When you did this you experienced no change in pressure at all?
I had heard that you would not. If that is so before the pressure tank would be the best place to put a filter.
If the filter is before the tank then as it clogs then the pump will have to work against this resistance. If the filter is after the tank then there will be a reduction in house pressure as the filter clogs. I would rather have the loss of pressure in the house then over work the pump. Again the two tank system will solve the problem.
I can see your point. Two factors make it ok in my case. I don't use much water and I stay on top of the filters.
I will say that the canister filters A gets expesnive and B is a pain to switch every month. So I am looking at going with a backwashable filter setup. Cost is ~$500/ filter but they last much longer (years), and are more effective. Likely pay for itself long term.
I did this from the start so I can't tell you how much impact it would have. However, I have plenty of pressure no need for any more.
My setup is a 1hp pump down ~650 feet and then ~250 feet lateraly to the pressure tank. All of this is 1" except at the filter housings. Which is 3/4" and then 3/4" to the pressure tank. The 3/4" line is only a couple of feet so I don't think it adds much to the drop.
When installing a filter before the tank you will never loose pressure, since the switch is likely after the filter and the pump is trying to satisfy the switch. Even if the switch is before the filter you will not notice any difference in the house.
What will happen is the pump flow is decreased (could be considerable over time) and the amperage will go up pumping against the head of the filter. The loss of flow is more critical to the pump and IMHO much more costly repair. The new tanks have a bladder which empties all the water out and flushing this when you change filters is a better idea.
I would advise putting in a 3/4" gate/ball valve, inline Y-strainer, 1" cartridge fliter, and another 3/4 " valve in that order after the tank and switch. That way you will catch all the course materials in the Y strainer then the finer materials in the fliter.
I'd look at two pre tank filters, one coarse and one fine. with differntial gauges across them so you can tell when they need changing. The fines in your water should determine the micron size and type of the filters you will require. It would be nice if the filter canister was so set up that it coud be backwashed to the drain as this would extend filter life.
As pre pressure tank filters plug up and allow less flow you can lose house pressure if the rate at which you withdraw water exceeeds the volume allowed through the filter and you drain down the pressure tank.
A centrifugal pump will draw less amperage as the discharge pressure increases and the flow volume decrease's. It will draw the least amperage pumping against a closed valve. It draws maximum amperage when pumping at maximum volume against minimum head. That is aside from the startup draw.
You're right [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] higher flow = higher amperage and deadheading the pump will be lowest amperage - I must have been having a brain cramp..
I have installed many water systems in past jobs and always put the filter after the tank/switch when one was needed so to protect the pump system since many homeowners just aren't concerned enough to check or regularly change these filters.
When the warranty on the pump system is 3-5 years this was the major reason to install in this fashion. Also it is a lot easier to solve a customers problem "we're out of water" by having a consistent installation procedures for pump versus supply side plumbing.
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