Water Accumulators / Expansion Tank

ctechbob

ctechbob

Well-known member
Has anyone installed one? I'm thinking of putting one in ours under the kitchen sink since there is a ton of unused room under there. The install will be simple since it is all PEX, but I'm more curious if anyone is using one and how they like it, especially if you're using your pump on a regular basis.
 
ctechbob said:
Has anyone installed one? I'm thinking of putting one in ours under the kitchen sink since there is a ton of unused room under there. The install will be simple since it is all PEX, but I'm more curious if anyone is using one and how they like it, especially if you're using your pump on a regular basis.
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Our trailer has an expansion tank. It's supposed to suppress the noise from the water pump pulse, which I believe it does. It stores about 1/2 gallon of water, which will run the faucet for a while before it loses pressure. We hear the pump, but no noise at all from the plumbing and very little pulsing in the water stream at the faucet. Our Airstream did not have an expansion tank and the pulse was so bad at the faucet that the pulse slapping the water in the glass would splash water out. None of that in our current trailer.

I definitely recommend the expansion tank.
 
Wayne said:
Our trailer has an expansion tank. It's supposed to suppress the noise from the water pump pulse, which I believe it does. It stores about 1/2 gallon of water, which will run the faucet for a while before it loses pressure. We hear the pump, but no noise at all from the plumbing and very little pulsing in the water stream at the faucet. Our Airstream did not have an expansion tank and the pulse was so bad at the faucet that the pulse slapping the water in the glass would splash water out. None of that in our current trailer.

I definitely recommend the expansion tank.
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Ours isn't near that bad, but as I'm dealing with a rather unique situation at home, it has me thinking of pressure spikes and the like, and in my mind, if I have space for it, it seems like it would be worthwhile if we're going to start using the pump more, which we will be once we start going longer distances.
 
ctechbob said:
Ours isn't near that bad, but as I'm dealing with a rather unique situation at home, it has me thinking of pressure spikes and the like, and in my mind, if I have space for it, it seems like it would be worthwhile if we're going to start using the pump more, which we will be once we start going longer distances.
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those little flojet pumps don't produce much pressure or volume so I doubt pressure spikes will ever be a problem.
If you don't spend much time dry camping running off the electric pump, you probably shouldn't even bother.
 
MSCH said:
those little flojet pumps don't produce much pressure or volume so I doubt pressure spikes will ever be a problem.
If you don't spend much time dry camping running off the electric pump, you probably shouldn't even bother.
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We're planning on doing some more, well, at least walmart docking in the next couple years.

That and the absolute bottom of the basement plastic PEX elbows and fittings they use has me thinking about it.
 
ctechbob said:
We're planning on doing some more, well, at least walmart docking in the next couple years.

That and the absolute bottom of the basement plastic PEX elbows and fittings they use has me thinking about it.
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my house is plumbed with PEX. it is 20 years old.
I don't think you will have any problems with PEX that you wouldn't have with anything else
but you do what you feel you need to do..because it will all be good.
 
MSCH said:
my house is plumbed with PEX. it is 20 years old.
I don't think you will have any problems with PEX that you wouldn't have with anything else
but you do what you feel you need to do..because it will all be good.
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Mine is as well. But all of my fittings are brass, whereas the trailer is plastic fittings. I just have issues with crimping PEX on a plastic fitting, don't think that is a good thing for longevity.
 
ctechbob said:
Mine is as well. But all of my fittings are brass, whereas the trailer is plastic fittings. I just have issues with crimping PEX on a plastic fitting, don't think that is a good thing for longevity.
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I just watched the plumber use plastic fittings in my house remodel with the stretch type pex with stretch bands. I asked him about the longevity of the pex and plastic fittings. He said if they are installed correctly, they will last indefinitely.
 
Wayne said:
I just watched the plumber use plastic fittings in my house remodel with the stretch type pex with stretch bands. I asked him about the longevity of the pex and plastic fittings. He said if they are installed correctly, they will last indefinitely.
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side benefit of PEX is the stuff is EZ to work with.. push to connect connectors..
they use something similar to PEX on most air brake equipped vehicles... color coded heavy duty plastic tubing...

beats trying to repair a piece of copper, cast iron or PVC.

the PEX stuff is probably better defined as a composite, I don't know what its made of but its more durable than most of us think.
shoot, how many molded plastic parts are used on things like engines nowadays, say a valve cover or air filter housing. the stuff holds up to heat and vibration.
 
MSCH said:
side benefit of PEX is the stuff is EZ to work with.. push to connect connectors..
they use something similar to PEX on most air brake equipped vehicles... color coded heavy duty plastic tubing...

beats trying to repair a piece of copper, cast iron or PVC.

the PEX stuff is probably better defined as a composite, I don't know what its made of but its more durable than most of us think.
shoot, how many molded plastic parts are used on things like engines nowadays, say a valve cover or air filter housing. the stuff holds up to heat and vibration.
Click to expand...

It is a cross-linked polyethylene. Makes it much stronger than older 'plastics'

I find it outright fun to work with. So simple that just about anyone could do it, speaking of the crimp type only, the expanding type needs that specialized expander that unless you're doing it professionally should just be left on the shelf.

I just finished swapping out my PRV in the house (long story, but starts with a $110 water bill, travels through no leaks, and ends with replacing the PRV) and did my Hybrid water heater in 22. There is only a small little section of copper left in the house that I might ditch sometime this summer.
 
ctechbob said:
the expanding type needs that specialized expander that unless you're doing it professionally should just be left on the shelf.
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I think the plumber told me he paid $2600 for his expander.

When the plumber started I asked to make sure they were going to use the expander type, because you don't loss any flow volume like you do with the clamp band pex. He said the expander type is pretty much all they will use.
 
Wayne said:
I think the plumber told me he paid $2600 for his expander.

When the plumber started I asked to make sure they were going to use the expander type, because you don't loss any flow volume like you do with the clamp band pex. He said the expander type is pretty much all they will use.
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Yep, just not practical for the home gamer.
 
Finally got around to installing one today. Super simple install, just two PEX fittings and some teflon tape. Plenty of room under my kitchen sink.

Didn't snap an after picture, just picture the blue lines connected and the tank screwed down. For $30, I figured why not.

It does smooth out the pump operation quite a bit.

You can also gawk at some of Forest Rivers fine construction methods to the left of the photo where it looks like they let a rabid dog chew on the paneling.

IMG_20240319_135813881.jpg
 
ctechbob said:
Finally got around to installing one today. Super simple install, just two PEX fittings and some teflon tape. Plenty of room under my kitchen sink.

Didn't snap an after picture, just picture the blue lines connected and the tank screwed down. For $30, I figured why not.

It does smooth out the pump operation quite a bit.

You can also gawk at some of Forest Rivers fine construction methods to the left of the photo where it looks like they let a rabid dog chew on the paneling.

View attachment 2479
Click to expand...

that should work.. to smooth out the flow..

FWIW it isn't just Forest River that exhibits the same fine construction methods..
it seems to be an across the board construction method..
 
What brand expansion tank is that CTB?

Not to go sideways from RV plumbing but here's how the rear of the drawer sliders are hung under the vanity of our Grand Design. Maybe it's a floating design on purpose. The sliders have disintegrated so that's the project before next trip.
IMG_2922(1).jpg
 
MSCH said:
those little flojet pumps don't produce much pressure or volume so I doubt pressure spikes will ever be a problem.
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I was just sorting through stuff in the garage this morning and was surprised to see that this spare pump I acquired somewhere is set to 100 psi! The spare pressure regulator I have for the incoming fresh water hose is 45psi. Don't think I'll keep this around.
IMG_2967.jpg
 
I wonder if that is the resting pressure or the pumping pressure? I have noticed the pressure in our lines is pretty high when a faucet is first opened.
 
1710967497923.jpg


That's the tank I bought. Looks identical to all the other small tanks on Amazon. Time will tell how well the bladder holds up.
 
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