loosing Spot Free water

[pgrzes]

So I have a 200 gallon tank in attic for spot free water, and a 150 gallon tank for reclaim water. My spot free is continually running thru arch. Do I nee to put a check valve in the line higher then water level, or put in a solenoid at the spot free pump to just open on call? Thanks for any tips.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

So I have a 200 gallon tank in attic for spot free water, and a 150 gallon tank for reclaim water. My spot free is continually running thru arch. Do I nee to put a check valve in the line higher then water level, or put in a solenoid at the spot free pump to just open on call? Thanks for any tips.

A solenoid would work best if it is just plumbed directly to the feed pump and its gravity feeding through.

 

[MEP001]

Just out of curiosity, what might make you think a check valve would stop the flow to the arch? Check valves are meant to stop flow the wrong way, not the correct way.

 

[Washmee]

Just out of curiosity, what might make you think a check valve would stop the flow to the arch? Check valves are meant to stop flow the wrong way, not the correct way.

Not always. A spring loaded diaphragm check valve would work great for this application. It's what I use to solve the same problem. Make sure it has enough size to ensure that you can get enough volume through the valve.

Check valve

 

[mjwalsh]

Not always. A spring loaded diaphragm check valve would work great for this application. It's what I use to solve the same problem. Make sure it has enough size to ensure that you can get enough volume through the valve.

Check valve

Just a thought ... it seems like the opening pressure specification could be a factor but then like Bubbles implied it seems like there would still have to be a solenoid somewhere. I suppose if it branches out in a way I don't understand ... could explain just the need to help prevent leaking somehow.

 

[MEP001]

Not always. A spring loaded diaphragm check valve would work great for this application. It's what I use to solve the same problem. Make sure it has enough size to ensure that you can get enough volume through the valve.

I know that in some circumstances a check valve with a strong enough spring can prevent flow from a tank higher than an outlet, but it's certainly not the intended use of a check valve. In any case, the question was about logic toward the use of a check valve.

 

[mjwalsh]

Just a thought ... it seems like the opening pressure specification could be a factor but then like Bubbles implied it seems like there would still have to be a solenoid somewhere. I suppose if it branches out in a way I don't understand ... could explain just the need to help prevent leaking somehow.

I see now where Jon is right with the repressurization pump being the only control now needed if that specific check valve is used. That's good because it keeps the process more simple & probably more trouble free.

 

[pgrzes]

My thought here is that there is a siphon created with the current setup. If I put a t at the tank outlet, with a line above the water level in the tank with a check valve, shouldnt that then break the siphon??

 

[MEP001]

Since your tank is higher than the arch, the problem is pressure. A siphon break would have to be near the arch and higher than the liquid in the tank, then every time the arch is called it would have to fill again. A check valve on a tee at the tank will just allow the pump to draw air through the check valve.

If you can find a check valve with a strong enough spring to hold the pressure from the tank, using that between the pump and the arch might do the trick. A solenoid would be the proper way to do it.

 

[Washmee]

The plastic one I linked to, can be disassembled and you can insert a stronger spring to make it work for your installation. Mine is installed right before the application arch.