Water Pressure - Where to look for problems

[Brett Miller]

I just moved into a house that (to me) seems to have low water pressure. It is in a county which generally has great water pressure. I checked the water turn on and made sure it was open all the way, and this helped somewhat. There is a watering system for the yard that is half-ass working, but I see no active leaks. If the neighbors have good pressure, where would I start to look for a problem or solution, and what is the county's obligation?

Also, re the sprinkler system, there is a box in the ground that has 3 "switches". They look like some kind of silinoid (sp) and they get power. Would these be for the different zones? I know 2 zones work and logically, there should be a thrid zone to water the front yard. ( zone 2 = bushes, zone 3 back yard no front yard found.) Any suggestions on trouble shooting this? When I put it on zone 1 I get a little water weakly oozing out of the ground in a few places. The box with the timer has Rainbird on it if that means anything.

Reguardless C'est Moi

[Jag Man]

Brett,

Water softeners introduce a pressure loss. If yours is plumbed like mine, every indoor facuet and shower comes through the softener. You can get water softeners with larger valves to address this.

Also, how old is the house? What kind of pipes? I believe the old steel pipes can get kind of sluggish with age, whereas copper doesn't.

Ed

[Jag Man]

Brett,

Sounds like a fairly typical automatic watering system. Your local Home Depot will probably have a display board set up to show you how these are set up.

Also sounds like it's been neglected. To figure out what goes where, turn on the valves manually one at a time and leave them on long enough to see where wet spots develop. (There is usually screw or handle on the top of the valve that allows manual operation). Once you find a wet spot, dig down till you find what's there... a spray or whatever, and fix/replace it. Chances are the Rainbird control box is OK. You can probably get a users manual at a Rainbird Web site.

Ed

"> Also, re the sprinkler system, there is a box in the ground that

[Brett Miller]

Jag,

The house has no water softener system. The water is not hard in this area, actually tastes and smells good. The house is less then 15 years old and I would GUESS it has PVC and/or copper pipes. I've never seen new houses built with the steel pipes in this area.

Can the county test the pressure at the curb?

Thanks B man

[Brett Miller]

Thanks, I'll try that.

Also the wires are connected with plain wire screws. It seems a poor choice for outdoors and below ground. Is this the usual choice?

BM

[stretch]

Brad. Turn all water using fixtures off and test pressure at a hose bibb outside. You can get a pressure gauge that has a female hose connection. Then turn faucets on abd see if the pressure drops. If pressure remains nearly the same, the problems are in the fixtures

Stretch