Water pump?

[clnfrk]

I just had a couple of deionized water tanks installed today and am having some problems with water delivery. As you can see from the photos, the two valve levers allows me to switch between using water straight from the tank, or allowing water from the tank to flow through the filters for the final rinse.



When I have it set up to take water straight from the tank, the water pressure pulses high and low, and when I have it set to go through the DI tanks, I get nothing.



Would installing a water pump solve this? I was thinking of a Shurflo pump from Northern Tool. I`m assuming that I would place it in between the 3 way fitting (not sure exactly what its called) and the red hose. Also, the pumps that I saw on the Northern Tool site seem to have male ports on both sides. Wouldn`t I need a male and a female port? As you can see, I`m not too keen on plumbing issues, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ron Harris]

A pump would help with this problem.



Why not just fill the storage tank with DI water? That is what I do.

[BigJimZ28]

these comments are for the tank only not DI



if you keep the level of the water above the highest point in the hose you would be ok

you have a bottom connection on the tank then you have the red hose going up in the air this is counterproductive



I bet if you put the red hose to the pump it will solve your surge problem



and the kink in the hose is not helping

[PhaRO]

Different shurflo models come with different ports. I think most have male ports that have no threads or they have adaptors. You need to slide a hose over the end and fasten with a hose clamp. I have had several shurflo pumps over the years but recently got a flojet from Northern. It costs a little more but had a higher rated flow (5gpm). The surge is almost certainly from not getting enough water to the pressure washer. A pump would fix the problem but also make sure you use the shortest and largest diameter hose you can connect for feeding the pressure washer. If I understand things correctly you are using the pressure washer to pull the water through the di tank and out of the tank. My guess is you will need a pump to push the water through the di tanks. Alternatively as someone mentioned just fill the tank with the di water.

[clnfrk]

A pump would help with this problem.



Why not just fill the storage tank with DI water? That is what I do.

I was initially going to just fill the tank with DI water, but I think that wouldn`t be very cost effective to be using DI water for the entire washing process. Every time I need to swap out tanks it is $125 per tank. So, I just figured that I can go alot longer between tank swaps if I only use DI water for the final rinse.

these comments are for the tank only not DI



if you keep the level of the water above the highest point in the hose you would be ok

you have a bottom connection on the tank then you have the red hose going up in the air this is counterproductive



I bet if you put the red hose to the pump it will solve your surge problem



and the kink in the hose is not helping

I know it would solve the surge problem if I hook the red hose up directly to the pump, but then I wouldn`t be able to use DI water when needed.

Different shurflo models come with different ports. I think most have male ports that have no threads or they have adaptors. You need to slide a hose over the end and fasten with a hose clamp. I have had several shurflo pumps over the years but recently got a flojet from Northern. It costs a little more but had a higher rated flow (5gpm). The surge is almost certainly from not getting enough water to the pressure washer. A pump would fix the problem but also make sure you use the shortest and largest diameter hose you can connect for feeding the pressure washer. If I understand things correctly you are using the pressure washer to pull the water through the di tank and out of the tank. My guess is you will need a pump to push the water through the di tanks. Alternatively as someone mentioned just fill the tank with the di water.

You are correct in that I am using the pressure washer to pull the water through the DI tanks and out of the water tank, but unfortunately that isn`t working too well for me. So, would it make sense to hook up a pump in between the red hose and the fitting where the valve levers are located so that I can either have water force fed directly to the pressure washer pump, or in the case of the final rinse, close the valve leading directly to the PW pump and opening the valve leading to the DI tanks so that the water travels through the tanks and then on to the PW pump to provide my spot free rinse?

[PhaRO]

I looked at the photos again and feeding the pressure washer from the tank shouldn`t need a pump. I would think the problem is having the hose going upwards from the bottom of the tank and then down again. A shurflo/flojet pump is going to likely have a problem pushing the water through the tanks at a fast enough rate to keep up with the pressure washer. My flojet is 5gpm at 60ft out I get 2-3gpm. While you are not going to have 60ft of hose going to the DI tanks the resistance is going to slow the pump down considerably. I`d suspect to 1-1.5gpm. No doubt your pressure washer needs more than that. A simple fix to this problem would be a smaller secondary water tank to hold DI water for the rinse. Then you could run a short hose like the red hose from the bottom of your existing tank straight into the pressure washer which should get rid of the surge problem. The shurflo or flojet can pull water out of the top of the tank or you could put a Y on the bottom. I never got fittings for the bottom of my tank so I just have a 6 foot hose going into my tank through a hole I drilled in the cap. This keeps me from having to leave the cap off and still allows the tank to vent. The second tank would be hooked up to the pressure washer like the large tank (just need on off valves to shut one tank or the other). Depending on the space you have and how much water you would need in a day for rinse, you might be able to put a large enough tank in that you wouldn`t need a shurflo pump at all, you could use your home garden hose (I assume you get your water from home). Having a shurflo around is handy though just in case you need it. I like to have a back up plan if equipment fails while I am working. I clean 90-95% of the cars I do each week with ONR yet I still have my pressure washer with 50ft of hose and my flojet with 60ft of hose set up. I will probably remove the pressure washer at some point though.

[clnfrk]

Pharo,



Thanks for your suggestions. What I ended up doing is purchasing this pump from Northern Tool Wayne Portable Pump — 1450 GPH, 1/2 HP, 3/4in., Model# PC4 |Electric Powered Water Pumps | Northern Tool + Equipment.



I was initially going to go with the Flojet like you recommended, but the only one available was the display model that had like 3 or 4 leads to connect to an electrical source. I then saw the 1/2 hp Wayne model with a simple 3 prong plug that was rated to move quite a bit of water, so I ended up going with that and now I am experiencing no flow problems whatsoever.

[LeadingEdgeDetail]

Pharo,



Thanks for your suggestions. What I ended up doing is purchasing this pump from Northern Tool Wayne Portable Pump � 1450 GPH, 1/2 HP, 3/4in., Model# PC4 |Electric Powered Water Pumps | Northern Tool + Equipment.



I was initially going to go with the Flojet like you recommended, but the only one available was the display model that had like 3 or 4 leads to connect to an electrical source. I then saw the 1/2 hp Wayne model with a simple 3 prong plug that was rated to move quite a bit of water, so I ended up going with that and now I am experiencing no flow problems whatsoever.

Great! I have been looking for something just like that! I have an electric pressure washer, so it will be perfect!



Only thing left is a remote-operated power bar to turn things off and on from my pocket

[MorBid]

Pharo,



Thanks for your suggestions. What I ended up doing is purchasing this pump from Northern Tool Wayne Portable Pump � 1450 GPH, 1/2 HP, 3/4in., Model# PC4 |Electric Powered Water Pumps | Northern Tool + Equipment.

I have a similar setup up, I placed my pump in-line with the water tanks and the first DI-Water cylinder (I have a smaller version of those same type DI-Water cylinders). Then run a hose off the Second DI-Water cylinder to my PW.



Works like a charm even with long hose runs out to the PW. I`ve used both 1/12 HP and 1/2 HP pumps.



MorBiD

[clnfrk]

I have a similar setup up, I placed my pump in-line with the water tanks and the first DI-Water cylinder (I have a smaller version of those same type DI-Water cylinders). Then run a hose off the Second DI-Water cylinder to my PW.



Works like a charm even with long hose runs out to the PW. I`ve used both 1/12 HP and 1/2 HP pumps.



MorBiD

I have since removed one of the DI tanks and am storing it in my garage until the other one needs to be regenerated. I was initially under the impression that these were two bed system tanks, but after looking at my invoice, they are in fact mixed bed. That kind of defeats the purpose of running two tanks simultaneously then.



Oh well... at least I already have a spare tank to install once the one thats in use no longer produces DI water. That way I won`t have to worry about not having DI water until I can call and get set up with a fresh tank.

[MorBid]

Interesting. I didn`t know they had DI-Water systems that only needed one tank. Mine are about the size of SCUBA Tanks so they don`t take up much room.

[clnfrk]

Interesting. I didn`t know they had DI-Water systems that only needed one tank. Mine are about the size of SCUBA Tanks so they don`t take up much room.

Yeah, the mixed bed systems only require one tank, whereas as the two bed systems (one tank for the anions and one for the cations) require two tanks. The mixed bed system is said to provide the purest DI water of the two, but the two bed system has greater DI water producing capacity.



If I were using strictly DI water all the time, then I would probably go with the two bed system. But, since I`m only using it for my final rinse and sometimes for my bucket of wash water, I figure a tank should last quite a while.

[MorBid]

Thanks for that info, I`m gonna inquire about those mixed bed systems next time I need to get my tanks regenerated (which is sorta a misnomer cuz they just take mine and give me new ones).



MorBiD