Water meter/supply line question

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Jack1976B

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I am working on a home remodel project. Currently, our water pressure if only one fixture is running is adequate but let's say a shower is running and someone flushes a toilet- the shower goes to literally a trickle. The home was built in the 1970s and we sit in the forest about 900 feet linear distance and 30 feet of elevation gain from the water main at the road. We have a 3/4" meter and currently a 3/4" supply line. I am told by our water company that I have 105 psi at the meter. I measured 3 gpm flow rate right as the water service enters our home currently. I have a psi meter coming later today so no current psi measurement at the house- can add that later.

The water company says the main we receive service from is a 2" main and they cannot provide a larger meter size without significant cost on our end to upgrade their water main.

Our contractor has given us two potential solutions:

  1. Use directional boring to run a new 2 or 3" supply line to the home from the current 3/4" meter and eventually the whole home will be replumbed with whatever best current practices are for plumbing a home of our size.
  2. Pay for a second 3/4" meter and then join those two services (the meters would be about 10 feet apart) together into a single new 2-3" supply line running to our home and then replumb the home.
Would either of these solutions be expected to improve our flow rate at the home? Is one vastly preferable? Is all of this a waste without a larger diameter water meter? I can provide additional information if I have left something out. Thank you in advance.
 

Reach4

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#1 would be OK. I have not checked the pressure drops, but I would think 1.5 or 2 inch would be more than enough.

It is not a waste to have a 3/4 inch meter feed a big pipe to the house. Directional boring sounds a lot more expensive than trenching below the frost line.

Edit: http://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Calculators/General/Pipeline-Pressure-Loss.php
1.5 inch for 1000 ft would drop about 15.2 psi. 1.25 inch pipe would drop about 37 psi. The 30 ft rise drops 13 psi. Those add.

SIDR pipe is a little bigger than nominal size, and CTS is smaller.

I think you would use a PRV at the house, set to maybe 50 psi.
 
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Jack1976B

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Probably a dumb follow-up question. Pressure aside, is our flow rate capped by the 3/4" meter or is it fair to assume that the 3/4" meter can provide all the flow I need if I just give it a large enough supply line to feed? I just don't want to run into the same situation where the pressure is good until two people try to use water and then there isn't enough to go around.
 

Reach4

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A house normally will do fine with 10 gpm, and 20 gpm for calculations lets you also do some lawn watering and have margin.

A 3/4 inch meter should do 20 gpm fine.

That irrigation pressure drop calculator predicts 122.5 psi drop at 10 gpm for 3/4 inch pipe, and that is on top of the 30 ft rise drop of 13 psi..

http://www.pressure-drop.com/Online-Calculator/ is a more complex pressure drop calculator where you account for size changes and elbows using the Group drop-down list. The total drop will be the sum of the drops.
 
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