High static pressure, Low flow and low running pressure

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Dennis-in-Georgia

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Hi, I recently purchased an older home (1974) that is on county water. Since moving in, we have had fairly low pressure when using any faucet or toilet. When showering and a toilet is flushed, the pressure/flow drops to near nothing. I didn't think much of it but finally got a gauge and checked my static pressure. It was an amazing 118 psi. When I turned on any other faucet, it dropped to below 10 psi. This occurred at two different outside faucets at opposite ends of the house, one near the water line entry and the other at the far end. I checked the water meter and verified that the valve was fully on and there didn't appear to be any damage. There is a PRV on the house side of the meter. It was completely buried and I didn't see it at first because of the dirt but the adjustment screw stuck out of the dirt slightly. There appears to be 3/4" PVC leading toward the house. There is also a second PVC line split off of it I believe towards either another home site (used to have a trailer) or my barn(not sure where that line comes from). Turning this valve off does not affect my house pressure at all (I didn't check the barn). The house does sit on a hill about 25 feet above the main valve from the street. I suspect the my PRV is bad and needs replacing but just getting confirmation. ****Additional info, there are at least 7 houses on the county line along this road. We recently lost all water to these houses. It is also the primary line to a chicken processing plant, which is likely why the pressure is so high, BUT the county didn't know that we were on the plant's water line until a main break occurred recently at the plant. I was told in no uncertain terms that there were no houses on that line and my water problem could not be caused by the water outage at the plant. It came back on when the main line at the plant was repaired.
 
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Jadnashua

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What are the pipes in the house made of? If, in the house, some of the pipes are galvanized steel, when they get older, they end up rusting, and can almost shut the water off. You get the same pressure out of a soda straw versus a fire hose, but they have very different volume capabilities...something is restricting your flow - the PRV could be it, or not. The problem is likely a bad PRV...it should not show 118psi unless you also have a defective expansion tank.
 

Dennis-in-Georgia

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What are the pipes in the house made of? If, in the house, some of the pipes are galvanized steel, when they get older, they end up rusting, and can almost shut the water off. You get the same pressure out of a soda straw versus a fire hose, but they have very different volume capabilities...something is restricting your flow - the PRV could be it, or not. The problem is likely a bad PRV...it should not show 118psi unless you also have a defective expansion tank.
No expansion tank and one of the outside faucets is the closest to the line coming in the house. It does the same thing, so I don't think a restriction in the pipes in the house would affect that faucet.
 

Reach4

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Many PRVs have a screen. Clean yours.
 

LLigetfa

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The problem is likely a bad PRV...it should not show 118psi unless you also have a defective expansion tank.
If the pressure immediately goes back up over 100 PSI when water use stops, it is not an expansion problem.
A dirty screen on the PRV should not manifest as high static pressure but could affect flow.
IMHO, you have two separate issues, the high static pressure not being regulated and the low flow but both could be due to a faulty PRV.
 

Jadnashua

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Note that installing a PRV creates a closed system and if you don’t have something to accommodate the expansion created when heating water, you will introduce other problems. Add one when you service your PRV. Things will last longer without issues if you do..
 
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