Grid-Connect Underground Water Storage Tanks?

12/16/2021

I'm performing a shop drawing review of underground concrete storage tanks, to be used for firefighting.

We have six tanks arranged into two rows of three. 12-inch pipes connect the three tanks per row toegether, and one 12-inch pipe connects the two rows at one end.

It makes a U-shape flow path down one row, and back up the other.

Should two more linking pipes be added to form a complete grid, and allow more paths for water to flow?

Should these linking pipes be provided with vortex plates?

Thanks in advance!

Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe

7 Comments

MIke L

12/16/2021 07:02:42 am

Assuming the tanks are all in close proximity to each other, the additional pipes would not provide any benefit performance wise. The tanks should empty at an equal rate with the pipe layout you have.

The additional equalizing pipes could be installed as a "belts and suspenders" approach in the event something happens to the primary discharge pipe, you have an alternate pipe to maintain the water supply.

As far as the vortex plates go, if the tanks are supplying a pump, then they must be installed. Otherwise, I would just keep the discharge pipe an inch or so above the bottom of the tank.

Glenn Berger

12/16/2021 08:12:13 am

Something not mentioned - Ensure that there are valves such that one tank can be taken out of service w/o degrading the rest of the system.

Alex

12/16/2021 08:18:50 am

Hi,

Adding the additional piping would not increase flow but would provide redundancy within the system. If a single pipe would fail, you would still have water flow available while replacing the broken line.

Like Glenn mentioned above, ensure you have isolation valves installed.

Alex

sean

12/16/2021 09:06:46 am

sounds like additional complexity with little benefit

Anthony

12/16/2021 09:20:57 am

Great comments above!

I can't see any performance increase here that would require the need to grid the tanks. You could always do a very back of the napkin check and dust off your hydraulics text book do a Bernoulli D/T tank calc and figure out the time it would take the tank to empty given its geometry and orifice cross section area driven by gravity vs the pump suction rate. This would tell you if your 12'' pipe is large enough. Not sure what volumes and flow rates you're dealing with.

Adding to Glen's comment: I think a circular feed or loop would be a better idea than a grid. This way any one tank can be isolated and you're back at your U shape feed. Though it would require a valve between each tank.

Lastly Its always a good call do lower the complexity of a system that is underground or hard to access. Every cross connection is a failure point, make sure you need it before you add it.

Jack G

12/16/2021 03:20:21 pm

Add valves to isolate. Looping is good. If it’s for fire fighting purposes, I d assume some sort of pumper truck which could create virtexind and an air column above the tank discharge, assuming a bottom discharge to get all of the water from each tank.

Kristofer Van Wagner link

2/23/2022 01:32:58 am

This post made an interesting point that when looking for an underground water storage, it is ideal that we look for an experienced plumber to help us get sorted. As they are experienced, it ensures that the right tank will be installed. I will definitely keep this information when I look to have tank installed for my new home.

Leave a Reply.

Home
Our Cause

The Blog
The Forum

PE Exam Prep
The Toolkit
MeyerFire University

Pricing
Login
Support
Contact Us

MeyerFire.com is a startup community built to help fire protection professionals shine.
Our goal is to improve fire protection practices worldwide. We promote the industry by creating helpful tools and resources, and by bringing together industry professionals to share their expertise.

MeyerFire, LLC is a NICET Recognized Training Provider and International Code Council Preferred Education Provider.
All text, images, and media Copyright © 2016-2024 MeyerFire, LLC

We respect your privacy and personal data. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence.

Discussions are solely for the purpose of peer review and the exchange of ideas. All comments are reviewed. Comments which do not contribute, are not relevant, are spam, or are disrespectful in nature may be removed. Information presented and opinions expressed should not be relied upon as a replacement for consulting services. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a small commission for orders placed elsewhere.

Grid-Connect Underground Water Storage Tanks?

Leave a Reply.

ALL-ACCESS

SUBSCRIBE

COMMUNITY

YOUR POST

PE EXAM

FILTERS

ARCHIVES

PE PREP SERIES