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How To Size A
Hydropneumatic Tank in A
Pressure Booster System
March 19, 2013
By Chris Edmondson
Properly sized hydropneumatic tanks are a non-
negotiable element in a domestic water pressure
booster system-including variable speed systems
Without a hydropneumatic tank, pumps will short
cycle on and off during no flow periods. Even a
leaky faucet can cause pumps to operate
unnecessarily without this pressurized reserve of
water.
As important as these tanks are in a system, itis
equally important that they be sized correctly.
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16e016 How To Sie A Hydropneumatc Tak in A Pressure Booster System —
Sizing is dependent on two factors:
(1) The length of time the designer theorizes that
the booster pumps should remain off in a no-flow
condition. It is recommended that the pumps stay
off between 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the
type of building) during periods of low demand to
save energy and prevent short cycling. Note that a
hospital will typically need a larger tank in order for
the booster pumps to remain off for the same
amount of time as an apartment building where low
usage periods are very consistent.
(2) The tank location in relation to the pressure
booster pumps. Tanks that are placed on the roof
or at the high point in the system can typically
afford to be smaller than those installed at the
discharge of the pressure booster.
With that in mind, an engineer can quickly
determine the correct size tank for a given
application by consulting a few charts and doing
some simple math.
Six Steps to a Properly Sized Tank!
Let's say you have an apartment booster system
designed to deliver a maximum of 124 GPM. There
is a minimum street pressure of 40 PSIG, and the
booster system itself is designed to generate 58
PSIG of pressure for a total maximum pressure of
98 PSIG.
Based on this scenario, these are the steps you
would take to determine the proper size
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Step 1. Determine what type of differential you
want between the point that the booster system
cuts off (98 PSIG) and the time it cuts back on
again. For the purpose of this example, we will
assume a 10 PSIG differential, so the pump would
cut back on when system pressure drops to 88
PSIG
Step 2. Based on the type of facility, decide how
long you would like pumps to stay off during a
petiod of no flow. In our apartment example, let's
say that time period is 15 minutes.
Acceptance Volume fo Verious Types of Buildings
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Fill Pressure equals Initial Pressure
Step 3. Determine the Acceptance Volume for the
building type (apartment) and total GPM (124) by
consulting an Acceptance Volume chart (Table 1)
Based on our example, the Acceptance Volume we
need is approximately 19 GPM. However, this chart
is based on a 30-minute shutdown instead of a 15-
minute shutdown. So we divide 19 gallons by two,
giving us a 9.5-gallon Acceptance Volume.
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Table 2 - Drawdown Factors
Step 4. Determine your Draw Down Coefficient by
finding the initial pressure and final pressure on the
Hydropneumatic Tank Draw Down chart in Table 2
In our example, the initial pressure is 88 PSIG and
the final pressure is 98 PSIG so the drawdown
coefficient is approximately .087.
Tank at Discharge of Booster
Booster size 124 GPM @ 58 PSIG
"20 PSIG Minimum Suction
15 Minute Booster Shutdown
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