Barely any water pressure, yet pressure tank seems to be working

[MK19]

We are having issues with very low water pressure on all of the water lines in the house - primarily the bathtub. The house came with an Amtrol CH17255 (87 gallon, 75psi max relief pressure/100psi max working pressure) pressure tank and it seems to be working, as the gauge reads 62psi and drops when we turn on the faucet. Our issues stem from noticing that when we'd use the kitchen sink and someone tried to use the bathroom sink, both would come almost to a standstill. We have a cast iron tub and just installed an upright shower and the water literally just pours out of the head, little to no pressure it seems. The house is 1200 sqft single story and was built in late 2011. The lines all appear to be 1/2" PEX. We recently removed the indoor electric water heater and went with an outdoor propane on demand system and this has not had any change on the water pressure. I am clueless as what the issue could be and appreciate any and all input! TIA!

 

[Reach4]

as the gauge reads 62psi and drops when we turn on the faucet.

The pressure gauge is at the pressure tank, right? How much does it drop?

Do you have a filter of some sort? Can you measure the pressure after the filter?

.The lines all appear to be 1/2" PEX.

That would be very unusual to feed a whole house with 1/2 inch PEX. Maybe you should measure. How about a photo?

 

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[LLigetfa]

The lines all appear to be 1/2" PEX

Are they all single runs fed from a manifold or tree and branch?
Any whole house filters?
What style of shutoff is there on the outlet of the pressure tank? Any chance it is partially closed?

 

[MK19]

Pressure gauge is at the tank and the drop is about 8psi after I start the shower and it seems to hold steady at 55psi, yet the water just barely clears the shower head. I'll go under the house and check the line size. Also, the house has a filter, but I believe it is before the pressure tank. I'll verify this when I go under there as well.

 

[Reach4]

We are having issues with very low water pressure on all of the water lines in the house - primarily the bathtub. The house came with an Amtrol CH17255 (87 gallon, 75psi max relief pressure/100psi max working pressure) pressure tank and it seems to be working, as the gauge reads 62psi and drops when we turn on the faucet.

It should not stay steady. As you use water, pressure should drop smoothly until the pressure switch turns on the pump. Then the pressure should smoothly rise until the pressure switch turns the pump off. The difference between the two pressure switch pressures is typically about 20 psi.

So I am thinking that you are describing a sudden drop of about 13 psi when you turn on the shower.

Also, the house has a filter, but I believe it is before the pressure tank. I'll verify this when I go under there as well.

You should not have a cartridge filter between the well and the pressure switch+tank. It is very unlikely that you have that.

Do pay attention to the filter if there is one. You will probably want to change out that element. A partially clogged filter element is a very good candidate. People seldom go more than a year between cartridge changes.

On the other hand, having a filter in the crawl space would be unusual due to the cartridge/element being hard to change.

Take a flash camera with you. It will be better to be able to refer to photos than to have to go back down there to re-check something. If you don't have a caliper to measure the pipe OD, you could use a cloth tape measure to measure the circumference.

 

[MK19]

OK

It should not stay steady. As you use water, pressure should drop smoothly until the pressure switch turns on the pump. Then the pressure should smoothly rise until the pressure switch turns the pump off. The difference between the two pressure switch pressures is typically about 20 psi.

So I am thinking that you are describing a sudden drop of about 13 psi when you turn on the shower.


You should not have a cartridge filter between the well and the pressure switch+tank. It is very unlikely that you have that.

Do pay attention to the filter if there is one. You will probably want to change out that element. A partially clogged filter element is a very good candidate. People seldom go more than a year between cartridge changes.

On the other hand, having a filter in the crawl space would be unusual due to the cartridge/element being hard to change.

Take a flash camera with you. It will be better to be able to refer to photos than to have to go back down there to re-check something. If you don't have a caliper to measure the pipe OD, you could use a cloth tape measure to measure the circumference.

OK, filter is definitely in need of replacement - so that might have a lot to do with the problems. The filter does appear to be after the pressure tank. The lines coming into the house are 3/4" PEX, 1/2" PEX going to the kitchen and I didn't get to the bathroom side to see what size it was. I'll report back after the filter change and see if that changes things (hope so). In regards to the filter, any suggestions for an upgrade from the basic filter that we have (GE GXWH20S)?

 

[Reach4]

Changing out the cartridge or putting in a bigger filter is going to have a nice effect. For now, I would change the cartridge, and then start considering an upgrade. The elements are readily available.

Examine the dirty cartridge to see what it deals with. Is that cartridge 6 or 7 years old? Maybe replacing the cartridge once per year is all you need.

That has about a 2.5 x 10 inch cartridge. One that uses a 4.5 x 20 cartridge will have about 1/6 the pressure drop.

A nice thing about that GE unit of yours is that it has a built-in bypass. You could put that thing in bypass to give water.

I have the Pentek Big Blue housings. For that, it is best to put in a 3-valve bypass. There are other filter housings to consider, some of which may have a built-in bypass. I don't have the candidates for you now.