What is flow rate? Why is it important?

Customers often assume that water treatment systems are sized based on water usage.  That is not true.  The proper method of sizing up equipment is with flow rate and water analysis.  Flow rate is not your well out put rate, well recovery rate or pump out put rate.  Flow rate is the maximum potential flow past the pressure tank.  The pressure tank is the blue or white tank that looks like a propane tank that pressurizes the water in your home after it is pumped out of the well.

 

The flow rate instructions we advise are: Open the NEAREST faucet or tap AFTER the pressure tank (But NOT the one ON the pressure tank), until the well pump turns on. Immediately turn off the tap and count how many seconds the well pump runs from the time it came on until it shuts off, then write down the number of seconds the pump ran. Now get a container you can measure water in, such an empty gallon milk container. Open the tap or faucet and fill the container; close the tap and dump the water down the drain. Continue doing this and counting each gallon until the pump starts again. Write down the number of gallons you counted until the pump started. If there are any partial gallons left over count those as well; such as a total of 1.5 or 4.25 for example. You now have the information to calculate the well pump rate. Just give one of our techs a call and tell him how many seconds you calculated and then tell him how many gallons you were able to draw after that. He will be able to tell you exactly what the flow rate is. This information is essential to properly size any backwashing filter (such as iron filters and water softeners) or other flow rate dependent items such as Ultra Violet (UV) systems. You should always know your flow rate on ANY private well.

Call our techs at 1-800-684-0979 or email us at info@waterfiltersofamerica.com

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