Not so long ago, most, if not all, of the residents inside BF Homes were suffering from water problems. There was just no water system to provide stable supply of clean water to the houses. In fact, they were in that difficult condition for 20 years after being disconnected from water supply by Maynilad. The residents survived by relying on water delivery trucks that charge them average P500 per trip.
If it wasn’t for the exercising of the police power by the mayor of Paranaque at the time, a seemingly desperate move to ensure the well-being of the residents, a new water system could not have happened. From 2008, the time the water system was started to be constructed up to date, residents of BF Homes have been enjoying the new water supply. Slowly, water delivery trucks faded to distant memory. Refocusing the spotlight to the present, anybody visiting BF Homes would still see that most of the residential houses in the area have water tanks standing proudly above their rooftops – a visible reminder of the battle they used to fight every day. Now that many of the houses already have a water supply, the fight rather shifted to water pressure. This resulted in several houses installing water pressure-boosting pumps. If you have this in your house and if you are residing inside BF Homes, you would find that this will immediately make sense to you. And if it does, you can instantly relate to me when I say, I bet those booster pumps don’t last a year before they start causing you problems. The most common problem is that they burn up.
To ensure you prolong the life of your booster pumps and save a lot of money from having if fixed or worst, replaced, we prepared the following 3 tips for you:
1) Turn the booster pump off immediately if there is no water supply from Maynilad
Inside the booster pump, there is a rotating part of the pump called “impeller” moving the water by rotation. When there is no water flowing through the pump, this rotating device obtains too much friction from metal to metal contact. Over time, this rotating device will start to break and the pump will overheat. Although you may still hear the pump running, by this time, it already lost its ability to pump water into your piping system.
2) Install a device to automatically shut off the pump when there is no water running through
Great examples of this type of device that are easy to install include “Float Switches” and “Pressure Switches”.
A float switch is basically a device that follows the water level. For example, you can set it in such a way that when the water level is high, the pump turns off and when the water level is low, the pump automatically turns off.
A pressure switch on the other hand is, from the term itself, a device that turns the pump on or off depending on the pressure level or when the water pressure hits a certain PSI.
3) Conduct regular maintenance checks on the water pressure booster pump
Ultimately, as a resident, all you want is an uninterrupted water supply. It’s the main reason, or probably, the only reason why you installed a booster pump. To ensure that it does exactly that, it is important to conduct regular maintenance checks on your equipment. A well-maintained booster pump can last for more than 15 years of continual household use.
