I recently had a plumber in to do some work and he checked the pressure guage and said the pressure was a little too high and we should consider changing the guage. Cost was around $300. We have never heard of this needing to be done so we're a little skeptical. Is this something we should be doing? I don't remember the numbers but it wasn't all that much higher than what it's supposed to be.
Myrna
Not sure what he means by "gauge". Usually, the water meter is the city's water authority's responsibility to change, usually at no charge to you if there's a problem with it. If their meter doesn't include some sort of regulator, then it's YOUR job to install a pressure regulator somewhere downstream from the main supply pipe. They cost $60-$80, plus labor to install. They drop your incoming water pressure down to the 50-60 lb range.
Is this causing any problems?
If not, leave it alone. If it works, don't fix it.
Personally I would prefer to have higher water pressure.
You can buy a water pressure gauge for less than $10; not a bad tool to have. It should be about 55psi. If it is much over 65, you have a problem. It might be that your regulator need an adjustment, which is trivial. At worst, it is a $60 part that takes an hour or two to replace. (assuming your water can be positively turned off, which some can't. If it can't, it will be more expensive.) $300 seems high.
When I put my regulator in (never had one, and my pressure was 90) I also put in a good full bore ball valve shut off, as the 20 year old crappy shut off was flakey. Added $15 for the valve and maybe 30 minutes of work; a good investment.
The regulator at my old house broke and the pressure went up to about
100psi, so it can happen. It should have been replaced, but I moved before I knew anything about plumbing.
Yes Myrna, by all means get that defective "guage" replaced at once. A gauge which gives incorrect readings should be condemned and properly disposed of at a hazardous waste dump. Considering that, $300 seems about right.
Jeff (Who is beginning to understand why his uncle Schlomo frequently said, "If God wanted wimmin to understand this technical stuff he would have given them brains instead of boobs.") :)
In all fairness, I think what she was talking about was having a pressure regulator installed because the incoming water pressure is too high. If it's above 80 or so, I would get one installed. And $300 for that job, depending on what's involved, where it,s located, etc may not be unreasonable.
I knew that .... but, "the Devil made me do it"....And uncle Schlomo is smiling down from uptairs....
Jeff
High water pressure is the leading cause of stroke in houses. Also burst aneurysms.
Wait. Never mind.
Brass Rat 78 here too, but what's the W1BSV?
Chet
Well, I did surely err when describing what is going on. I looked at my notes and this is the story: in my town the pressure is high so my house has a pressure reducer. The plumber said the reducer is not reducing enough and it's borderline whether we should replace it. I think the pressure was around 70 and he said 60 was optimum. All this being said, do you think we should do this job? I don't think it's something we can do ourselves.
My FCC issued ham radio station call letters....
Jeff
Why do you have to be a wise ass when someone is asking a question?
My previous home had about 110 lbs of pressure coming into the house, and no pressure regulator. There were no problems with pipes or appliances. If you have a pipe fitting that's marginal, it's obvious that higher water pressure will make that fitting fail sooner than later. But, that doesn't necessarily mean you need to worry about it.
I'm sure he doesn't have to be, but he felt like joking around on this occasion. He's usually serious, but what would he be if he could never joke around.
The advice here is free, in theory, but if some ribbing comes along with it, just be a sport and take it.
It's not like this is an emergency, even compared to the Canadian guy who wrote at 4AM this morning who had no heat, was cold, and couldn't sleep.
Nice to see a little more sense of humor around here. After 50 plus years of observing the folks I come in contact with I've come to realize that a sense of humor and higher intelligence are pretty well correlated. The slow ones just don't "get it".
Jeff
Your an ass. Ha Ha! Do you "get it"? Oh, wait, I forgot the smily :). Now do you get it?
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