tinaco
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Tinacos live on the roof of most buildings. They are filled by a connection to the water supply system. And gravity provides the water pressure to the faucets in the house. The water supply does not provide sufficient pressure or volume to go directly to the faucets like it does in some countries.
Tinaco are on the roof and aljibe are usually underground.. The reason you need those is that water is not neessaraly distributed everyday. In Chiapas we get it 3 times a week.. In Ajiijic, Jal. we get it everyday but as TundraGreen says the pressure can be low depending on where you are located.. The advantage of the Tinaco is that it works by gravity, if you have a aljibe you need electricity but it can be way bigger than a tinaco .. I have both.. Some people have several tinacos..
Both should be cleaned every 6 months or year depending on the water you are getting.
Both should be cleaned every 6 months or year depending on the water you are getting.
Not if there is no water in the supply lines, and not if there is no electricity. Gravity works!
Some people, mostly from north-of-the-border, do install pressurization systems. It is expensive and you still need a tinaco to provide an adequate supply of water to the pressurization system. The pipes coming into houses provide enough flow to meet average needs, x liters per day. They do not provide enough volume to meet instantaneous needs, x liters per minute.
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We are from NOB
but we inherited our pressurization system. The first year we rented and even with those low-flow shower heads we could not get decent pressure. Color me finicky but when I walk out of the shower I like to feel clean and not all slimy.I don't really understand all the plumbing etc we have on the roof. I'm not sure if the same pump is used to bring water to the roof AND drive the pressurization tank. The tank itself is fiber-glass and having been exposed to direct sun for many years looks due for replacement. The pump is getting a little loud at times. Within the last year we priced a replacement system. It was very affordable (with a more energy efficient pump) - it is on the list.
Edit : btw - our 'rain harvesting' wireless tinaco water level gizmo is perhaps one of the best $100 USD investments we have ever made !
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Some houses do have pressurized systems, but they are not the norm. You have to be cautious if retrofitting a pressurizer onto an older system, as not all plumbing systems in Mexico are/were designed for higher pressures and pressurizing them could cause leaks in the pipes.
Low flow shower heads do not work well at all with gravity system. But I have found a type of shower head that works fantastic for that. Hecho en Mexico. Is made almost completely of plastic. I found them at Mega, but here is the email address to find a distributor in your area- CUMNDA-Ecológica Tel.# 336 860 6829We are from NOB
I don't really understand all the plumbing etc we have on the roof. I'm not sure if the same pump is used to bring water to the roof AND drive the pressurization tank. The tank itself is fiber-glass and having been exposed to direct sun for many years looks due for replacement. The pump is getting a little loud at times. Within the last year we priced a replacement system. It was very affordable (with a more energy efficient pump) - it is on the list.
Edit : btw - our 'rain harvesting' wireless tinaco water level gizmo is perhaps one of the best $100 USD investments we have ever made !
I was skeptical when I bought it, but figured all I would lose by trying it was the 150 pesos they cost at the time. Milagro de milagros, it actually works as advertised. When they eventually get plugged up from hard water, just remove, soak in a container of white vinegar for a few hours.
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I remember that episode!
There's low water pressure, and there are those days when there is no water pressure at all!
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My husband, a Mexican who lived with gravity-fed systems most of his life, has decided he quite likes higher water pressure and is looking at possibly installing a pressurized system in our house.
Here's a link to an "on-demand" pressure pump which can be activated only when needed, to avoid having the water system constantly pressurized, saving electricity and pressure on the water pipes. Essentially you use it for situations where you need higher pressure, e.g. taking a shower, running the washing machine, etc. as long as your okay with low flow for smaller things like washing your hands.
https://www.bombas-vars.com/presurziadores
Here's a link to an "on-demand" pressure pump which can be activated only when needed, to avoid having the water system constantly pressurized, saving electricity and pressure on the water pipes. Essentially you use it for situations where you need higher pressure, e.g. taking a shower, running the washing machine, etc. as long as your okay with low flow for smaller things like washing your hands.
https://www.bombas-vars.com/presurziadores
I can understand wanting higher pressure for a shower, but why for a washing machine? It fills with water, agitates, drains, spins, fills with water again, rinses, etc. What would be the advantage of high pressure?
It fills faster, but who stands around waiting while the washing machine runs?
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Welcome to the forum, Kirby.
Okay, I have the same question for you as I did re why one would need a pressurized system for a washing machine. A toilet flushes from the water already in the toilet tank. A pressurized water system would not give the toilet flushing any more "oomph".
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I'll have to ask my husband. He's the one who said he wanted it for the washer. He spends far more time in Mexico than me, since he's working on our "house in progress" while I'm in Canada still working to pay the bills. I think it's both to speed up the filling of the machine, and to still have decent enough pressure to use water elsewhere while it is filling. If we have it hooked up to the tinaco to use for showers, not a big deal to turn it on while running a load of wash. We don't have one yet, but it's on my husband's wish list - and he's NOT generally a "gotta have the latest gadget" kind of guy. In Canada he's often been called the "Mexican McGyver" in that he finds all sorts of ways to fix things with whatever is at hand. But that is pretty common throughout Mexico, isn't it?
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