How far should water travel

[Picasso]

to and from your sump?

If it has to travel, say 10 feet from the return to the main tank, there will be problems with the force necessary to move the water, there will be problems with the water changing temperature before it reaches the main tank. I can get a big pump and put a heater in the main tank and the sump. Any other problems?

thanks,
cAtherine

 

[dcantucson]

Ten feet isn't far enough to worry about anything IMO.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Unless it is vertical. Ten feet of water preasure is quite a bit. But they have flow charts on most of the pumps to tell you how high they can pump

 

[mng777777]

You always want to minimize the piping as each inch of pipe adds friction which will reduce flow, but as stated, vertical travel is far more problematic than horizontal. Even more important than how long it is, is the fittings you use. Every bend you put in the pipe causes more head pressure too, so one foot of pipe with 3 90* bends in it will have more head pressure than 10 feet of pipe with no bends. Consider this when plumbing and try to minimize the amount of fittings you use. If you can find some flexible PVC and avoid fittings altogether, that would even be better. The water will be moving rapidly enough that there won't be substantial temperature differential so the heater shouldn't be a big concern. Just check the specs on your pump and make sure you buy one suited to do the job and you'll be fine.

 

[Picasso]

I think I will have temp problems only because the location of the sump. This will be in my "furnace" room which get's to be pretty cold. My temps could be in the 40's in there. I can minimize the space that the water will travel but it would mean blocking access panels to my furnace, water heater, humidifier and whole house vacuum. I haven't really looked hard at it yet so I'm not sure what I can work out.

Thanks for your input, it really helps when making these plans!

Catherine

 

[dcantucson]

You can easily get a pump to move the water that distance. There are a lot of powerful pumps available. For the temperature problem you could place a heater in the sump and in the main tank. I don't think you will run into that many problems doing your plan.

 

[mng777777]

I just meant that the section of piping will not contribute substantially to temperature problems. The fact that you are keeping your sump in a meat locker, is a different story. You might consider putting a small heater in the room itself for the extremely cold times because in addition to the problems you will face keeping your tank temps stable, you will also have more evaporation due to the huge temp differential between the water and ambient air temps. I would definitely say to add the extra plumbing in favor of not blocking access to the mechanicals in your home. The extra plumbing should pose that big of a problem, and as stated you may just have to get a slightly larger pump.

 

[daugherty]

check out the panworldpumps at bulkreefsupply.com they have some really good ones. and no ten feet is not that far to have to pump water. i know of at least one person that has to pump his water at least 25 feet

 

[KidJ57]

I'm with MNG, I wouldn't worry so much about the temp loss in the pipes, but rather the tank being in that cold of a room. If there is too much heat loss coming specfically from the pipe/hose line, then you can simply get some pipe insulation from a Home Depot or some such thing, but again, I think you might consider heating that area in general. You might not have to heat the whole room, I don't know how big of a room we're talking about, but even sectioning off the area you need with just some plywood and heating that area would be beneficial.

 

[SeaBee]

To reduce the friction in the pipe go up one size over the distance and step back down into your fitting at the tank. That will eleiminate the pressure, unless it's a rise as stated above, horizontal, go up one size.

 

[bjohanson1234]

And if possible, use two 45's instead of a 90. Or locate a sweeping 90 which turns more smoothly instead of so sharply.

 

[mng777777]

+1 SeaBee