What size buffer tank

Supplies & Equipment
1

I’ve just checked the l/pm flow from my outside tap and its providing a flow of 18 l/pm. Based on these figures which are going to be very similar in the areas I will be working in… what the SMALLEST size buffer tank that I would need for the following PW’s:

3500psi @ 26 l/pm Honda iGX800 EFi?

3000psi @ 21 l/pm Honda iGX390 EFi?

I am only doing residential work and don’t really need an 8gpm PW. It would be nice to have it, but don’t feel I would have sufficient space such as a 1000lt IBC which would put me way over weight.

Hope somebody can help with my queries.

2

For what it’s worth, I use a 65 gallon (55 actual, 208L) tank with my 8gpm and rarely get low with it provided the spigot is decent strength.

1 Like
3

In my case I use a 400L buffer using a 5.5gpm and at most houses I just keep the same level or slightly drop over time.

4

I reckon with 18l/pm from the spigot I shouldn’t have any issue with the 21/pm PW with a 300lt buffer tank.

Not too sure how this would go with the 26l/pm PW. I can’t fit anything bigger than a 300lt buffer tank.

5

What would be your average flow l/pm from your spigots. If I could run an 8gpm PW from a 300lt buffer tank I would definately look into this as a future upgrade.

6

Thanks for your reply… much appreciated.

7

At 21 lpm output and 18 lpm Input you have a difference of 3 litres of water getting used out of the tank per minute on top of what the water supply can provide, that’s 180 litres of water you’ll need in your buffer tank every hour of none stop trigger time, if you have the attention span to be on the trigger none stop for 60 minutes then your awesome. 300 litres is more than enough provided 18 is the average and doesn’t fluctuate 10 litres from home to home. Do the same math for 26 lpm to get an idea of run time. 26lpm is a weird thing to want to purchase if you need higher flow just get an 8gpm. Plenty of information on here is based on 8 gpm machines witch will help you out when you decide to pull the trigger no pun intended and do a quick search.

8

Thanks for the reply. Yeah… it makes sense to go with an 8gpm… but wasn’t too sure if my 300lt buffer tank would suffice. As you said… I’m not going to be on the trigger for extended periods of time. The 8gpm PW upgrade would-be used solely for residential flatwork with the off small commercial job here and there. At the end of the day if I’m finding I’m having water supply problems on a particular job… I can always switch back to my 5.5 gpm… although work at a slightly slower pace etc.

9

One caveat, a larger tank has the advantage of being able to transport water to a small job, something I can’t do with my current trailer setup.

10

Did you try the upgrade? What size? What was the outcome?