6/10/2017 WaterBoosterPumpCalculationsPlumbingengineeringEngTips

HomeForumsEngineeringForumsbyIndustryMachinery&Equipment PlumbingengineeringForum

WaterBoosterPumpCalculations
thread678417647

HorizontalCentrifugalPumpsQualityThermoplasticPumps
ConstructedToHandleCorrosive,Abrasive&OtherAggressiveFluids.CallNow!
vantonpump.com/Centrifugal/Pumps

Hi,

Iamspecifyingmyfirstwaterboosterpump,andwouldliketohearhowyouotherengineers determinewhetheraboosterpumpisneededandtheamountofpressure
boostthatisneeded.

Mycalculationsareasfollows:

Waterflowtest
staticpressure:58psi
residualpressure:54psi
testflow:1800gpm
availablepressureatbuilding peakflow:57psi@200gpm

Pressurelosses:
10 psi4"ReducedPressureZoneBackflowPreventerWattsLF909200gpm
8psi3"compoundmeterAWWAtables 200gpm
17psi39ftstatichead(4thfloor)
20psi400ftofpipe@4psi/100ft+fittings+accessories
5psiLeonardValveMasterMixingValveTM2020B3PSL@200gpm
1.5psitap&50ft4inchwaterservicepipe

61.5psi

PressureRequiredatthefixture
20psipressurebalancedshowervalve(perIPC2012)
10psiASSE1070pointofusetemperaturelimitingvalve(perlocalcode)

30psi

RequiredPressure:91.5psi@200gpm
AvailablePressure:57psi@200gpm

PressureBoost:(91.5psi57psi)=34.5psi+5psibooster loss=40psi

A40psi,200gpmboosterpumpset isrequired.

HappyThanksgiving!,

Thanks!

Firstworkouttheflowrequirement.

Youdon'tsaywhereyouget200gpmfrom.That'squitealotofwater,butoverhowmanyapartments?Lotsofyourlossesareflowrelates,soabitlessflow,evensay150
gpmandyou'reok.

RememberMoredetails=betteranswers
Also:Ifyougetaresponseit'spolitetorespondtoit.

Thanksfortheresponse,LittleInch.!

Thebuildinghas130units(amixof1bedroom,2bedroomandstudiounits),acommercialkitchen ,aspa,abeautysalonandseveraloffices.

ThepeakflowwascalculatedusingHunter'smethod(IPC2012AppendixEwithlocalamendments):
Totalnumberofwatersuplyfixtureunits:930wsfu
FlowratefromHunter'scurve:196gpm

Thanks!

Ok,that'sstartingtomakesense.

Howeverthereisneverarightanswerhere.

Simplyputtinga40psiboosterpumpattheinletwouldgivethenearestunitoftheground floor70psiatthetap.That'squitealotforadomesticfittingandyouwould
probablyneedtoinsertapressureorflowreducerineachoutletonthegroundfloor.

http://www.engtips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=417647 1/3
6/10/2017 WaterBoosterPumpCalculationsPlumbingengineeringEngTips
Youneedtolookatthisonamorefloor byfloorbasisIthink.

Thenyourlossesmightcomedown.

Fromyourlist,onlythestaticliftisfixed .

Iftheflowisequaltoeachfloor,thenthetopflooronlyhas50gpm??
Doesthat"mastermixingvalve"haveall200gpmgoingthroughit?

Sobymyreckoningyou'vegotabout20psiatthetopfloortoplaywith.probablynotenough,butyouprobablyonlyneedaboosterpumpforfloors3and4,soasmaller
pump(lessheadandlessflow),hencelowercostandlesspower.

Alsotryandfigureoutwhattherangeofflowsis.Itmightmeanyouarebetteroffwith2or3pumpssoyoudon'tgetabigpumpcontinuallystartingandstoppingforthe
80%ofthetimetheflowis<40%ofmaxflow...Thepumpwon'tlastverylonglikethatoryouendupwithalargepressuretanktohandlethelowflowscenarios.

There'salotmoretoitthatyoursomewhatsimplisticcalculationabove.

RememberMoredetails=betteranswers
Also:Ifyougetaresponseit'spolitetorespondtoit.

WithHunter,youdonotgetaltogethergoodpeakflowratessoIwouldquestionyourflowrate .

Youhave130residentialunitsandacommercialkitchenwhichIwouldassumewouldbeopenforbreakfast.Theseareheavyusersrequiringhigherthananticipated
flows.

Youdonotsayifthecommercialkitchenislocatedonalowerfloor.ifitis,youcoulddeductthisflowfromtheboosterpump.Youwouldneedtohaveaseparatewater
heater(nevermixpressuresystemsandhotwatersystems).

Assumingpeakoperationat7AM9AMtoaccountforthebreakfastcrowdandpeopleshoweringpriortoleavingforwork,youwilllikelyhavethecommercialkitchenfilling3
bowlsinks,maybestartingthedishwashertofillthetank,andotherprepitems,soyoucouldhaveaflowof~40gpm(shortduration,though).With130residentialunits,
assuming80%maximumuseanda2gpmshowerhead,youcouldhave~250gpmofflow.Thisdoesnotincludetheotheroccupancies,whichmightcontributewater
closet(assumingflushvalve)flowof2550gpm,dependingonhowmanyflushnearlysimultaneously.Soyouareupto~300gpm,whichmaynotlastlongatall,stillneeds
tobeaccountedfor.Ifyouthinkthisistooconservative,youcouldgodownto~250gpm(onlyoneflushvalveflushing).Ifyouareusinglowerflowshowers,youcouldget
tothe200gpm,butyouwouldneedhigherpressure.Youdecide.

Forthepressure,youseemtohavecoveredthebaseswell,butrememberflushvalvesforlowflowfixtures (ifthatiswhatyouareusing)require35psigstaticto
operatecorrectly.Also,ifyouareusinglowerflowshowers,experiencehasshown,youneed40psigflowingpressure.Soyouhavestartingpressureandhowmuchyou
arelosing,andwhatthetoppressureistobe.IfthisisintheUSA,rememberyoucannotgobelow20psigattheinlettotheboosterpumpperEPArequirements.

Iwouldalsorecommendusingavariablespeedboosterpumpsoitcouldhitthepeakflow,butnotrunthereallthetime.Thissavesenergyandisalsocompliantwith
ASHRAE90.1.

Thanksfortheresponse,LittleInch&PEDARRIN2!

Iamconsideringusingaboosterpumpsetwith3pumpssizedat50%capacity(eachpumpprovidesa40psipressureboost@100gpm,onepumpisredundant).Theset
comeswithVariableFrequencyDrivesoneachpumpandasmallhydropneumatictank.TheVFDswillallowkeepingaconstantpressureinthesystemunderdifferentflow
conditions.(Pressuretransducerlocatedatthetopofthemostremote riser)andthehydropneumatictankwillreducecyclingofthepumpsunderlowflowconditions.

Thebuildingcanmorecloselybedescribedastwobuildings:a4story building(retirementhome)witha1storybuilding(nursinghome)attachedtoit,thecommercial
ADVERTISEMENT

ENTERTAINMENTARTICLES
LatestTVnews

Giant Watermelon
Pool Float BMPF
WA

AED 89
View More

kitchenisonthefirstfloorofthehighrisebuildinganditsharedbybothbuildings.Themainwaterdistributionpipesarerunonthefirstfloorceilingwithseveraldownfeed
riserssupplyingtheresidentialunitsontheupperfloors.(Duetothisconfiguration,havingaboosterpumponlyfortheupperfloorswouldbeimpractical)

PEDARRIN2,followingyourexample,thepeakflowwillhavetoberevisedto225gpm:Theretirementhome hasabout80unitsandthenursinghomehas40units(total
of120units).Theresidentsinthenursinghomeareexpectedtorequireconstantassistancehence,theywilltakeshowersinshiftswiththeassistanceofonsitestaff.(I've
assumed3shifts).Theshowerheadshavea2.5gpmflowrate.80x0.7x2.5+40/3*2.5=175gpm+40gpmkitchenconsumption=~225gpm.

Withregardstothesystemlayout,thewholebuildingsharesthesamewaterdistributionsystemandmastermixingvalve,andthekitchenhasadedicated140gpmwater
supplyline(forthedishwasherandthethreecompartmentsink)thatbypassesthemixingvalve.

http://www.engtips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=417647 2/3
6/10/2017 WaterBoosterPumpCalculationsPlumbingengineeringEngTips

Now,forthedistributionpressure,theIPConlyrequiresaPressureReducingValve(PRV)whenthedistributionpressureexceeds80psistatic,whichIdon'tanticipate
occurringinthesystem.Thedifferenceinpressureatthetapbetweenthefixturesthatareclosertotheboostersetandthosethatarefartherawayisgoingtobeabout35
psi(statichead+frictionlosses)atpeakflow.WouldyourecommendaddingPRVs?

PEDARRIN2,forthe30psistaticpressurerequiredattheflushvalves,doyouincludefrictionlosses(dynamiclosses?)inthecalculationoronlythepressurelossdueto
changeinelevation?Iusuallyrunmycalculationswithflowingorresidualpressure.Andwithregardstotheshowerhead,Ithinkthe2.5gpmwouldn'tbeconsideredalow
flowfixture.PleasecorrectmeifIamwrong.

Thanksfortakingthetimetoreadthepost andtoreply!.

daaguirre,

Yourdescriptionofthefacilitychangesthings.YoucouldlikelygobacktotheHuntercurvepeakflow,becauseretirement/nursingresidentsusetheshowersalotless
intensivelythansayahotelorapartmentbuilding.Iftheytakeashower,itwillbebasedontheemployeesabilitytogettothemandtherewillnotbethatmanyemployees.
Oryoucanjustleaveitasis,sinceyouhavevariablespeedpumps,itwillpumpwhatyouneed.Anotherthingtothinkaboutistouseaduplexpumpsetwitheachpump
setat100%load.Thatway,ifonegoesdown,youstillhavefullload.Thecost differencebetweenthetwowouldbethedecidingfactor.

Youhave58psistaticandyouareproviding40psigboost.Thatequals98psigatlowerlevelswhenthepumpisnoton.Ifyoukeepasingle system,youwillneedPRV's
whichisnotanidealdesignwithaboosterpump.

Mysuggestionwouldbetorouteanonboostedlinetothekitchenandnursinghome(withseparatewater heater(s))androutetheboostedlinetothehighrise.You
wouldalsohavetohaveseparateTMV,whichmightnotbefeasibleforspaceandcost.

Sinceyouareusingatopdown(stacked)approachforthehighrise,youwillneedtoadjustthesetpressureoftheboosterpumpsoyoudonotexceed80psigatthelower
floors.Youhavetomakesureyouhavesufficientpressureatthetoptooperatetheflushvalves(showersarenotlowflowsoonlyneedthe20psigrequired).With35psig
lossduetoelevation,youwouldhave~45psigathetoplevelifyourlowestlevelis80psig.Somethingyoucando,isoncethefinalplumbinginspectionhaspassed,the
facilityownercanresetthepressuressotheyaremoreinlinewithoperation(exceed80psigbyabit)

Withastackeddesign,itisdifficulttousePRVbecauseyouhavetohaveaseparatePRVforthehotandthecoldtomakesureyoudonothavedifferentpressuresinthe
hot/coldatthefaucets.

Also,duetothenatureoftheoccupants,Iwouldrecommend aT/Pshowervalve,notjustaP.Theyaremoreexpensive,butwillensuretheshowertempnevergets
abovesetpoint.

Staticpressuredoesnotincludefrictionsincethereisnoflow.Youwillhaveabitofapressuredropatthebackflowatnoflowconditionsduetothespringforceinthe
checkvalves.

Join|Advertise

Copyright19982017ENGINEERING.com,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Unauthorizedreproductionorlinkingforbiddenwithoutexpressedwrittenpermission.RegistrationonoruseofthissiteconstitutesacceptanceofourPrivacyPolicy.

http://www.engtips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=417647 3/3