Low Pressure at House

[David Hansen]

Hi,

I recently moved into a new build home. The water pressure felt low to me and the plumbers came out and measured the pressure at 43psi at hose bib. They said this area gets low pressure. I talked to my neigbors and they said they had no issues with water pressure. I measured the pressure at my neighbors on either side of my house at they both are at 70 psi. I called my utility provider and they came out and measured on both sides of the meter and got a solid 70 psi. The plumber came back out and replaced the PRV and we still were at 43 psi. The builer is saying it is within spec, but my argument is their has to be a reason it is dropping over 25 psi between the PRV and the hose bib that is only 25' away. Within spec or mot their is a cause and it could be a bigger problem later on.

Any speculation on the cause of this drop. I am wondering if their is debris in the line, or the pipe got pinched when they put the sidewalk in or something. I am open to any thoughts as I challenge the builder to investigate further.

Thanks
'Dave

 

[Valveman]

70 is not too much pressure. Just remove or tighten down on the adjustment of the PRV and see if the pressure comes up. The PRV could be your problem.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[David Hansen]

I forgot to mention the PRV is maxed out and was on both the original one and the replacement one. That's the concern is it is wide open and we have the 25 psi drop from PRV to house

 

[Valveman]

When using water your dynamic pressure can be 25 PSI lower with a restriction in the line. But even with a restriction the static pressure when no water is being used should equalize with the incoming pressure. If the static pressure is lower than the incoming pressure I would say either there is 57' difference in elevation or the PRV is still reducing the pressure. The PRV may only have a 10-50 PSI spring and will not turn up any higher?

 

[Reach4]

The plumber came back out and replaced the PRV and we still were at 43 psi. The builer is saying it is within spec, but my argument is their has to be a reason it is dropping over 25 psi between the PRV and the hose bib that is only 25' away. Within spec or mot their is a cause and it could be a bigger problem later on.

Are you measuring the pressure at the hose bibb while there is water flowing? Always be clear on that.

Do you have pressure gauge at the output of the PRV? If not, and if you are measuring pressures during flow, the main pressure drop could be before the PRV. What if there is a smashed pipe in the yard on the way to the house? Even a badly mangled pipe is not going have pressure drop when there is no flow, as long as some water gets through.

I suggest that you buy a couple garden hose thread pressure gauges. They are under $20, and sometimes under $10. When you are looking for pressure drops, it is best to measure the pressure between two places. Good places to connect include the other hose bibb, a laundry tap, and the drain valve on the water heater. If you want to measure pressure at the hose bibb while flowing some water, get a wye. At high flows, a fair amount of pressure drop is normal. Timing the filling of a 5 gallon bucket is a good way to measure flows.

 

[David Hansen]

Thank you for your time on this!

The pressure at the hose bid is simply reading the guage with that faucet on, no other water faucets turned on

The PRV valve is 2 feet away from the meter and is just a straight pipe, I do not have a pressure gauge on that point. I understand what you are saying about not measuring with flow..I will measure it with flow and share those results

 

[Valveman]

If you are reading from a gauge at the faucet that is open, you will not getting an accurate reading. Open a faucet that is not at the same location as the gauge to check dynamic pressure. Close all faucets to check static pressure.