(more about) 120 psi static pressure

[Confoozled]

Hi again all. I installed a new expansion tank (ET) which I pre-charged to 55 psi.

After installing the ET, and with the WH off, I still have 120 psi static which drops to 90 with a tap opened to low flow; it returns to 120 psi in 2 mins after closing the tap. It drops to 55 within 2 mins of opening a tap full on and does not drop further with more taps full open. Once these taps are closed, it returns to 120 psi within 2-3 mins.

So I'm probably going to replace the PRV and plan to also replace the old gate valve there (main house cutoff) with a new ball valve.

But I'm tempted to fiddle with the PRV's adjustment screw first, just in case it might help (from what I've read here, it probably won't). What's holding me back are a couple of old threads here where guys tried to adjust the PRV and caused it to start leaking out around the adjustment screw.

Has this (leak upon adjusting PRV screw) happened to anyone else?

Thanks again.

 

[Reach4]

Any comments on https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/home-water-pressure-120-psi.86816/ #15?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Confoozled]

Any comments on https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/home-water-pressure-120-psi.86816/ #15?

Hi Reach4. I'm not sure what else you are looking for, since I had already stated in #14 of that thread that the model was a 3/4 inch Watts N35B, discontinued it looks like 10 or more years ago, and no current rebuild kits that I can find available.

 

[Reach4]

Hi Reach4. I'm not sure what else you are looking for, since I had already stated in #14 of that thread that the model was a 3/4 inch Watts N35B, discontinued it looks like 10 or more years ago, and no current rebuild kits that I can find available.

Sorry. Missed that. Sometimes the obsolete ones have a functional replacement that is the same without the lead. However I cannot find that for the N35B.

Playing with the screw should not cause a leak. A leak would be because of a failed diaphragm, I think.

https://www.sharkbite.com/sites/def...oloSetEB45-DSBReducingPR_SpecSheet_061515.pdf looks interesting, I think.

 

[Confoozled]

Wow, thanks, that looks great for a DIY-er like me. But do you guys trust SharkBite stuff long-term? I'm getting photos of my current get-up and planning to upload and post here for thoughts on how best to re-arrange everything at the current PRV setup - mostly, getting the PRV down from a 7-foot height to more like 4 foot so that a "future me" (I'm short) can work on it better, and also replacing the current gate valve with a ball (also closer to 4-5 feet height, not at 6+ foot as it is now).

Both of the current PRV and gate are wedged up high in a closet, at the corner of the drywall space with ~ 1-inch clearance to drywall on both sides, so to sweat pipes I'd need to get firecloth, too. So I've been reading up on SharkBite type fittings. I have some SB couplings at the WH because I was in a hurry when I replaced it so I just bought a surplus of CPVC and elbows and built in the heat traps (none there before, just hard pipe straight down to/up from WH) and used some SharkBite couplers to mate old copper to new CPVC.

Although I've had no leaks on this stuff in 10 years, in some of my reading recently I see pros saying to avoid SB fittings and go with sweated couplings instead. Thoughts on this?

Side note - when I put in the new expansion tank I also installed a cold-side SharkBite slide-on ball valve heading into the WH, because the original piping did not have any cold water shutoff at the WH. Weirdly, it DID have a shutoff (gate) on the hot side. But since I have no plans to utilize the hot shutoff, I just left it in place.

Thanks again for your help.

P.S. Yeah, I spent hours trying to find a rebuild for the old PRV but in the end it proved fruitless. What I'm less sure of is whether some of the current rebuilds would work on it. Watts' website has turned out to be a dead end.

 

[Confoozled]

Okay, here's what I'm thinking (assuming diddling the adjustment screw gives no joy, which based what I've read, it won't).

I'm thinking to cut out the old PRV and old gate valve between the points I've labeled in the one photo as 1 - 2, and just hard pipe that part with copper (whether with sweated connectors and some pipe or sharkbite-type fittings, whatever, depending on what people think of sharkbite-type connectors).

Then, between points I've labeled in the other photo as 3-4, cut out most of the existing copper and install a new double-union PRV (and actually install it as double-union) and a ball-valve shutoff.

 

[Reach4]

Here is another sharkbite product to look at:
https://www.sharkbite.com/products/pvc-slip-coupling

But wait! There's more. This is like one of those combined with a ball valve:
https://www.sharkbite.com/products/slip-ball-valve

 

[Confoozled]

Thanks.

That second one you linked is what I used for "I also installed a cold-side SharkBite slide-on ball valve heading into the WH, because the original piping did not have any cold water shutoff at the WH".

What I used 10 years ago was their shorter, direct couplers (not "slide-on", as in your first link) for CPVC-to-copper when I was installing the current tank but wanted to build the heat traps into the system.

 

[Jadnashua]

A soldered, or in the case of CPVC, cemented, fitting is MUCH cheaper than using something like a Sharkbite. But, if you don't damage the internal O-ring during the installation, or are in a situation where the fitting is constantly being moved, it should last a very long time. The pipe, prior to installation needs to be free of burrs and defects, or the O-ring may not be able to do its job.