not help your situation and you will probably be worse off doing it.

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tired_and_fed_up t1_jed6f7c wrote

Making the plumbing bigger doesn't help if the well pump can't maintain the water flow necessary for the sprinkler.

Same goes for the filters too.

Add up the GPM of all the sprinklers you plan on running at the same time and see if the filter and pump can supply that water.

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