It works!

Okay: as of just after noon today, the water tank is absolutely as full as it can be*. One more molecule would fall right out the overflow pipe.

I just took this picture: The pressure is higher first thing in the morning for some reason, but 19.25ish psi in the middle of the afternoon is pretty high.


I’ll bet it reads 20 psi or better tomorrow morning, which will be an all-time high. So it’s official: Big Brother’s prediction was correct and pressure at the sink has a direct correlation with water tank level, and with a big enough scale you can use it as a warning of problems at the tank.


* For the record that’s 2500 gallons, about 50 feet above the Lair’s sink.

About Joel

You shouldn't ask these questions of a paranoid recluse, you know.
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12 Responses to It works!

  1. Demented Guy says:

    Does this have anything to due with barometric pressure?

  2. Joel says:

    I really don’t know.

  3. Dygert says:

    For what it’s worth… In theory both the air in the atmosphere and the water in the tank should be at their coolest (and therefore most dense) in the time before sunrise thereby providing maximum pressure

  4. terrapod says:

    Hey, who cares about all that,when the key benefit is early warning that something is wrong up at the tank if it reading dips outside of “normal” zone.

    The intrepid hermit scientist is no doubt maintaining a daily log of readings 3 times a day in a big black ledger with ink and a quill..

  5. RCPete says:

    If the water tank is vented (it should be…), the pressure comes from the weight of the water over 50 feet. According to my trusty calculator, it’s 0.43 pounds a foot, so 20 PSI for 50 feet is going to be right.

    I used to have to know this stuff, but it’s been a few years.

  6. Joel says:

    Yeah, got that, but the question we’ve all been tossing around since Spring is why is the pressure higher in the morning?

  7. The Neon Madman says:

    Divert has it right.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Dygert, not divert – damn autocorrect ! Sorry, man.

  9. Joel says:

    But that would mean my first guess in late winter/early spring was…right.

    And I’m never right about things like that.

  10. matismf says:

    You surely have heard the old saying:

    Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!

  11. Malatrope says:

    I suspect it’s the pressure gauge that’s sensitive to temperature. I might guess that the volume of the water might change, too, changing the height and thus the pressure, but I doubt that the temperature swings that much for all 2500 gallons.

    But your room is colder in the morning, and hotter later. You might experiment by putting some kind of heater near the gauge to see if you could warm it up, and watch the pressure needle.

To the stake with the heretic!