Jet-Stream
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- Sep 23, 2007
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I have three Paloma PH-28C tankless heaters plumbed in parallel with a manifold controller that turns them on or off as needed. These are feeding my pump stand for a 5 bay wash. The pump stand was designed with the HP soap and hot fresh water being gravity feed in to the inlet side of the pump. To accomplish this with tankless heaters, I made a very small tank (about 4.5 gal) that the Palomas feed in to. There is a float on the inlet of the tank that lets the hot water in.
The problem I am having is that the tank is so small that only a small water level drop activates the float valve. It doesn't take much water to make the float valve shut off. The result is a bobbing float that cycles on - off - on - off ----. This prevents the flow from getting high enough to fire the heaters adequately to heat the water. If enough bays get going, the flow is sufficient to get past this problem.
I'd rather not go to a circulating system with a larger holding tank. After all, the whole idea of going to tankless is to get away from the heat loss associated with holding tanks.
I have considered a few methods to remedy my problem:
1. Differential float valve - Jobe makes a float that will drop a set distance before it activates. This differential would allow the water to flow longer before shutting off. (I am concerned that this float may be too big for the tank)
2. Use an electronic system - This is similar to what the I-wash system has in it's holding tank. A couple of stainless rods hooked to some circuitry. The rods are connected to some electronics that activate a solenoid valve. You can adjust the height the rods for the appropriate water levels and the time that the valves will be open. I have some electrical engineering experience, so I could potentially do this although it would be time consuming.
3. A zero pressure regulator - I remember reading something about an operator using some kind of zero pressure regulator to drop from city pressure down to zero (or near zero) psi. I can't find the thread on this.
Anyway, I would like to stay away from running at city pressure, as this would require re-plumbing the pumping system and investing in injectors.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
The problem I am having is that the tank is so small that only a small water level drop activates the float valve. It doesn't take much water to make the float valve shut off. The result is a bobbing float that cycles on - off - on - off ----. This prevents the flow from getting high enough to fire the heaters adequately to heat the water. If enough bays get going, the flow is sufficient to get past this problem.
I'd rather not go to a circulating system with a larger holding tank. After all, the whole idea of going to tankless is to get away from the heat loss associated with holding tanks.
I have considered a few methods to remedy my problem:
1. Differential float valve - Jobe makes a float that will drop a set distance before it activates. This differential would allow the water to flow longer before shutting off. (I am concerned that this float may be too big for the tank)
2. Use an electronic system - This is similar to what the I-wash system has in it's holding tank. A couple of stainless rods hooked to some circuitry. The rods are connected to some electronics that activate a solenoid valve. You can adjust the height the rods for the appropriate water levels and the time that the valves will be open. I have some electrical engineering experience, so I could potentially do this although it would be time consuming.
3. A zero pressure regulator - I remember reading something about an operator using some kind of zero pressure regulator to drop from city pressure down to zero (or near zero) psi. I can't find the thread on this.
Anyway, I would like to stay away from running at city pressure, as this would require re-plumbing the pumping system and investing in injectors.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
