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Water pressure?

I have a strange water pressure problem in my house.

When I turn the water on from the tap or flush the toilet the water dosen't flow smoothly. The water projects it out quickly from the start and then intermediates flow pressure until you need to fill the sink or the toilet fills up.

I'm concerned that my water pipes are telling me that they are blocked or frozen, but I don't know.

Can you help?

Reply to
darren
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Do you have well water, or are you connected to a public water system?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I am connected to a public water system.

Reply to
darren

OK. Your explanation's a bit weird, so I'll assume you mean that the pressure starts high and then gets lower. If that's the case, it could be a problem with a pressure regulator in your house. Click this link and see if the thing looks familiar. They're usually located in the basement, either near the main water pipe, or up near the ceiling:

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In some locales, the incoming water pressure is high enough that it can damage appliances and cause problems with faucets and pipe connections. For instance, the incoming pressure at my house is about 125 psi (pound per sqare inch). The pressure regulator drops it to around 50 psi. When my old regulator (in the photo) began to die, it would allow surges as high as 90 psi, and then the pressure would sometimes drop to 20-30 psi.

Do you have this problem at ALL the faucets in the house?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Do you have a pressure regulator?

Are the pipes copper (hardly ever clogs) or galvanized (often clogs)?

From the description, it sounds like there is pressure when you start, but if there is a clog, the pressure would drop on the far side of it.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Sounds most like thermo pressure build up from the water heater. I'll bet if you install an expansion tank, the problem will go away.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Thanks for this. The answer to your question is yes, it does apply to all the other faucets. I should've explained myself with more detail, when I turn on any faucet, either in the bathroom or kitchen the water surges out quickly and then drops to normal pressure and then continues to surge sporadically. This also happens when I flush the toilet. I wonder whether it's due to the cold weather and that my hot water has been temporarily turned off for the past 10 days due to my back boiler being too old and therfore disconnected by a Corgi registered plumber?

Reply to
darren

Thanks for this info. I'm not sure whether I have a pressure regulator or the type of pipes, this I will check.

Reply to
darren

I can't answer that last question.

Did you find a regulator in your basement?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Thanks for the info. If I do need to install an expansion tank what sort of figure should I be looking at?

Reply to
darren

Hang on a second - does this happen with hot OR cold water, when run individually?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

As I live on a second floor flat, would you think this is at the communial area on the ground floor or with my own water tank?

Reply to
darren

Only the cold water as the hot is temporarily turned off and will not be turned back on until I get a new back boiler.

Reply to
darren

Are you home right now? Do you have access to the basement?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

In that case, I think Steve Barker's suggestion is for a different situation. Back to square one: Find the regulator.

Do you own this place, or do you rent?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

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