Incorporated by a surrounding town sewer and water came through and we hooked up last fall. Just not used to the high water pressure and thus high water bills. Thought I'd invest in a regulator. Thinking of putting it after the water softener as the water's twice as hard as the well water was and judging from the buildup on the glasses in the dishwasher when I tried running it with the softener off, I think it may protect the regulator. Any input on anyone's experiences would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Water bills are based on use. Usually a minimum charge, then so much per hundred gallons. Pressure has nothing to do with it, volume does.
Before you buy and install a regulator, buy a cheap pressure gauge and see how much pressure you have. If it is in the 75# or less range, don't waste your money. If much higher, get the regulator and put it before the softener. If the hardness sis twice your well, why would you bypass the softener? That makes no sense at all.
WTF??? Pressure has nothing to do with it? I think you need a lesson in water pressure. Lets take a 3/4" pipe and run water through it at 50psi for 1 min. Lets take a 3/4" pipe and run water through it at 100psi for 1 min. Do you mean to tell me that you would have the same amount of water from both scenarios? Oh my. Better try again. Bubba
Makes sense, but I suspect that the most use comes from the shower, which if it's one of the modern single-handle deals, can't be throttled back. Would be easier, of course, to simply install a low flow shower head.
Dishwasher, clothes washer, etc. all fill to a volume, so pressure is irrelevant for those appliances.
So, you're saying that a house that's higher up on the hill, with lower water pressure, pays less for their thousand gallons of water than a house lower down, with higher pressure, pays for their thousand gallons?
That's not what he was saying at all. Read it again.
If the OP can't figure out that with higher pressure, and a lot more water spurting out of the faucet at a given faucet opening, well, there's a bigger problem there than the water usage.
Simple solution, don't open the faucet as much.
Flush toilet. Depending on model, 1.2 to 5 gallon used. Same at 40 psi, same at 80 psi. Fill ice cube trays, same amount of water used at 40 psi, same as 80 psi. Do a load of wash. Same either way. That meter counts the number of gallons going past it no matter what the pressure. I stand by my statement.
Only thing that comes close is the garden hose, but even that is shut off when the water used is sufficient to wash the car or water the lawn. It would just get done a little faster, give or take a gallon or two.
Thanks everyone for your input. I am more concerened with the waste from the excessive pressure making the garden hose almost uncontrolable and the waste of water with sink and shower use (even shower restrictor doesn't seem to help). I know with self disapline controling the the flow by adjusting the spickets is possible but I think its easier just to trottle it down with the regulator as not to try and have family and guests concerned. I was hoping to hear from someone who had a similar concern with their water pressure and took this route. I'm sure they are out there as the reglators are on the market.
As others have noted, you need to determine what the actual water pressure is. You can pick up a water pressure gauge in the plumbing aisle of a big box store for about ten bucks. If your pressure is over 75 or 80 PSI, the regulator makes sense. You could also call your water department and they would most likely be able to tell you fairly accurately what the typical water pressure in your neighborhood is.
Thanks, the pressure gage sounds like a good idea. We're retired on limited income and looking to cut costs and the water bill seems like one of the expenses I can do something with. One of the contractors we were getting estimates from mentioned the pressure was in the 80lb range and we've heard the sewer and water bills in this area were high.
I think investigating the pressure is the first step, and if it is high you should do something about it, but you should realize that a high water bill comes from old habits. It's no different than someone leaving the refrigerator door open while they get the and make their coffee, or leaving a window open in an air-conditioned house.
Learning new habits can be difficult with non-critical things. As silly as it sounds, leaving a note at the kitchen faucet - Water! - would help prevent unnecessary consumption.
Another thing you should do is to check your water meter when there's no water running in the house at all - no toilets filling, no hot water tank filling, etc. If the indicator is spinning when the water is off everywhere you probably have a leak somewhere. Could be a leaking toilet tank seal or something that you wouldn't really notice unless you were looking for it. Such slow leaks, running 24/7, can waste a lot of water.
The standard water pressure regulators for homes that I've worked with were all factory set for 50 psi. The problem with an unregulated supply of city water has to do with pressure spikes that can damage various valves such as the flush valves in toilet tanks and the electric solenoid valves in dishwashers, washing machines and ice makers. The pressure spikes can also cause the T/P valve on your water heater to leak. I once replaced a 1" regulator at a service station that had 190 psi static pressure from the city water. The pressure spikes were much higher and blew out the rubber seats in all the sinks and wrecked all the big expensive chrome Sloan flush valves in the restrooms. The outdoor hose spigot was still at 190 psi and was great fun to shoot streams of water across the street.
Wrong! That gallon useage is at a SPECIFIC pressure.
Wrong scenario. Of course you will use the same amount of water. The tray only holds so much. You WILL however fill it faster at 80psi than at 40psi.
I cant help it if you are standing in the wrong place. Again, your washing machine scenario is not a good choice. Washing machines have water level sensors. It will fill to a predetermined level. Mine has an adjustment. If I want more or less water in the tub, I just slide the switch up or down. Once again though, at 80psi, it will fill the tub faster than it would if it were at 40psi. Maybe you should try this: Get a garden hose with whatever nozzle and setting you choose. Put it in a 5 gal bucket. At 40psi, turn it on and see how long it takes to fill the bucket. Now Do it all over again only change the pressure to 80psi. You will find that it fills almost (but not exactly) twice as fast. You didnt do well in science, did you? Bubba
Ed, You cant be that dense, are you? You WILL use MORE water at a higher pressure. Turn the pressure down and you wont use as much (unless you dont like the lower pressure and you decide to stay in the shower longer to defeat it.) It's a fact. Add more pressure and you WILL use more water. I dont care if it says 1.5 gal flush or 5 gal flush. You WILL use more at a higher pressure. Adding a pressure regulator and cutting your pressure down from say 100psi to 50psi will lower your water useage. It will also extend the life of your water heater, washing machine hoses, faucet washers, cartridges and almost every other appliance device that uses water.
A gallon of water is a gallon of water, no matter the pressure it was delivered at or how fast it was delivered. The meter measures gallons and does not care about pressure. A five gallon flush uses five gallons at 40 psi or 80 psi. Shower may or may not be restricted so there could be some difference there. Shower heads in the past five or ten years are restricted to 2.5 gal/min, IIRC
Fill a gallon jug with water. Increase the pressure and fill it again. Measure the water you pour out each time. It will be one gallon. What don't you get? If your water is metric, use a liter instead.
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