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High / Very Low Water Pressure

gtoguy | Posted in General Discussion on June 28, 2007 08:05am

The other day we noticed very low water flow out of a shower while an outside     lawn  sprinkler station was  running.

With no water demand, I put a gauge on one outside hose bib. Pressure read 120 psi.

Opened one other hose bib to full flow and gauge dropped to 10 psi. Opened another hose bib (so now two are running) and gauge dropped to 5 psi.

I then closed all valves and gauge returned to 120 psi.

I’ve already scheduled a plumber to vist.  Any ideas before he gets here? Thx in advance.

Tim

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Replies

  1. Rebeccah | Jun 28, 2007 08:18pm | #1

    Could be high pressure/low volume - what is the diameter of the pipe coming into the house? What is the diameter of the pipes going to your hose bibs and are they galvanized or copper? It seems to me (and I'm not an expert in fluid dynamics and have forgotten a lot of my elementary physics) that the greater the ratio of cross sectional area out to cross sectional area in, the lower the pressure.

    Rebeccah

  2. PHM | Jun 28, 2007 09:27pm | #2

    Could be clogged screen on your regulator (usually out by the meter).

    Pat

  3. DanH | Jun 28, 2007 09:36pm | #3

    If this is new, I'd suspect that you have a malfunctioning pressure reducing valve.

    So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
  4. Dave45 | Jun 28, 2007 09:46pm | #4

    Do you have a hose bib near the water service entrance?  Take pressure readings there while you open and close the other hose bibs, shower valves, and sink faucets.

    Losing some flow when sprinklers come on isn't unusual since sprinklers use a lot of water.  Your description sounds typical for an old galvanized pipe system, but that usually happens fairly slowly over a long period of time.

    Your static pressure (120 psi ??) sounds way too high.  That sounds right for the water main in the street, but at the house, it should be more like 50 psi.  Your pressure regulator may need replacement.

    1. DanH | Jun 28, 2007 11:18pm | #5

      Yeah, the high static pressure suggests that there must be a pressure reducing valve, and it's clearly malfunctioning. Not clear that that accounts for the low flow, but it could.
      So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

      1. Dave45 | Jun 28, 2007 11:30pm | #7

        If the regulator is closing to reduce the pressure, it may be over compensating and closing far enough to reduce the flow to a "trickle".

        1. DanH | Jun 28, 2007 11:41pm | #8

          Or it could be just plain stuck at a "crack" open.
          So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

          1. gtoguy | Jun 29, 2007 01:53am | #9

            Had a local plumber check the system out. He agrees it is the pressure reducing valve. The bid to replace this valve, change the house shutoff valve and a hose bib is $460. One other plumber provided a phone bid of $400. Should be fixed tomorrow. Thanks for the info to all.

            Tim

    2. Piffin | Jun 28, 2007 11:29pm | #6

      That is what I was thinking. No way should he have 120PSI. That can destroy some valves. 40-70 is plenty.Maybe there is a filter blockage and somebody tried to up the regulator to overcome instead of finding the blockage. 

       

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