I use an old stainless (or chrome plated) soda/acid type fire extinguisher mounted upside down but the PVC pipe idea sounds like a good one to me.
The main problem will be that the water absorbs the air cushion in time and the air bubble will get smaller and smaller causing the pump to short-cycle again. Thus Philip's schrader valve to replenish the air bubble. But it is inconvenient to add air. You have to use an oil-less compressor to avoid oily drinking water and how do you know when you have put enough in. It might be easier to just set up the piping to be able to drain the accumulator of water from time to time to replenish the bubble. Be sure to add a valve to the top of the tank to let the new air in easily instead of the time consuming glug-glug of having only a valve at the bottom (don't ask me how I know this!). Store-bought accumulator tanks often have a rubber bladder inside to prevent the air bubble from being absorbed. On my boat I have three water tanks. When a tank runs dry and the pump sucks air, the process of repriming adds enough air to replenish the air bubble in the accumulator tank. If the bubble gets absorbed before a tank runs dry it's the glug-glug method. Norm S/V Bandersnatch Lying Julington Creek FL N30 07.68 W081 38.47 > [Original Message] > From: Philip <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 2/26/2011 6:46:23 PM > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Fresh water pressure accumulator tank question. > > On Sat, 2011-02-26 at 14:21 -0800, Jim Richardson wrote: > > I can either add a 6Gal tank from a farm supply company (made of > > painted steel alas) for about $45, or I can spend about 50% more for a > > 1 liter jabsco marine tank which hardly seems large enough. > > Or you could make one from some large diameter (3-4") PVC pipe, a couple > of end caps and a "T" fitting. Add a screw in schrader valve and a gauge > to the top if you want to go first class. > > Philip > _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
