Fixed water leak now low pressure

[whitecrow]

I fixed a leaking section of horizontal pipe that comes into the house. The water line comes up from the ground to this horizontal section, then it gos into the house.
After I put a new section in, the water pressure in the house will be good for about 20 seconds then go down to almost none. Every faucet in the house, toilet,washing machine etc.
The water company checked the pressure from the road and it was 80psi. There is no way that dirt or debris got into the water line during fixing it as the section I was working on is above ground and horizontal.
We can't figure it out.
There is another thing I will mention
The section of pipe that we took out had a Tee on it with a dead-end section about 6inches long capped off at one end. We thought that maybe someone was going to put in a water spigot at one time. We took this off and fixed the leak by putting an elbow in, instead of the Tee and capped-off line.
Could taking this off somehow affect the water pressure? I know that some people put in "water chambers" like this to stop water hammer, but could this have something to do with the pressure? It doesn't make any sense. Thanks for any help.

 

[havasu]

Any time you disrupt original water lines, you dislodge sediment which will work its way to the faucets. Clean your screens and then check the water pressure at the supply line under the sink.

 

[whitecrow]

The water pressure is normal for about 20-30 seconds then drops considerably. No debris in the screens. Water pressure under sink is still low. Water pressure in every faucet in the house is low even the faucets that don't have screens.
We had good water pressure even when we had the leak. We had to turn the water on and off at the meter for 2 days until we found the leak. I wonder if by some fluke that the water meter has went bad. The water company checked the water pressure before the meter but not after.

 

[FlushMasta]

do you have a pressure reducing valve? on your main incoming water line, more specifically
last week i was on a call, similar problem... the PRV was bad. it would creep up to 100+psi (in this case)... the pipes would, essentially, balloon up with pressure. enough to make the fixtures run for a reasonable amount of time... then quickly drop to about 20psi, which was nearly a trickle out of a standard lav faucet...

 

[waterwelldude]

Did you shut the water valve off before doing the work? When you finished the work, did you reopen the valve all the way?
If the valve is not open far enough, it will cause the exact problem you have.

 

[whitecrow]

I don't see a pressure reducing valve on the line. A few years ago 5ft of the incoming line was uncovered to fix a leak underground and I didn't see anything.
The water company checked the water pressure coming out after the valve and before the meter and it had 80psi, so I think the valve is opened all the way.

 

[whitecrow]

I forgot to mention that the leak indicator at the meter is stopped when the water at the house is off. Every once in a while the indicator will spin backwards 1/2 turn or so.

 

[johnjh2o]

In most cases a PRV valve would be inside the home on your main line, before it connects to any fixtures.

John

 

[speedbump]

I checked to see if you were in a warm climate, but your not. I have known Lizards and Frogs to crawl into a pipe when your not looking then get pushed down stream to a bushing or other kind of reduction in pipe size and make a better cork than a swimmer. Happened to me with my pressure sprayer once too. You don't have to turn your head for long and their in. You do have skinks (salamanders) in Ka. and probably small toads as well.

 

[AllAces777]

Pressure check it at the main line or shutoff valve at the house, pressure check every hose bibb. Quadruple check for a pressure reducing valve. Pressure check your angle stops under your fixtures, take an angle stop off and check the pressure.

The situation your describing either sounds like debris is in the line or you have a PRV that is malfunctioning.

I would definitely make sure you main line coming into your house is good. At the main shutoff valve I would install something I can test the pressure with, while running water and with it off. Then I would look at checking a back hose bibb the same way and work my way throughout the house.

 

[whitecrow]

Thanks guys. If there is a pressure reducing valve it will have to be in the walls. The house was built on a concrete slab. It would be a pain to try to find it. I am going to take the section off that was fixed and check the pressure there. I will post the results.

 

[johnjh2o]

I think letting the faucet ran for few minutes will also solve the problem with the pressure. That is because when you open the pipe some air will be inside the pipe that lessen the water pressure.

WHAT!!!

John

 

[havasu]

Forget the above comment John. It was a spam attack all the way from China! Buh-bye!

 

[johnjh2o]

Wow!! This site is way more popular then I thought. Keep up the good work removing the spam.

John

 

[havasu]

Eet's my job, and I love spam blasting!

 

[AJay]

I'll bet some of that durn Chink spam got into his pipes!!

Or maybe some crud got into the water meter itself? Just a thought.

 

[Mr_David]

What kind of valve did you close to make the repair?
Gate valves are notoriuos for breaking in the closed and/or almost closed position.
allowing the water to pass through the valve.
If no fixtures are open the pressure will be the same on both sides of the partially closed valve. but when a fixture is opened it will not let the volume needed to pass through.