How to Increase Water Pressure from Overhead Tank

As we all know, some households are not directly connected to the town water supply system, they are actually supplied by water through the overhead tank. Now, an overhead tank is a very convenient way of supplying your home with water if you live a bit further from town.

And, in most cases, this water supply system works just fine. However, there are all sorts of complications that can occur when it comes to the overhead tank system.

One of those complications is low water pressure. So, finding a solution and increasing water pressure is absolutely important.

In that light, let’s see how to increase water pressure from an overhead tank.

How to Increase Water Pressure from Overhead Tank

First of all, increasing water pressure in your household is not that easy, no matter the water supply system you have.

But, here are some of the best tips that can help you to increase water pressure from an overhead tank.

Let’s take a closer look.

1. Install a Pressure Pump

Possibly the easiest, but the most expensive solution is to install a pressure pump. Namely, this pump is specially designed to increase or decrease water pressure in any water supply system.

In this case, you will want to increase the pressure so you should install the pump on the discharge line.

This way, the pump will be able to increase water pressure and the amount of water that comes inside the pipe from an overhead tank.

However, you will need to know which pump to get since it’s not that simple to choose the right one.

And, we highly recommend that you consult your local plumber for this kind of stuff. As a professional, he will tell you exactly which one to get.

Anyway, the pressure pump will ensure that your home is supplied with water that runs under normal pressure. As for the installation process, you probably won’t have any problems there since the pressure pump is easily installed.

All you have to do is to follow the instruction guide that comes with the pressure pump and everything will work just fine. But, make sure to do the installation process carefully and with patience.

It is quite important to know that once you install the pressure pump, your water supply system will depend on it to provide you with the normal water pressure.

2. Place the Tank Higher

In most cases, the reason for low water pressure in an overhead tank water supply system is the placement of the tank. Simply speaking, in some households, the overhead tank is installed on a bit lower application.

So, why is this important? Well, the water from an overhead tank goes inside a pipe only because the gravity is pulling water downwards. And, if the water tank is positioned lower than the house, there won’t be enough water pressure for every faucet inside a home.

It’s quite simple. The water from the overhead tank simply falls into the pipe under a lot of pressure due to the gravity force. And, if there isn't that kind of force, the water simply won’t be able to go through the pipe fast enough.

Anyhow, if your overhead tank is not installed on a high application, then you should definitely consider putting it higher. However, this kind of problem is not easily salvageable and it requires you to completely reinstall the whole overhead system.

But, it is absolutely important to have an overhead tank above the house. Otherwise, the water won’t be able to reach faucets inside your home under normal pressure. And, that will result in loss of water pressure which can be quite annoying.

3. Use Smaller-Diameter Pipes

The amount of water that enters the main water supply pipe is limited by the pipe diameter. This means that if you have a narrow main pipe, the pressure will be higher. On the other hand, if the main water pipe is wide and allows more water to go through, the pressure will be low.

However, this doesn’t have to be the case in every possible scenario. In some cases, large-diameter pipes are necessary to maintain normal water pressure inside a home that’s supplied with water from an overhead tank.

But, in most cases, the pipe diameter is actually the cause of low water pressure. So, what exactly happens there? Well, the water will flow from the tank into the pipe under a lot of pressure. And, if the pipe is wide and large, the pressure will significantly drop since there will be air inside the pipe.

On the other hand, in smaller pipes, the water will simply quickly rush through the whole water system and reach the faucet. That’s why the pressure will be high or at least at the normal level, approximately around 40 PSI.

Therefore, you will need to check the pipe that connects your home with your overhead tank water system. If you determine that the pipe is wide and basically large enough for a big amount of water, then changing it for smaller pipes is necessary.

Anyway, it is also recommendable to install a water pressure regulator on the water supply system and get correct readings of the pressure. That way, you will be able to determine which solution to go for. Either you’ll need to change the pipes or to reinstall the whole overhead tank system.

Conclusion: Increasing Water Pressure from Overhead Tank

As we can see, increasing water pressure inside an overhead tank water supply system is not that easy. We have offered a couple of ways to increase the pressure so you can choose the one that fits you the most.

In most cases, people usually install a pressure pump and everything would work just fine. But, the problem might be located somewhere else and that’s why you’ll need to check for the pipes and the whole installation.

Anyhow, we surely hope that this little guide helped you to increase the water pressure inside an overhead tank.