Plumbing

A guide to plumbing your Polytank

With intermittent mains water supply in Ghana, it’s important to install a large water storage tank on or near your house to allow for a steady supply of water when the mains run dry.

Begin by constructing the tank's foundation. Should your brickwork skills still be in development, for a small fee local help is always at hand.

Next locate the main water line coming into the house. You will need to intercept it before any spurs to ensure the new tank will feed all taps in the house.

Install a correctly sized non-return valve just upstream of the first spur. Don’t forget the valve sockets on either side will need thread tape to reduce friction on installation, and the PVC on PVC joints must be cemented together to prevent leaks.

Upstream of the non-return valve, dig trenches, T off the main line, and begin laying the plumbing that will feed the new tank. Add a stopcock into this line to give yourself the option to cease filling your tank in the event that you need to remove it. You may need to change the size of the pipe as the mains line and the tank sockets are unlikely to match. In this case a simple ¾” to 1” converter will do the job.

Once connected to the upper faucet socket of the storage tank your feed line is complete. Now run lines from the lower socket of the tank to your pump. Again, be prepared for the need to shut off the line, a quarter turn valve is most appropriate here. For stability, mount the pump on a small foundation. In the eventuality that the pump breaks down a union joint will allow easy release of the old pump, and although expensive this will save having to cut into the plumbing at a later date.

In order to control the pressure in your taps a pump pressure control switch (or ‘booster’ in Ghana) should be installed on the exit leg of the pump. Radial pumps normally exit vertically making installation easy. Wire the electrical supply to the pump through the booster to ensure it cuts on and off correctly.

The next section of piping will be under significant pressure, most domestic boosters are set to cut out when the head reaches 15m. Faucet bend off the booster and install a matching union joint to the entry pipe before converting the pipe width back to the main line width. Finally T back into the main supply (or a spur if one is close by), and you’re complete. PVC cement this final section with care, a lose bend here and you'll have a water fountain landing on your attic windows.


Fill the trenches back in and smile – you can shower for the first time in 2 weeks.

Lydia x