New hot water heater and water pressure

[Allison Moore]

I had a new(replacement for same) electric hot water heater installed in January. The plumber had to bring it up to code and added an expansion tank. Now in April I was advised that when the water is on in the shower, there is no water in the kitchen. Any thoughts?

 

[Reach4]

Replace the cartridge in the whole house filter.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

How much did the plumber charge you for the expansion tank?? Just curious...

 

[Jeff H Young]

got galvenized pipes rusty water low flow? might need repipe

 

[Phog]

Could just be the kitchen sink aerator got plugged up with debris from the job.

 

[Allison Moore]

How much did the plumber charge you for the expansion tank?? Just curious...

Don't remember without digging out the bill.

 

[Allison Moore]

got galvenized pipes rusty water low flow? might need repipe

Galvenized pipes and probably rusty since this is a 100 yo house and the last major upgrade, before my family, was in the 5o's, but we checked pressure and it seems ok. I metioned the HWH installation because there was no issues until after the change.

 

[Allison Moore]

Could just be the kitchen sink aerator got plugged up with debris from the job.

You know I hope the plumber and my guy checked that out before telling me I need a replumb. I didn't check it myself tho.

 

[Allison Moore]

Replace the cartridge in the whole house filter.

Whole house filter?

 

[Phog]

You know I hope the plumber and my guy checked that out before telling me I need a replumb. I didn't check it myself tho.

Replacing galvanized water pipes is inevitable. The best you can hope for with those is that you can hold out long enough where they become the next homeowner's problem instead of yours. I removed many of these from my own 100+ year old house during remodel (the pipes already out of service, just didn't want them in the walls anymore). And you would not believe how much caked rust was inside. All of the pipes were reduced down to smaller inner diameter than a McDonald's drinking straw and some smaller than that. It's really easy to imagine a small piece of debris coming loose from one section and it gets lodged somewhere downstream. That could likely be what happened to you. So don't feel too put out about if the aerator was checked or not.

 

[Jeff H Young]

small pieces get disturbed break off and cause restriction. one easy thing you can try is shut angle stop remove flex supply at faucet and try opening it and blasting it into a bucket. or turn water off to house remove angle stop try same thing . depending on condition it could be risky working with old pipe. also aerator of cource might be plugged. Many many times I have cleared debris just removing supply line and blasting in a bucket.
Obviously you cant do the work yourself , You can pay someone to try to do what I said , Every plumber does these and other tricks
You might be able to dodge bullet of a repipe for years no guarantee though Its old and rusty .

 

[Jadnashua]

Heat makes the galvanized fail sooner than the cold supply lines. 100-years ago, copper pipe was really expensive, it still is compared to say pex or cpvc, but in most places, will likely last longer without issues. During a remodel or repipe, pex may be the easier thing to use as it's much more flexible. It isn't as rodent proof and needs to be protected from UV in sunlight, but it has its benefits, too.