Water pressure problem

[davita]

My wife noticed that our water pressure was not a consistant flow. It pulsated slow then fast...this was clearly not normal so we called Ketut, our trusted handyman.
We have our own well and pump which fills a tank on the roof. This is gravity fed to another pump which is is auto-pressured when a faucet is opened, thus giving us high-pressure showers, etc.

Ketut removed the large red pressure tank on top of the pressure pump and opened it up to find the rubber bladder inside was split. A new pressure tank (Damper) only cost Rp175....so he installed a new one and I left the old one on the street. It quickly vanished....:icon_wink:

Just a heads-up to anyone with a similar problem.

 

[Markit]

Dear Davita those water/air pressure canisters on top of the pumps are a development of Satan.

If you ever want to live in the sunshine of love that the rest of us enjoy scrap it immediately and get your Ketut to install a new electric line to your pump from the float switch that you will buy on the Gatso (IDR60k). This only turns on the pump when the water reaches a certain level in the tank saving water, electricity and your nerves. This won't affect in any way your separate pressure pump.

Go and sin no more
Markit

 

[davita]

Dear Davita those water/air pressure canisters on top of the pumps are a development of Satan.

If you ever want to live in the sunshine of love that the rest of us enjoy scrap it immediately and get your Ketut to install a new electric line to your pump from the float switch that you will buy on the Gatso (IDR60k). This only turns on the pump when the water reaches a certain level in the tank saving water, electricity and your nerves. This won't affect in any way your separate pressure pump.

Go and sin no more
Markit

I think we are miscommunicating markit. The jet pump that gets water from the well already has a float switch so it switches off when the tank is full...and on again when there is a considerable drop in tank content.
The damper I replaced is on top of the pump from the tank to the faucets which dampens the pulsations from that pump. In the aviation world it is called an accumulator and used in many similar applications where pressure fluctuates. In other applications they are called water hammers.

Quote 'Go and sin no more' unqoute...sorry......too late. Born a sinner...still a sinner...and intend to remain a sinner till the good man takes me down to where all my sinning friends live.
See you there?...:icon_twisted:

 

[davita]

I got the following PM and posting here.

Quote 'Do you know how much are the machines to make the pression of the water better? we must buy one and somebody told me about 650.000 rp, are these kind of machines really useful and working?
Thanks a lot
Take care
Begonia' unqoute.

I'm not sure what pump you mean begonia...do you have a well pump and that pump is not good enough? All systems are a little different so knowing your system is necessary for advice.

btw I wouldn't think any pump priced at Rp650,000 would work...I recently paid that for a pump for my fountain.

The cost for a proper water pump, which you can see in any Metro10/Depo Bangunan/Ace is more like Rp 2-3 million, although the same pumps are probably cheaper in other smaller water component stores. Wasser and Shimuzu are 2 brands I've seen.

 

[begonia]

I got the following PM and posting here.

Quote 'Do you know how much are the machines to make the pression of the water better? we must buy one and somebody told me about 650.000 rp, are these kind of machines really useful and working?
Thanks a lot
Take care
Begonia' unqoute.

I'm not sure what pump you mean begonia...do you have a well pump and that pump is not good enough? All systems are a little different so knowing your system is necessary for advice.

btw I wouldn't think any pump priced at Rp650,000 would work...I recently paid that for a pump for my fountain.

The cost for a proper water pump, which you can see in any Metro10/Depo Bangunan/Ace is more like Rp 2-3 million, although the same pumps are probably cheaper in other smaller water component stores. Wasser and Shimuzu are 2 brands I've seen.

We have a well, so a tower or tank with the water so we have to turn on and off somethings on the wall each time water finish to fill the tank but on the shower the water is very little or with not pression at all, sometimes I though this was because of the poor quality of the shower equietment but from your post I wonder if there is any machine to put on the tower to make the water come to the shower with more pression.

Sorry my English is not very good and beside talking about these things I don´t understand at all is even worst!!!

Another thing I believe I understand from all the post is, there is a machine to turn off and on automatically when the water tank is full? or need to be full? is that true?

Terimakasi banyak
Have a beautiful weekend!!

 

[Markit]

Begonia, yes to all your questions.

1) to automatically fill your tank from the well there is a floatation switch that sits in the water tank. When the water in the tank falls below a certain level it will send a signal to the water pump in or by your well to start pumping. When the tank is full the floatation switch will then send a signal to the pump to stop - simple and easy to install.

2) There is another pump that sits next to your tank and can be powered from the same electrical source as the floatation switch that automatically turns on when it senses a drop in the water pressure - for instance when someone turns on the tap for water. It then starts pumping and thereby increases your available water pressure - usually one for each water (hot or cold), although I have heard they can be hooked up to power both - but that technology is probably decades away here in Bali (sarcasm alert!).

All together the floatation switch cable from switch to pump, extra pressure pump and work would probably cost you between 500 and 600,000 IDR.

Even in the 30C tropics a hot shower in the morning or at night is worth the effort IMHO

 

[davita]

@#5
Hi begonia.
You really have 2 questions so let me try to explain 1 then 2. Maybe other members can assist by explaining a bit different, thus more clear.

1. You will have a pump, somewhere near the ground, which connects to pipes which go into a hole down the well. This pump 'sucks' the water from the well and fills the tank. As 'markit said' you can buy a cheap float valve to connect into the tank with a wire to that pump. This means you leave the pump switched ON and when the tank is FULL the float valve will switch the pump OFF. When the water in the tank falls a bit the float switch then switches the pump ON and the tank refills...makes everything easy and automatic.

2. I suspect your system is simply gravity fed from the tank on the roof. This means the pressure is very low as it is only the height of the tank which produces the pressure. In my system, and could be a conversion to yours, there is another pump installed near the ground where the pipe from the tank comes close to entering your house. This is a special pump and has a pressure swich so when you turn ON the shower, or any other faucet, it detects there is a need for pressure so it starts to pump and you will get high pressure. When you switch the faucet OFF the pump stops.

From what you said it appears there is no-one in your house to modify your sytem so you'll need to get a handyman...ask at any of those water pump stores if they have such people to do this work. I think the equipment (pump, switch, wire, pipe connections) might cost around Rp 2 Juta, depends on the quality of the pump then, whatever the handyman charges...
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[davita]

2) It then starts pumping and thereby increases your available water pressure - usually one for each water (hot or cold), although I have heard they can be hooked up to power both - but that technology is probably decades away here in Bali (sarcasm alert!).
Even in the 30C tropics a hot shower in the morning or at night is worth the effort IMHO

I don't quite understand your above quote markit...my system powers both hot and cold supply from the same pump. If a house has a standard electrically heated hot water tank, hot water OUT is pressured from the cold supply IN to that tank, which comes from the same pump.

 

[kitpattrainor]

Thanks very much for your comments above. I have a water pressure problem and separately a hot water pressure problem. I have a separate pump and it is operational. We pull in water from the government pipes and have a separate well for 6 of the villas on the property which is in Seminyak/Petitegnet area. I was at my villa in Sept and October and had no water pressure problems. Last week I was at the villa working for about 10 days and every day I had low or no water pressure (cold or hot) and when I did have water pressure, the hot water pressure was disappointingly low. As this is the rainy season, and with low tourist occupancy, I would have thought that any underground aquifers would have been full. I heard from one of my staff that the Government had turned off a major water pump. Any truth to this seemingly odd rumor and otherwise, does anyone else have problems with water pressure this past week?

 

[Markit]

First, Kit never ever mention that you work here.

Second, if you live (and I use that term loosely) in Seminyak then your water is being stolen by every hotel and resto in the area and you are last on the list. This also includes using your well as that aquifer is also plundered by the above without respect to saving or usage.

I would think that the only option is to either bore your own well (deep and expensive there) or to trickle feed the mains water(when available) into your own water tank with attached pump to add pressure.

You could also give up water and just drink Bintang. After the first 5 bottles in the morning you can then shower in it and it's quite refreshing.

 

[davita]

From your description it seems you have 2 sources of water...correct? One is from PDAM, through a pipe, and the other is a well for 6 villas.
Before continuing to identify your problem you need to clarify...do you have a tank for your villa or a tank for ALL the villas?
Also, does the PDAM supply fill the tank or goes directly to your individual water system. If the latter, it is well known that the PDAM pressure varies depending on how many users...like Markit says...you could be at the end of a long pipe and get the trickle at the end.

 

[kitpattrainor]

Thanks for your reply Markit. First the "Pat" in me sees your level headed answer.....Beer is...the cause of ...and the solution to most of life's problems. (H.Simpson) so drinking, without spilling 5 bottles seems appropriate, if not normal as a normal daily means of hydration and lifestyle choice. However, the "Kit" ( as in "she who must be obeyed") would not find this a very practical solution. However, showering in bottle #6 seems a waste of a good cold beer so we need to come up with something else for #6. So are you suggesting that I (the "Pat" in KitPat) should go for installation of one of those orange plastic or stainless steel water tanks and keep that filled, to solve the problem? I have given thought to that and even looked at the various models available at Depo Banganan. Still does not answer the question....why is there so little water/pressure during this low season when Seminyak is quiet? Rainy season means plenty of water and no one is filling their pools..... as for the "work" aspect....that refers to renovo's on two bathrooms and the choice of tiles/tubs/faucets/etc. Not any serious work. thanks.

 

[Markit]

If you are looking to answer your questions then carry on looking but if you are looking to resolve your long term water pressure problems then stay with my initial suggestion to trickle feed your own water supply(orange tank) and pump it to yourself.

Your situation will only get worse as the southern building insanity keeps on going.

 

[Gurkha]

First, Kit never ever mention that you work here.

Second, if you live (and I use that term loosely) in Seminyak then your water is being stolen by every hotel and resto in the area and you are last on the list. This also includes using your well as that aquifer is also plundered by the above without respect to saving or usage.

I would think that the only option is to either bore your own well (deep and expensive there) or to trickle feed the mains water(when available) into your own water tank with attached pump to add pressure.

You could also give up water and just drink Bintang. After the first 5 bottles in the morning you can then shower in it and it's quite refreshing.

Would the bintang for showering be new, or 'used'?

 

[Billt4SF]

Wow, enlightening thoughts to one who plans to move to your wonderful island in the sun (some of the months) in 2016.

With all the talk of having to fix your pumps and water valves, etc., I need to ask if you guys are renting or have you bought your villas? We would be renting, and we plan to stay about a year. So I would be thinking that, although any problem can and will occur, it would not be our responsibility to fix them, yes?

As per an earlier thread we certainly want to rent our villa of choice for a month or two before committing to a year, and the water pressure problem just amplifies that need. I sure hope we can do that!

- Bill & Emily

 

[davita]

Wow, enlightening thoughts to one who plans to move to your wonderful island in the sun (some of the months) in 2016.

With all the talk of having to fix your pumps and water valves, etc., I need to ask if you guys are renting or have you bought your villas? We would be renting, and we plan to stay about a year. So I would be thinking that, although any problem can and will occur, it would not be our responsibility to fix them, yes?

As per an earlier thread we certainly want to rent our villa of choice for a month or two before committing to a year, and the water pressure problem just amplifies that need. I sure hope we can do that!

- Bill & Emily

The water problems in Bali don't affect many, unless serious drought. They can be clarified by location...Bukit has the worst as it has greater elevation from grounwater. Mostly, they pay to have truckloads brought in daily.
Others have personal tubes which are drilled to a depth of 30 metres. It consists of 2 plastic pipes which descend to groundwater and, when ON. pressure pumps water down and assits sucking up to fill a roof tank. When a float valve in the tank says full...it swiches OFF.... then ON again when the water drops.
If the tank is high then you get gravity feed...if lower, some systens use the gravity feed and bring to another pump where, by opening a faucet, creates a pressure drop, so the pump clicks ON and supplements the pressure. Some systems are installed with soft water filters which are a bonus.
Other systems are direct pipes from PDM but, I understand are not reliable.
Id suggest a contract on water reliability/maintenance before signing the lease.

 

[Markit]

Lotsa stuff going on here most needs clarity - so I'll give it a go.

Would the bintang for showering be new, or 'used'?

I shoulda known you were a "golden shower" boy.

Wow, enlightening thoughts to one who plans to move to your wonderful island in the sun (some of the months) in 2016.

With all the talk of having to fix your pumps and water valves, etc., I need to ask if you guys are renting or have you bought your villas? Built We would be renting, and we plan to stay about a year. So I would be thinking that, although any problem can and will occur, it would not be our responsibility to fix them, yes? Legally theirs but really, yours - if they know you are only here short term. The Balinese are notoriously slow in fixing anything - even their own stuff!

As per an earlier thread we certainly want to rent our villa of choice for a month or two before committing to a year, and the water pressure problem just amplifies that need. I sure hope we can do that! I doubt that this will work - if you tell your prospective landlord this he will nod his head knowingly and charge you extra thinking you will really only stay 2 months and then move on.

- Bill & Emily

The water problems in Bali don't affect many really? excepting most of the south of the island, most of the area around Singaraja over to Amed (seasonally) and all the other places where they "steal" the local water to feed the sucking hole that is the south, unless serious drought Happens in the north every year for those up mountain sides with "view". They can be clarified by location...Bukit has the worst as it has greater elevation from grounwater. Mostly, they pay to have truckloads brought in daily.
Others have personal tubes which are drilled to a depth of 30 metres or 130 meters. It consists of 2 plastic pipes which descend to groundwater and, when ON. pressure pumps water down and assits sucking up to fill a roof tank. What? first pump water down then suck it up again? Never heard of this... BwdIk? When a float valve in the tank says full...it swiches OFF.... then ON again when the water drops.
If the tank is high then you get gravity feed...if lower, some systens use the gravity feed and bring to another pump where, by opening a faucet, creates a pressure drop, so the pump clicks ON and supplements the pressure. Some systems are installed with soft water filters which are a bonus.
Other systems are direct pipes from PDM but, I understand are not reliable.
Id suggest a contract on water reliability/maintenance before signing the lease.Davita are you on some mind altering meds? Did you really suggest a water reliability contract? In Bali? Whatever it is I'll have some.

Yup. But what do I know? (BwdIk?)

 

[davita]

Markits quote 'What? first pump water down then suck it up again? Never heard of this... BwdIk?'


Just because 'some' have never heard of something does not mean it doesn't exist. All medium depth groundwater jet pumps use the principle of pressure assisting suction. It's a principle students learn in physics at elementary schools....I thought 'Gods' should know this.

If the pump is at ground level and it uses two pipes, one larger than the other, it means that the pressure side of the pump does pump water down to the jet at the bottom of the well, to create a vacuum, and assists the suction side of the pump to 'lift' the water back up.

Google 'groundwater jet pumps' to be more edified.

Also...my term 'most' includes the fact that 'most' in Bali live in the south and with the exception of the higher elevated Bukit..have reasonable groundwater.

 

[Gurkha]

Just work on the local premise that what's theirs' is yours and what's yours' is theirs' also

 

[Markit]

Markits quote 'What? first pump water down then suck it up again? Never heard of this... BwdIk?'


Just because 'some' have never heard of something does not mean it doesn't exist. All medium depth groundwater jet pumps use the principle of pressure assisting suction. It's a principle students learn in physics at elementary schools....I thought 'Gods' should know this.

If the pump is at ground level and it uses two pipes, one larger than the other, it means that the pressure side of the pump does pump water down to the jet at the bottom of the well, to create a vacuum, and assists the suction side of the pump to 'lift' the water back up.

Google 'groundwater jet pumps' to be more edified.

Also...my term 'most' includes the fact that 'most' in Bali live in the south and with the exception of the higher elevated Bukit..have reasonable groundwater.

Why get so pissy when I ask an honest question?

When I say I've never heard of something it doesn't always mean I doubt your parentage, sanity or right to life.

It just means I've never fecking heard of it. In this case in Bali or with reference to water - ok, fraking is one thing but with ground water technology it seems like a stretch to see it here in Bali?

If you have water to pump down why are you trying to pump it up?