water pressure too high

[rlz]

The water pressure coming into the house from the street is about 100 psi, if not higher. This causes a problem in our bathtub/shower unit. Our tub has individual H/C valves that feed into the tub and shower head. When the valves are open, water comes out of the tub spicket, but then will also drip out of the shower head. This happens more intendely if both vales are completely open, but also happens if the valves are partially open (of course not as much) I'm pretty sure that this is being caused by the high water pressure. I don't suspect a blockage in the valves or spickets, since I recently replaced them. I've thought about the closing the shutoff valves behind the tub, but I don't want to restrict the volumn, since this is for a large jetted tub, which takes a wile anyway to fill up. Any ideas?

Rob

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, No regulator? Our water pressure was like that and we installed regulator and it is at 60 psi.

[Harry K]

As Tony says, install a pressure reducer where the supply enters the house. 60 psi is the highest recommended residential pressure.

Harry K

[Lp1331 1p1331]

I was talking to some customers where I was doing an a/c install a while back, and they were telling me that they had their nearly new water softener blew out some seal on it. It was repaired under warranty, but the repairman told them the water pressure was way too high-- forget the exact pressure-- and that they would have to have a pressure regulator installed (and probably that if they didn't, they would not repair the seal again free). Anyway, he said the city was raising the pressure to insure adequate pressure in the outlaying areas that were rapidly being developed, and it was causing all kinds of problems. Lucky for the OP, he didn't find out with some kind of catostrophic rupture/blowout, and resulting flood. The water softener people were lucky the softener was in the garage with a lower floor than the house, so they had minimal damage. They had a regulator installed right away, as did a lot of their neighbors. I've never checked mine, but it is a private water system with it's own well that only services this (about 40 y/o) subdivision of

100 or so homes. Larry

[George]

You just need to install a pressure regulator and thermal expansion tank. The 100 psi was never intended for direct use. It is just classic good design to have high pressure in any sort of main line and a regulator near the point of utilization. For some reason they left the regulator out in your house.

[Harry K]

Our small town built a new wgter tank up on the rim of the canyon to improve pressure at the higher points. Had things blowing all over town. The fix of course was pressure regultors for anyone living on the lower areas. No, the city would not pay for them.

Me and my brother had to put one in my mother's very old house. No shut off valve. Yes it can be installed with full pressure but the intaller(s) and everything in a half mile will get wet :)

Harry K

[JIMMIE]

Consider keeping your outdoor spigots at street pressure. I just about dont use my pressure washer anymore. I ordered one of those pressure boosting wands you see on TV and the thing actually works when you start out with 110 PSI into the thing.

Jimmie

Jimmie

[DerbyDad03]

My front spigot is at street pressure, the backyard spigot isn't.

As soon as the weather turns bad enough to force me inside, I'll be tapping into the pre-regulator section of pipe and running street pressure to the backyard spigot also.

I'm going to try one of those sharkbite connectors and PEX.

[DerbyDad03]

I ran into problems when my regulator failed.

Either you don't have one or the one you have went bad.

$60 and a couple of hours later (including travel) I was back at ~60 PSI at my fixtures.

[jeff_wisnia]

You never heard about pipe freezers?

Jeff

[Lp1331 1p1331]

Never seen a domestic system with no shutoff, but then again, I suppose anything is possible-- seen plenty with shutoffs that didn't work. Interesting gadget that Jeff showed, but I didn't see a price-- I would bet it is $$$$$. Years ago, a guy was telling me about working on the chilled water a/c system in an old motel that had individual fan coils in each room, with no valves, and shutting the system down when one coil needed repair/replacement wasn't an option. He said they froze the lines with dry ice and installed shutoffs on the inlet and outlet lines-- think he said they were 3/4 " copper, but I wouldn't swear to it Larry.

[Stormin Mormon]

No shut off valve at the street?

[Stormin Mormon]

That's a good idea. And also good for fire fighting, if you're in brush fire area.

[Stormin Mormon]

Please check, see if those connectors (and Pex) will handle the higher pressure. That could be unfortunate water damage if not.

[Stormin Mormon]

Wouldn't you have to shut off everything in the house, for a pipe freezer to work? Running water doesn't want to freeze. I've never used one of these.

I have heard of packing the pipe in dry ice.

[Harry K]

Long story made short. The fertilizer companynext door to her contaminated her well. We were allowed to tap into their supply line but not shut off their water. It was a real 'red-neck' set-up from the start. This was way back and now I am combing my brain, the wet part of it must have been at the connection point. She also had a pipeline up to a spring on the canyon side above her. We never did find a shut-off to that. Must have been one though as the fertiliser company bought the place after she died, tore down the house and somehow had a dry basement. We had to keep a sump pump operational at all times or wind up with a 3 ft deep wading pool.

Harry K