Water pressure issue, help needed.

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dbpo

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Was running washing machine. I noticed a drip from 50 gallon WH- TRV valve.
Around the same time I tested pressure upwards of 100 in the house.
We do not have PRV valve. Water pressure in area is usually consistent at 60.

I removed 2 gallon expansion tank, it was 10 psi lower than it should be and I pumped it up. All seemed good, multiple tests of pressure with water heater running and directly after running and pressure never changed.

A few days later, same thing happened as before. When the pressure was high, I quickly tested my neighbors outdoor spigot and it was spot on 60 while mine was much higher. I let my faucet run for awhile and retested and the pressure had lowered.

Since my neighbors pressure was ok at the same time and the fact that my pressure lowered after running a facuet for a bit I assume my expansion tank was the issue. I replaced with a larger 4 gallon tank. WhenI removed old I noticed it was still holding that 60 psi charge that I pumped it up to a few days later.

Do you feel I made a logical decision to replace tank?

ie: drip from TRV (only a year old) and water pressure was high. I don't think its the valve in that case.
No need to install PRV since neighbor was normal while I was high....
Since my pressure seemed to have gone up after using washer and the fact that the pressure decreased after running water for a while, Im guessing its something within my house...

So if its in the house, what else could it be besides the thermal expansion tank? What else causes high pressure within the home besides thermal expansion or increase pressure in the main?

If it happens again... what would you do? Add a PRV?
 
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Reach4

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Do you feel I made a logical decision to replace tank?

Yes.

If it happens again... what would you do? Add a PRV?

No.

I suspect your pressure tank had its Schrader valve up rather than down. I am then thinking there was only a little air left in the tank. Wasn't the old tank heavy?
 

dbpo

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I suspect your pressure tank had its Schrader valve up rather than down. I am then thinking there was only a little air left in the tank. Wasn't the old tank heavy?

No, that's where I am confused. The old 2.2 gallon tank was in service for 2 years. 60 psi static in house. The tank was only inflated to 50. I inflated it to 60. The problem came back. I replaced tank with 4.4 gallon tank. The old tank was still holding that 60 psi charge when I removed it; it didn't appear to have water in it and it wasn't heavy. Perhaps the older tank was too small ?

So if it occurs again, what else could I be missing?

The neighbors pressure was normal when mine was reading high. My pressure lowered a bit after I ran a spigot for a minute. Can I rule out high pressure from the town?
 
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Reach4

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Still have that tank? Check the pressure in a week.

But you could have your hot water extra hot, you could have a big water heater, so you move to a bigger tank was good.

On the farther out ideas, could there be a valve such as a check valve between the pressure tank and the water heater? That would be weird.
 

dbpo

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On the farther out ideas, could there be a valve such as a check valve between the pressure tank and the water heater? That would be weird.

W/H is 50 gallon set to 130.

The only check valve in the system is right after the meter, its the towns backflow preventer. I assume that would not cause high pressure if it was faulty. (?)
 

dbpo

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So I have my ducks in a row....

What's my next step if it occurs again?

What else could cause high pressure spikes in a home besides thermal expansion in a closed system which a expansion tank would rectify or a spike coming into the house from the street?
 
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dbpo

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So if anyone is out there reading this, heres a status.

After replacing the expansion tank, I noticed a drip from the T&P again. I cant pin it down if it happened while heating etc and I couldn't recreate it no matter how many times I ran the heater. So at this point I have replaced the expansion tank and now the T&P valve as well.

I attached a gauge to the WH drain valve and it did not budge from 60psi prior, during or after a heating cycle. With that lone test and my new expansion tank, can I rule out thermal expansion and any malfunctions from the WH?

If the new T&P drips... whats my next step?
 
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DonL

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I would not rule out the water pressure to your house going high.

Some of those meters have regulators built in, and what you think is the towns backflow preventer, could have a regulator that failed.

Any pictures ?


Good Luck.
 

dbpo

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I would not rule out the water pressure to your house going high.

Some of those meters have regulators built in, and what you think is the towns backflow preventer, could have a regulator that failed.

Any pictures ?


Good Luck.

The only thing after the meter is a OLD Watts No. 7 Dual Check Backflow Preventer. I don't think this would have a regulator inside of it.
 

dbpo

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One thing I keep disregarding is temperature. I have heater set to the 130 setting. Im getting between 140-145 from the taps. I didn't check temperature at the water heater valve but do you think it could be exceeding 210 for a split second to make it drip a drop or two? Or would in simply empty a lot when it exceeds temperature and in that case I would have significant spillage from the discharge?
 

DonL

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One thing I keep disregarding is temperature. I have heater set to the 130 setting. Im getting between 140-145 from the taps. I didn't check temperature at the water heater valve but do you think it could be exceeding 210 for a split second to make it drip a drop or two? Or would in simply empty a lot when it exceeds temperature and in that case I would have significant spillage from the discharge?


Sounds like your water heater has a problem to me. The water should not come out hotter than the T-stat is set for.

210 would be full open, But they will start leaking sooner.

Good Luck.
 
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dbpo

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I thought they are designed for +/- 10 degrees? I don't think I have ever seen a gas water heater be exact. Maybe I am wrong, please advise?
 

DonL

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I thought they are designed for +/- 10 degrees? I don't think I have ever seen a gas water heater be exact. Maybe I am wrong, please advise?


Just turn it down so it puts out the temp that you want.

If it is way off, then the tank may have a lot of gunk, and the t-stat is not measuring the real water temp.

Then they become Pop A lot.
 

Reach4

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The water heater temperature is one of the factors in determining how large of an expansion pressure tank you need. http://www.co.union.nc.us/pw-calculator.html is one calculator. If you read 145F from the taps, the water heater temperature would be even higher.

Too big is not a problem except that it costs more and could require more support. Expect the larger size to flex the diaphragm less. That might contribute to longer life. I don't know if any of the expansion tanks use a bladder. A diaphragm is better.


Therm-X-trol is a top brand, and that might translate into longer life.

The precharge should be set a little above what the maximum incoming water pressure is. That pressure might occur at 4 AM after they top off the water towers. If you just set the precharge air maybe 5 PSI higher than what you normally see, you should be good. Trickle a faucet while you take your water pressure reading for this purpose. The air precharge should be set with the water pressure at zero.
 

dbpo

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thanks reach4, im way past choosing or pumping up a ET at this point.
 

Reach4

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thanks reach4, im way past choosing or pumping up a ET at this point.
It's easy enough to adjust the air precharge long after installation-- presuming that the access to the valve is clear.

A faulty backflow preventer would not cause an over-pressure problem.
 
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