Hydroaccumulators for water supply. Accumulator-50

Water supply to a private home is the problem most of the homeowners face. Someone solves it by contacting a company engaged in drilling wells, and individual lovers dig themselves wells. In any case, we have to solve the problem of stabilizing the pressure in the system, since pumps with this task can not always cope.

As a rule, hydroaccumulators for water supply are installed for this purpose, which are better known as membrane expansion tanks. They not only serve to maintain a stable pressure in the system, but also play the role of a backup storage. This is especially true for rural areas, where the lack of water in the water pipe is not something out of the ordinary.

Basic functions of membrane tanks

To prevent all subsequent issues, we will immediately tell you about all the main functions for which the expansion tanks should be installed in the domestic water supply system :

• To prevent the occurrence of a water hammer, which can disable the equipment connected to the water supply;
• As we have already said, they can retain a fairly large supply of drinking water;
• The service life of the pump, which does not need to be switched on even if the crane is opened for a short time, is considerably extended.

So it is the hydraulic accumulator that makes it possible to fully automate the water supply to the house. For example, only with it you can install a relay for the pump. If there is no membrane tank, then the system regularly experiences fluid pressure drops . And this leads to a permanent operation of the electrical relay, which is fraught with a rapid failure.

Some information about the fluid pressure in the system

It should be borne in mind that the water practically does not lend itself to squeezing. If the system has a relay, but there are no hydroaccumulators for water supply, then when the pump is switched on, the pressure in it increases sharply. Accordingly, when the crane is opened, it falls critically, forcing the pump to turn on again, even if the amount of water consumed is extremely low.

To explain this phenomenon, let's remember the school course of physics. It is known that the water compression ratio is 5x10 ^ 10 1 / Pa. Thus, an increase or decrease in pressure has practically no effect on the actual volume of the liquid. Consequently, the relay in this mode of operation will not last for long, and the electric pump will quickly fail.

Consider the features of water consumption

It is important to clearly understand that the membrane tank does not pump water from the well by itself, because only the pump is responsible for this! It serves only to store a certain volume of water and compensate for changes in its pressure at the time of opening the crane.

Therefore, it is not very correct to ask about which water accumulators for water supply to choose, provided there is a pair of bathrooms in the house. If you carefully read all of the above, you could guess that at the moment the pump is turned on, it is he who delivers the water! The volume of the tank in this case does not play any value.

It is also superfluous to remember the possible failures in the relay, when the pump can shut down even while people are using water. This can mean both a relay failure and an incorrect pump selection. In any case, the hydroaccumulators for water supply compensate for those fluid pressure disruptions that occur at this time.

The device and the principle of operation

These devices are not accidentally called membrane expansion tanks, since their cavity is divided into two independent parts: with water and air, and they are separated from each other just by the membrane. So what is the work of the accumulator?

When water enters the tank, it compresses the air in the opposite cavity. This state is denoted as P1V1 = P2V2, which indicates the equilibrium. The relay turns off, the pump does not work. However, the latter depends solely on the settings of the pump itself, which can be programmed for different modes of operation.

When water starts to be wasted, the air chamber expands, pushing the liquid out of the tank. Its pressure in this case falls very slowly, and when a certain value is reached, the pump starts. As you can see, the principle of work is quite simple and logical.

Let's talk about air pressure

We have not yet touched the required air pressure in the corresponding tank chamber, speaking only of the liquid. And the rule in this case is simple: its value should be exactly 1/10 more than that for turning on the pump. As you can remember, the user adjusts it himself.

Important! The pressure in the accumulator can only be measured in a system that is disconnected from the water supply. Otherwise, the results will be incorrect. It is strongly recommended that this indicator be monitored as regularly as possible, as this can significantly extend the life of the storage tank.

In addition, we advise you to withstand the difference of exactly 10%. It is best when the pressure difference between turning the pump on and off does not exceed 1.0-1.5 atm. If this value is higher, then the membrane is very strongly stretched. This not only significantly shortens its service life, but it can lead to premature failure of the relay or pump, since they will be switched on for a long time. In addition, the stretched membrane can no longer level the difference in pressure, so that the hydro-impact becomes a very real threat.

Where to install?

Professional builders recommend to mount the tank only in places that are not subject to flooding, the humidity of the air in which does not exceed the limit values. The fact is that from the constant high content of moisture in the air on the surface of the device will accumulate condensate. This will first lead to the destruction of the paint and varnish layer, and then to the corrosion of the metal walls.

Since there are no serious loads on the tank, it is not necessary to attach it to the floor or walls. As a rule, it is simply installed on the floor, using for this purpose reliable supporting beams or a concrete slab.

What to look for when choosing?

It should be noted that when buying a membrane storage tank, you should pay close attention to its manufacturer. The fact is that the accumulator, the price of which is less than 1000 rubles for 20 liters, is certainly made in China. You can guess the quality of that product yourself. Fortunately, our industry has already established the production of such equipment. In particular, the company "Gileks", located in the suburbs, produces excellent and cheap storage tanks.

When choosing a tank, be sure to find out about the membrane material, as well as about the availability of certificates that confirm the suitability of this equipment for preserving drinking water! It will not be superfluous also to make sure of the availability and availability of spare parts, so that in the event of a breakdown, do not run to the store for a new storage tank.

How much water is there in it?

Very often people think that the labeling of the "hydroaccumulator-100" speaks of a capacity of one hundred liters. Is it really? Alas, the actual volume depends on the settings of the pressure switch (however, attentive readers have already realized this). The higher the difference in pressure between switching on and switching off the supply pump, the more water will enter the corresponding chamber. Although we have already written about why it is impossible to expose the limiting values.

Thus, in a storage tank of 50 liters, depending on the pressure settings (authorized by the manufacturer), there may be 15 to 24 liters of water! Thus, counting on a really decent source of drinking or technical water in case the pump or the central water supply is not working, you should pay attention to the models from 300 liters.

Recommended settings

Despite all of the above, for ordinary household needs, we would recommend models that do not exceed 35 liters. In general, in almost all cases, the hydro-accumulator-50 will perfectly cover the needs of a family of 4-5 people.

Tanks of higher capacity should be purchased only when there are frequent power outages in your area . Of course, with a feed pump power of 1.3 kW, large volumes of the storage tank are also desirable, since otherwise a powerful device can simply burn out from frequent on / off cycles.

Note that the water stored in the membrane tank quickly loses its consumer qualities. Despite the safe materials from which the membrane is made, the liquid begins to acquire an unpleasant odor and color, which makes it impossible to use it for food purposes.

In addition, the connection of a large-capacity accumulator must only be carried out by a professional, since when you leak it, you will have big problems.