Water pressure regulator

I was told recently I should have a water pressure regulator installed as my pressure is too high.

We live in a two story house and some of the faucets on the second story seem to have low pressure (or low flow rate.)

My questions are.

Will the faucets and shower-heads that have low pressure on the second story get even worse after a pressure regulator is installed?

If the low pressure or flow rate on those faucets is due to the fact that they are old and corroded I can see how the issues we're having with those may not be affected by a pressure regulator.

Thanks.

Reply to
engwar
Loading thread data ...

How high IS the water pressure? You can buy a tester at Home Depot. If you mess with cars and have a compression tester, you can stuff the rubber end in the faucet and check it. Or, how's the flow at the downstairs faucets? It's easy to test the upstairs faucets, just turn off the angle valve and disconnect the pipe and check the flow right at the valve. If it's an old house the angle valves could be stuck or you may cause a leak. Old pluming is always something better off left untouched:)

If you lower the pressure, the water flow is going to slow down. That's a given. Some of the new "low flow" faucets are really slow. The school I work at has some that flow about a quart a minute. Cuss them every time I fill the coffee maker.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

the location. Here on the acreage, my pump starts up at 20 psi and shuts o= ff at 40 psi. What would be "too high?" You could read the boxes on some = of the plumbing fixtures in a store; they probably would say what pressure = range the fixture is designed for. If the pressure is more than what the f= ixtures are designed for, I suppose you could get more leaky taps and trick= ling toilets. If you do get a pressure reducing valve, the screw on the to= p adjusts this way: "In will Increase the pressure".

ce, I take the total vertical rise from my pump in the basement to a faucet= on the second storey (19 ft), and multiply that by 0.4329 psi/ft to get 8.=

23 psi pressure difference. If my pump is nearly ready to start up, the pr= essure in the basement is 20 psi, and the pressure on the second storey is = 8 psi less, which is 20 - 8 =3D 12 psi. One of the faucets on the second s= torey does seem pretty slow to me, but its one that we don't use much. We'= re generally pretty content with our water system.

might prefer fixtures that are non-low-flow. Another idea would be to hav= e the pressure reducing valve on a line serving only the basement and main = floor, and have the second floor served by a line that tees off *before* th= e prv.

build-up of scale. These need to be replaced by copper lines or cpvc water= lines, which will stay free of deposits indefinitely. PVC water lines are= for cold water only, but CPVC water lines are good for both hot and cold l= ines. Put a couple of cups of vinegar in a plastic bag and tape it up to a= shower head so that the mineral build-up is submerged in the vinegar. Lea= ve it overnight, and the next day, the shower might operate much better. H= appy plumbing!

Reply to
Lookingup

I have a bad habit of removing flow restrictors. When I travel, I carry my own shower head that has been drilled out. When I want to get clean, I don't want to use a shower that sprays water like one you might find in a motor home. "Don't dribble on me" should be our new patriotic slogan. Thanks Congress for screwing up the county's plumbing.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

If the pressure regulator is set higher than your low pressure on the second floor it should not matter.

Reply to
Claude Hopper

I would beg to differ. If he has low pressure/flow rate on the upper floors, he has some kind of flow restriction leading to that floor. Anything he does to lower the pressure where the service enters the house is going to lower the flow rate of the water he gets on the second floor.

I'd suggest following the advice to buy a simple screw on pressure tester at a good hardware store, HD, etc. Then you'll know what the pressure actually is. Who told you it was too high and how high was it?

Reply to
trader4

Apart from flow restrictions, the pressure difference between floors is (for a 10 ft elevation difference) only 4.3 psi. Not enough to make much of a difference.

Reply to
Boden

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.