Which accumulator tank?

[Allistah]

Hey all --

Looking to install an accumulator tank in our 2015 Shockwave 5er. The pump comes on/off all the time when you run faucets runs for 1 second, off for maybe 1/2 second, then repeats. It's pretty frequent. Anything with water causes the pump to run in some capacity.

I've seen that there is a Shurflo accumulator tank thats about a liter of water in size and then I saw that there are some that are 2 gallons. I'm wondering if I should just get a 2 gallon one or go with the smaller one. We're having the lines hammered as well which I can deal with myself but I think the tank will help that out further.

Any opinions on if it's really worth it to go with the larger tank? Do you really get a good amount of pressure out of these tanks that is equal to what the pump can put out? It's the stock pump that came with the trailer so I'm guessing it's not too spectacular as far as specs go.

Any opinions around any of this? Thanks in advance for any info/opinions anyone has on this.

Thanks,

-Jaime

[4B11T]

I installed a 2 gallon one in my camper and it works great. I don't think I would want a smaller one. If I had the room I would have went with 5 gallons.

[Allistah]

Awesome, great feedback. I'm going to look around and see if I have the space for a 4-5 gallon tank.

I don't know what the typical pump pressure is for them to turn on and off at but I'm wondering if you go with a larger tank and pressurize it to 2 PSI under the turn on pressure, will the pump turn off when it reaches its shut off pressure before the tank is filled up. Hope I explained that right. I'm wondering how to ensure that I am able to get the tank to full capacity by the time the pump shuts off. Not sure how all that works.

Anyone have a 4-5 gallon accumulator tank and want to chime in?

[Herk7769]

A 2 gallon tank works great for us.

Tried a smaller one and it did not work as I had hoped.

If I had to do it over again, I would get a stainless steel one.

First use after de-winterization shows some rust in the water. It does clear promptly, but I would prefer not to see it.

[Allistah]

I thought all the water in these tanks did not come in contact with bare metal? Why would anyone do that? I would think the inside would be lined somehow to create a barrier and to ensure that the water doesn’t corrode things and cause other problems.

Thanks for the tip on that, I’ll be making sure whatever one I get is either stainless or not bare metal or even painted metal.

[DougW]

Any decent accumulator tank should have a bladder or diaphragm in it. That way the water is seperate from the air that pressurizes to create flow and it will never waterlog.

[youroo]

I used a 5 Gal Tank in ours,you can locate it anywhere it is easy to tap into the cold pressure side! You will NOT get rust from the tank! You will want to install a Shut Off Valve at the fitting coming out of the Tank! This saves having to drain the tank for reasons ? and saves 5 Gal of Anti-Freeze! Now where the RUST can come from is using Any plumbing Fittings that can RUST for your install!! Brass or SS! Even a Close Nipple made of black pipe will produce Rust! The Bladder Tank will be of the Same pressure as Injected into it,City or 12 V RV Pump! This should be a Option for people that use "Parks" that Don't Have Water at every Site! Youroo!!

[Herk7769]

To be fair, the one I used is several years old and sat over two winters. The rust colored water could have been from the thread area where there is no glass liner and without an anode there is no protection from corrosion.

There is a shutoff valve in the line (just out of frame) to keep "pink" out of the tank.