I was thinking about the issue of using a pump that sits above the reservoir outlet. What if I simply used a tank that can hold pressure, and ran a line and check valve from the manifold to keep the tank pressurized?

Then I could skip the prime pump and keep things a lot simpler.

If anyone has tried this or knows of a tank which will work for this I'd love to hear your comments.

 

Yeah that setup seems like it would work. I'm using boost pressure to completely supply my water in a pre turbo system. I see no reason why it couldn't feed another pump to avoid primeing issues. The tank i'm using is one from usplastic.com it's made from some kind of polypropylene (sp?) it looks like the same type of tank that comes with a lot of water injection systems. I've put over 30 psi in it with no issues. The tank is very inexpensive too. Can easily be drilled and tapped for fittings. I prefer this much more over a metal tank.

 

Im assuming your using a shurflo pump system? If you are I really wouldnt worry about priming issues, unless there is a large amount of line and height difference between the tank and pump. While these pumps can have issues self priming, they will self prime if the pump is in good shape. Also once the pump is primed it will stay primed and work perfectly.

I use shurflo pumps at work pretty extensivly, ive seen the good bad and ugly with them... So im not some guy thats only used them once or twice in my AI system. Again as long as the pump is healthy you shouldnt have issues. If your really worried put a simple check valve between the tank and pump.