Accumulator tank

[Leon 12]

Hello. How close should the accumulator be to the pump? At the moment I have a whale pump then water filter  then a 5 ltr accumulator  vessel/tank. Does the accumulator  need to be adjacent to the  water pump?

 

Cheers 

[Boat&Bikes]

Mine is about 30 foot away. Has always worked fine.

Ian.

[mrsmelly]

8 minutes ago, ianali said:

Mine is about 30 foot away. Has always worked fine.

Ian.

Ditto.

[dor]

9 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Ditto.

And me!

[Kendorr]

Mine's just after the pump, but only because that was the only place to retro-fit it.

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

So the answer is "No". However an expansion vessel is far more critical as to exactly where it is placed in the system.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:

So the answer is "No". However an expansion vessel is far more critical as to exactly where it is placed in the system.

 

Technically, the two (accumulator and expansion vessel) are identical except, possibly, for size. They are named differently according to which of two uses they are being put.

Both are needed if there in a non-return valve in the calorifier inlet. If no NRV, or no calorifier at all, only rthe accumulator is needed and it doesn't care where on the cold water system it is fitted. Provided its downstream of the pump, that is!

 

[Leon 12]

Expansion vessel is on the hot side about 6 feet away from calorifier. Only place as calorifier  is situated on the swim

The expansion vessel  is first in line via tee.

The calorifier is a sure just 55ltr twin. However I've just installed a lpg water heater as the webasto takes ages to heat up. Hot showers are a must.

[Tony Brooks]

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Technically, the two (accumulator and expansion vessel) are identical except, possibly, for size. They are named differently according to which of two uses they are being put.

Both are needed if there in a non-return valve in the calorifier inlet. If no NRV, or no calorifier at all, only rthe accumulator is needed and it doesn't care where on the cold water system it is fitted. Provided its downstream of the pump, that is!

 

and for optimum operation will be charged to different air pressures.

[Leon 12]

The accumulator is a 5 ltr  also the expansion vessel is the same

I have the accumulator is set to 2 psi below the pump cuto in. And the expansion is set to 28 psi. Just slightly above pump cut out pressure.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

and for optimum operation will be charged to different air pressures.

 

Indeed.

Different purposes, different charge pressures. Same component.

[alan_fincher]

17 minutes ago, Leon 12 said:

The accumulator is a 5 ltr  also the expansion vessel is the same

Be aware that although 5 ltr is probably fine for an expansion vessel, it is only (from memory) about half what SureJust say you should use with their 55 litre Calorifier.

That said if you have a horizontal one, I'm convinced that they generally retain a pocket of air at the top, which itself acts as one to at least some degree.

[system 4-50]

Expansion vessels and accumulators may be the same functional device but some are rated potable and some are not. Assuming drinking/cooking water is mostly taken from the cold supply then ideally accumulators should be potable. I don't suppose that anybody worries though.

[philjw]

8 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Assuming drinking/cooking water is mostly taken from the cold supply then ideally accumulators should be potable.

Is it likely that the water which goes up the spur to fill the accumulator stays there until the pump is disabled by, say, throwing the breaker or will it mix in with the main stream when a tap is opened?

If the first option is true then the water will remain in contact with the innards of the accumulator potentially for a long time and pick up more chemicals of a non potable nature.  If the second option  is true then maybe the dwell is not sufficient to taint the water (but it can be some hours between running the taps). 

Turning off the pump and turning on the taps could be the worst action under option 1 as the dwell time is longer e.g. all day.

 

[springy]

Very slightly off topic but I would have expected the filter to be on the Inlet side of the pump.

 

springy

[Leon 12]

That would be the strainer.