Set up is 1200 gal cistern, we do not have a well but haul water 400 gal at a time in tank on back of the pick up. I'd like to get a water level monitor like bushpilot uses to prevent us from running out of water, any suggestions (this one is no longer available, not sure what to look for) Cistern water level and temperature monitoring We've had trouble with the fittings & air gets in, a deteriorating pressure bladder, ran out of water a couple times, you name it, long story short we've blown through 2 of these in 5 years Pump & Tank Systems - Red Lion They have EXCELLENT customer service, but parts or dealers are a couple hours away. One misstep, the pump runs dry and melts all the plastic parts. We've had 2 versions of the 50. I hope a monitor will help prevent us from running out of water, for instance, a little boy flushed incessantly trying to get his business to go down the 5th wheel toilet and ran us dry, a year later his brother was over zealous with our older toilet (chain and bulb float) handle and ran it dry, another time a pvc fitting on the outdoor "hose faucet" (pvc, ya, this was a depression era man that had it before us) and ran it dry and we've made mistakes too misjudging usage, and last time it was a hose that sprang a leak (thanks bogieb ). But also I'd like a cast iron pump with a metal impeller and larger separate pressure bladder, can any of you point me in the right direction or the correct words for googling these items? While we're at it, the trap door opening to the bunker is 14" wide, any ideas how to widen that with floor joists on each side? Both for ease of getting in and out of there (narrow built in ladder) and also being able to get a normal pump and decent pressure tank down there too. I'll try to scare up some pics later. Thanks for input or commisseration
Well, I thought you had a tough problem. What you need is just a standard pump float switch. Hang it to switch the pump off at the level you desire...just need a place to hang it from...doesn't take much, a framing spike would work, pretty much anything. Most of them have both NO (normally open) and some also NC (normally closed) wires, you would want to wire it so it cuts the power to the pump pressure switch when the level drops to minimum...so you would hook it up to NO when it is hanging (NC when floating) You could get either a commercial float or a simple sump pump float...it you went with the sump pump float most of those have a standard 120V on it that you just plug into...bam, done...that is if your pump is not hard wired, or 240V. If you went with a real good commercial float you could have it control the pump power directly, but those are pricey. A cheaper one would work, but then you would need to wire in a relay to actually control the pump power.
Could you link me to an example of a pump float switch? I just googled and different things from $16 to several hundred $ came up. and no idea what we are doing along with I am good at complicating things
Sounds like you found the right thing...prices are all over the place. The more expensive ones are the commercial ones. USABlueBook - 20' Suspended Avocado Float Switch (2-Wire SPST, Normally Open) Flotec Sump Pump Replacement Submersible Float Switch-FP18-15BD - The Home Depot
Are all of the problems related to the cistern running dry? Sounds like. As far as the hatch entrance, you would have to cut through a joist and header it off to make it a wider entrance. Here is a vid to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, Willis. Depending on your floor load, span, etc. you wouldn't have to overbuild as much as the vid suggests....IMO. WWW will know.
waiting on pics WW.. I can get those type pumps at work.. for fire suppression sprinklers.. get me head size gpm and flow rates.. so know size of pump.. or specs on pump that works well.. I think you would want a commercial quality reasonably priced pump.. I've not had enough coffee yet to think of whose a plumber here
Is this for non potable water only? If so, then your options are much greater, and less expensive. I'd say there has to be a pump out there that can run dry and do your job, but absolutely adding a float switch to tell you when you're nearly out of water, or turn the pump off to save it.
For the purpose of the video, yup. We have no idea what the size of joists are, what the span is or floor load (if any) is at OP's place.....
a functioning float switch should kill power to the pump but you can get switches that do both which I would recommend in your situation.. as 1it saves pump and 2 let's you know your out of water
Thank You for taking a looksie at this for me! Pump from 2013 that has been replaced by a newer one of this model (almost identical) Max Head 150' Max GPM Flow 12.6 Best pic I could take, 110V down there, like an outlet you'd find in a house Crazy adapters. Left is from cistern, right is to jet pump, valve in middle we replaced in June (it was not upside down, requested the pic while WWW was disassembling it). My previous home (granted we had unlimited city water) looked more like this with the 50 gal pressure tank beside it that looked like this This house we use a lot less water. We are running about 30 psi now, enough to please the computerized dishwasher and clothes washer but not wasting water when using the sinks/shower. Ideally we'd like to eliminate all the crazy adapters.... If it matters, the cistern outlet is a ~12- 18" higher than where the pump in the bunker sits and it feeds down to. (if that makes a difference).
Thank you, all this mickey mouse with the pump here has been double frustrating and hard on our backs with that tiny trap door. Yes, it is potable, but we have 5 stage RO filter for drinking water and cooking if that makes a difference. (treated water that is transferred 3 times before it hits our cistern).
See, for potable water everything really needs to be food safe , NSF, or. Food grade. Most of the float switches are really meant for use on septic, or sump systems. I wouldn't use that type for potable water.
I'm exploring and reading, the reasonably priced ones either specify waste water, a couple that do not cite a California thing about the plastic causing cancer there. Also, most the "float switches" I have googled appear to turn on when water gets to a certain high level in the sump. Am I misunderstanding that? Any plumbing jargon for one that turns it off at a low level?
Here's a bunch of food grade float switches from McMaster Carr.McMaster-Carr You could even use an aquarium level sensor for an auto top off system to turn on a light and or buzzer to tell you when you're low. Those are food safe, as they are safe for fish.
Yes, there's normally open (NO) or normally closed (NC). You'd need a NO one to shut off when it gets low. I think I've got that right.
