Pump Location: push or pull water?

[Kwest364]

Intuitively, I'd assume it best to put water pump as close to fresh water outlet as possible, so it "pushes" the water to your bus fixtures.

But, any scenarios where having pump far from fresh water outlet and close to fixture, so it "pulls" the water?


I suppose if a design or space constraints demanded it, you could do either. But advantages one over other?


Was thinking of Gordo's End of the World bus. His water is very in line and centralized. Sink, pump, outdoor shower, etc. are all right on top of each other, essentially, from interior to exterior. Less plumbing, less distance, less cost. Wins all around. Makes me think about tank and water fixture placement and design, and how it could affect things. My current bus has tank under bed in back, and I have to run water halfway up bus for sink, shower, bathroom sink. Might be worth considering putting power back under bed next to water tank. But that's got it's own considerations to ponder (inverter noise, water next to electricity, sleeping on top of batteries, could affect weight distribution, etc. ).

***For electrical runs, might be beneficial to have water pump closer to battery bank/power. Meaning, if water is back of bus, batteries front of bus, water fixtures mid bus, wouldn't it make sense to put water pump close to fixtures so it has to pump less distance and "pull" the water. That way electrical runs can be shorter. Relatively neglible, but up for design consideration for sure. Could make a difference/less headaches if say design is such that water source is right next to power source (ex. Alyssa/Regretlyss skoolie by Chuck)

 

[turf]

you want to push water.

with a gravity fill/tank feed for your pump, i'd put the pump as the first thing out of the tank.

some pumps have better suction than others, but generally you want no obstructions and very little distance from your source. if you put the pump where it had to pull through 10' of pipe, you are restricting the flow to the pump. gravity feed thru 10' has more resistance than pumping through 10'.

big well pumps and pipes pull water better than the little rubber diaphragm pumps we use in rv. an rv pump may try for a while but it will let you down.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

you want to push water.

with a gravity fill/tank feed for your pump, i'd put the pump as the first thing out of the tank.

some pumps have better suction than others, but generally you want no obstructions and very little distance from your source. if you put the pump where it had to pull through 10' of pipe, you are restricting the flow to the pump. gravity feed thru 10' has more resistance than pumping through 10'.

big well pumps and pipes pull water better than the little rubber diaphragm pumps we use in rv. an rv pump may try for a while but it will let you down.

ZACKLY!!

Pump should be as close to the tank as possible and as close to being at the same elevation as the bottom of the tank. That way, gravity keeps your pump primed as long as there's water in the tank.

 

[nikitis]

It honestly depends on the pump type.

Most will generally want to be first thing out of the tank.

Some pumps use a wheel spin for creating movement in a direction and these can go anywhere, it's the same if you are pulling as pushing. So it really depends on how it was built, but since some do need to be early on, you might as well design it there to be safe.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

the pumps we are talking about are diaphragm pumps. no impellers.


Get onboard. :biggrin: