Understanding water pressure & water tank stand height

Water tank stands enable water to be stored out of reach of vandals as well as being directly responsible for the all or part of the pressure of the water supplying a building, depending on the tank stand height. 

Water tank stands cand be made from timber but it is important to know the stress that will be placed on the structure, for example, a 10000 litre water tank weighs 10 tonnes.  If in doubt, it is safer to purchase a water tank stand kit made from steel and which is certified to cope with specific water tank capacities.

Rainwater tank stands are generally lower in height as the rainwater tank must still be lower than the roof’s gutters.

Rainwater tank stands are a simple but effective solution to the challenges you may face in the installation of a rainwater tank:

• Rainwater tank stands provide a stable and effective base for a rainwater tank where it may be difficult to set the rainwater tank directly on the ground. This might be due to the soil composition, site limitations or any number of restrictions.
• Putting a rainwater tank on a stand increases the height of the overflow of the water tank. This can be especially useful where some additional height is required to get the water to overflow naturally to stormwater.
• If you do not want to install a pump with a rainwater tank, then putting a tank on a water tank stand will provide some natural water pressure. Remember that water pressure created by raising a tank on a relatively low tank stand will never be the same as mains water pressure.

Source: Waterplex

Water pressure can be measured in three common units, bar, psi and Head (m). 1 bar = 10 metres Head = 14.5 psi.

The water pressure available in a gravity-tank fed system is directly related to the height of the water storage tank. To calculate the available pressure simply measure the distance, in metres, from the bottom of the water tank to the outlet of the tap or shower and multiply by 0.1. This will calculate the pressure in bar…

For example : 0.1 Bar (1.45 psi) is equal to approx one metre of height between the bottom of the water tank and the outlet of the tap or shower.

1 metre height of water = 0.1 bar
2 metre height of water = 0.2 bar
3 metre height of water = 0.3 bar
4 metre height of water = 0.4 bar
etc

Source: MBD Bathrooms

Water tank stands can also be used in conjunction with booster pumps to increase pressure.  For example, a 6 metre high tank stand produces 0.6 bar of pressure; if 1 bar of water pressure is required for certain appliances to function correctly, then a booster pump capable of raising the water pressure by a further 0.4 bar is required.

Steel tank stands made by JoJo Tanks are available in South Africa.  JoJo tank stands are designed and certified by a practising engineer and are available for 5000 litre water tanks and 10000 litre water tanks in the following heights: 1.5 metre, 3 metre, 4.5 metre, 6 metre and 9 metre.  The stands are supplied in kit form ready to bolt together.  Installation is relatively easy and guidelines can be provided with the purchase of JoJo tank stands.  Click on the links below to view other products made by JoJo Tanks, such as water tanks, rainwater tanks, underground water tanks, septic tanks, horizontal tanks and other high quality JoJo products.

JoJo Tanks South Africa offer a wide range of plastic water tanks and chemical tanks to suit every household, business or agricultural need, including silo tanks and silo tank stands.  See JoJo Tanks VERTICAL TANKS, HORIZONTAL TANKS (transporter tanks), STEEL TANK STANDS and OTHER JOJO PRODUCTS. Also see JoJo Tanks’ NEW 6000 LITRE UNDERGROUND TANKS. Also see our FAQ and WATER TANK PRICES.