Potentially failing pressure regulator?

[bafenator]

I replaced the pressure regulator on my home a little over seven years ago, and installed an expansion tank as well. All has been well since then.

About three weeks ago, I noticed that I was getting a LOT more flow from faucets than I should be. I put the pressure gauge on the line,

60PSI - just like I had set it when I installed the regulator.

Tonight, the flow from the faucet was even higher - so I put the pressure gauge on again. 115PSI. Wow. I turned on the hot water to see how low the pressure would go, expecting it to either drop quickly, or stay even. It did drop, but only over about a full minute of use. Then, it stayed right at 60PSI, like it should, even after the water was shut off. Since the gauge has a "maximum reached" indicator, I left it on, I'll check what the peak pressure was in the morning.

Thanks to the expansion tank, I haven't seen pressure raise like that from the water heater. And even if the expansion bladder had failed, I would expect pressure to drop quickly when water was used. Does this sound like my pressure regulator is starting to go out on me? If so, I'd rather replace it proactively...

[harry k]

Before replacing the regulator, pull the little riser pipe it is mounted on and check that it isn't blocked with crud. I have to clean mine about every 6-8 years (well pumps a bit of silt). With it blocked, the pressure seen by the switch lags way behind the real pressure. Mine would way over pressure and then go to zero and sit there for awhile before starting again.

Harry K

[harry k]

Ooops, forgot. I can't explain why it took so long for the pressure to drop. I, too, would expect it to start down as soon as water was drawn.

Harry K

[bafenator]

YEah, I'll take it apart tonight. The peak pressure reached overnight was 132 PSI.

[JIMMIE]

132 PSI will probably blow your regulator. The normal big box store regulator will not work in your case.

Jimmie

[bafenator]

I swung by a real plumbing store, and picked up a 1" unit. Going from a 3/4" regulator to a 1" regulator made more of a difference than I expected... before, two faucets (or filling the tub) would drop my pressure to 30PSI inside the house. With the new unit, I turned on the tub and every faucet in the house (to rinse out the flux), and still had 40PSI. Not bad for an extra $15!