Water tank size ?

**nigelandjan** · 13-05-2013, 02:31 AM

Can anyone give me an idea as to the size of one of those stainless water tanks to use mounted up on a frame to heat the water in to supply a small 1 bath 1 kitchen property for 2 people ,, how many litre size tank please ?

**DrAndy** · 13-05-2013, 02:35 AM

do you mean the tank on a solar water heater?

for a small property like that, the smallest one they make

**boloa** · 13-05-2013, 02:44 AM

Thailand sell solar water heater storage tank ????????????????????????????????????? SP-470-47/1500-15-R Capacity (L)113

like this

**nigelandjan** · 13-05-2013, 02:59 AM

No I mean just the stainless tanks you see up high on hotel roofs and up on frames fro peoples homes

**Humbert** · 13-05-2013, 06:34 AM

I think 700-750 liters is about right for that amount of usage Nige.

**Bung** · 13-05-2013, 08:15 AM

I agree, 100 litres as Dillinger suggested is ridiculous. I doubt they even make a tank that small. Maybe he meant 1000l.

You need to think about how reliable the water supply is. Does it stop for days? How much space do you have for a tank? Do you want to mount it on a tower to give you a head of pressure or will you just use a pump?

Do you want to collect rain water?

Will you need water pressure for watering a garden while someone takes a shower?

**Humbert** · 13-05-2013, 08:58 AM

I bought a 700 liter sandstone plastic tank. Roughly the same price as stainless. Both types carry 20 year warranties. On another thread a poster complained that he had to replace his stainless steel tank due to corrosion caused by the mineral content of the water. That's what clinched it for me to buy plastic. My tank is not concealed by a parapet wall or enclosure so I wanted something that integrated better into the natural color scheme of my house and the plastic/sandstone ones come in several color choices.

**benbaaa** · 13-05-2013, 09:08 AM

I replaced my old 800 litre stainless steel one with a new plastic 1,000 litre one last year. But we live in an area where the mains pressure is weak, and this was after a month in which the mains were cut off several times for repairs. 3 bed house with two bathrooms. 3 of us.

About 8,000 Baht if I recall correctly.

**Necron99** · 13-05-2013, 09:55 AM

Standard size, 1000l.

Will add, if you are using a pump and have weak mains, dont put it up on a tower. No benefit and your mains may have trouble filling it.
Just enough to keep it out of the rubbish will do.

**VocalNeal** · 13-05-2013, 10:09 AM

Nige if you want to heat water, simply laying some garden hose on the roof will do that. One end connected above the low water level and one at the bottom. If the tank is above the hose it will circulate on its own.

Temperature control is a a matter of trial and error with the length of the hose and which side of the roof etc. You will need a mixer tap in the bathroom with hot and cold water plumbing as it get quite hot.

If it is for hot water then you only need a small tank unless you want to shower 3 or 4 times a day. A 10min shower is about 25 gallons or 100l so 400-500l minimum. The bigger the tank the longer it takes to recover.

**bobforest** · 13-05-2013, 10:24 AM

Nigel

I had a 'stainless' steel tank that started to corrode within 6 weeks of installation. That might have been because I'm on village water from the wat and I suspect it has a few chemicals in it as a result of it being pumped out of the ground. I got my money back on warranty and replaced it with a 700 litre Natura silver nano titanium (according to the sticker) tank - Anglo Japanese American AJA Registrars (again according to another sticker). 7200 baht 4 years ago and have had no problems other than some bastard turning off the tap on the water meter in the soi.

I didn't worry about a raised tower - just installed a pump. We find 700 litres enough for a big house (4 bathrooms), 2 permanent persons, and others coming and going as uni and work dictates.

bobforest

**nigelandjan** · 13-05-2013, 11:38 AM

Thankyou all kindly for your replies ,, a lot of good info here ,, looks like a plastic one is the way to go as opposed to the stainless .

I was thinking of putting it up on a tower to give it the gravity feed down ,, it will be supplied from our own well , so yes it will be pumped up there , then I was hoping warmed up a bit then gravitied back down .

Looks like a 1000 litre plastic job as Humbert suggests , something to blend in a bit will be good .

Thankyou all

**Necron99** · 13-05-2013, 11:50 AM

^ Someone no doubt has the math, but I believe to get any reasonable (enough for an electric shower) gravity pressure the tower needs to be something like 12 meters tall.
Cheaper and less but ugly to use a small pump for the house.

**Norton** · 13-05-2013, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

I was thinking of putting it up on a tower to give it the gravity feed down

You'll need minimum 30 psi to house. Water tank ok but to get 30psi will have to be up pretty high with the tank.

1 psi. (static) of water is equal to 2.31 ft. Tank should be about 70 ft above faucets.

Suggest you consider putting tank gound level or underground as I have and use pump to house.

**nigelandjan** · 13-05-2013, 12:02 PM

Ok Nec cheers ,, that would be bloody expensive going up that high ,, ok low to the ground plastic 1000 litre + pump were there !

**Necron99** · 13-05-2013, 12:04 PM

^ See alot of those massive golf ball tanks around and cant fathom the cost comparison.
Can only think they were put in when there was no electricity available.

**DrAndy** · 13-05-2013, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by Bung

You need to think about how reliable the water supply is.

that is probably the deciding factor, but 800l is good for most things for that size house

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

looks like a plastic one is the way to go as opposed to the stainless .

I prefer stainless, no problems - you just have to buy the appropriate quality

**ltnt** · 13-05-2013, 04:47 PM

I have one of each. Plastic one is buried and the stainless one is above ground. Gravity feed from SS tank to plastic tank and pump from plastic tank into all mains.

Both tanks 9 years old in service and no complaints about either. Trouble with the plastic above ground tank is the ultra violet rays that em-brittle the plastic over time.

If you do have an above ground plastic or Styrofoam type tank I would suggest you build a small enclosure to prevent the ultra violet rays deterioration of the plastic.

On a small project in Colorado we even went as far as to electric tape solid all PVC above ground pipe for protection from the suns rays. Eventually both will fail but it provided enough outer covering to protect the PVC for the duration of the plants operation.

Up to you Mate.

**Mid** · 13-05-2013, 04:49 PM

as big as you can afford

**Koetjeka** · 13-05-2013, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

I was thinking of putting it up on a tower to give it the gravity feed down

You'll need minimum 30 psi to house. Water tank ok but to get 30psi will have to be up pretty high with the tank.

1 psi. (static) of water is equal to 2.31 ft. Tank should be about 70 ft above faucets.

Suggest you consider putting tank gound level or underground as I have and use pump to house.

Thats nice to know, I think I better put the tank underground. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to need a tank since we want to have our own well. Does anyone have some info on this?

Does a pump consume a lot of electricity anyway?

**mingmong** · 13-05-2013, 06:57 PM

/\ not a little Mitsubishi pump! We have a 800lt Stone look Plastic tank and small Mitsu pressure pump.
had the same gear in Banga as we were sick of the Mains always going off 5 times a week,
Tanks now 6 year old and the pumps a champion, then there's only 2 or 4 people on using it

**DrAndy** · 13-05-2013, 07:30 PM

you will need a tank if you are pumping from a well, with an auto cutoff for when the tank is full

and a filter to clean any crap out of the water before it goes into the tank

then an on-demand pump into the house; these switch on when you open a tap

**nigelandjan** · 14-05-2013, 01:01 AM

Originally Posted by ltnt

Trouble with the plastic above ground tank is the ultra violet rays that em-brittle the plastic over time.

Cheers for that mate ,,,, nevermind by that time when the tank is brittle above ground ,, I will be in none too good shape underground

Thanks fo rthe tips think I will make a nice wood insulated box around it ,, I have plenty of wood available ,, just bought 3 bloody great tree trunks for £60 ,, all legal

**benbaaa** · 14-05-2013, 08:16 AM

And if you get an on-demand pump for the house, have the guys who install it set up a pump bypass as well, ie a pipe from the mains direct into the house. That way, you still get some water into the house from the mains in the event of a power cut.

**Humbert** · 14-05-2013, 09:29 AM

For me, a garden hose from my father-in-law's house and a couple of strategically located plastic garbage cans will do the trick in that eventuality.

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