danisrael8
New Member
Hi all,
First time poster from Greenville SC, this might be a long one so bear with me as I want to provide as much detail as possible (cliff notes at bottom for those that are interested). A little background on my home, its a 1970's brick house that was remodeled in the mid 2000's (copper and PVC/CPVC piping, no galvanized that I can see). The water line enters the house in the basement where the PRV is located. The line is 3/4" schedule 40 PVC that reduces down to 1/2" (not sure what the line in the yard is). There is also a PRV on the cold line going to the water heater with an expansion tank right after the PRV. I will post pictures below.
The problem, to make a long story short I believe my PRV's are bad. I bought a water pressure gauge and tested an outdoor spigot at 120 PSI. So I adjusted the PRV down to 70-80 PSI, tested a few faucets (one at a time) and everything seemed fine.
The next morning I found out that whenever two water sources are in use, the pressure drops drastically. I checked the pressure static and saw 80 PSI like I had set it to however when I opened a faucet, it dropped to 25 PSI and when another source was in use it dropped to 20PSI. I also noticed later that day when the water heater was heating, the pressure on the cold side spiked to 120-130 PSI. I checked my expansion tank and it was full of water. When I shut off the cold supply to the water heater the pressure went back down to 80PSI at the spigot however I am still getting a pressure drop when the water is used.
It seems like it would be best to replace the water heater's PRV with the same unit, unscrew the union and replace.
For the main line being glued PVC, what would you recommend I do if I wanted something that was more easily removable if the PRV were to fail again (unions, PEX, Sharkbite?) or should I stick to glue and PVC. Either way I plan on adding a pressure gauge after the PRV. Is this something the weekend warrior could accomplish or should I call in an experienced professional? I enjoy learning new things but not at the cost of risking major damage.
Cliff notes:
Dan
First time poster from Greenville SC, this might be a long one so bear with me as I want to provide as much detail as possible (cliff notes at bottom for those that are interested). A little background on my home, its a 1970's brick house that was remodeled in the mid 2000's (copper and PVC/CPVC piping, no galvanized that I can see). The water line enters the house in the basement where the PRV is located. The line is 3/4" schedule 40 PVC that reduces down to 1/2" (not sure what the line in the yard is). There is also a PRV on the cold line going to the water heater with an expansion tank right after the PRV. I will post pictures below.
The problem, to make a long story short I believe my PRV's are bad. I bought a water pressure gauge and tested an outdoor spigot at 120 PSI. So I adjusted the PRV down to 70-80 PSI, tested a few faucets (one at a time) and everything seemed fine.
The next morning I found out that whenever two water sources are in use, the pressure drops drastically. I checked the pressure static and saw 80 PSI like I had set it to however when I opened a faucet, it dropped to 25 PSI and when another source was in use it dropped to 20PSI. I also noticed later that day when the water heater was heating, the pressure on the cold side spiked to 120-130 PSI. I checked my expansion tank and it was full of water. When I shut off the cold supply to the water heater the pressure went back down to 80PSI at the spigot however I am still getting a pressure drop when the water is used.
It seems like it would be best to replace the water heater's PRV with the same unit, unscrew the union and replace.
For the main line being glued PVC, what would you recommend I do if I wanted something that was more easily removable if the PRV were to fail again (unions, PEX, Sharkbite?) or should I stick to glue and PVC. Either way I plan on adding a pressure gauge after the PRV. Is this something the weekend warrior could accomplish or should I call in an experienced professional? I enjoy learning new things but not at the cost of risking major damage.
Cliff notes:
- High water pressure (120 PSI) adjusted down to 80 PSI
- Pressure drops drastically when faucet opens (80 down to 20 - 25 psi)
- Pressure increases drastically when water heater is in use (80 to 130 psi)
- Shutting water inlet to water heater drops pressure down to 80 PSI but pressure drop still occurs when faucet is open
- Expansion tank is bad and will be replaced
- Best way to replace PRV glued with PVC?
Dan
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