Water Pressure Question

Frackin_K · Sep 23, 2011

Here is my current issue.

My house has a 1" tap feeding it. I have a field hydrant just inside the tap. once the pat hits my house it reduces to 3/4" until it reaches my 2 bathrooms and kitchen which is 1/2" everything is PVC until it hits the 1/2" which is PEX. with no pressure regulator my water pressure static is ~135, my dynamic pressure is ~115-120 and fluxuates between there. when testing they (the plumbers) put the pressure gauge on the field hydrant, and turned on EVERY faucet on full blast both hot and cold. and the volume is thru the roof, blasting probably 2-3 gpm out of each faucet at the same time. way too much in the first place, but we were able to live with it by simply leaving the faucet down low. yeah we washers were a constant issue but alas.

The issue I am having now is we decided to put in a whole house tankless. they came out and installed the system, along with the sediment filter. about 3 hours later the real issue started. the sediment filter bowl blew right off. they replaced it and later the next day it did it again. so they then started checking the pressure and said it was way too high. so they installed a PRV and it is set at about 80psi, they installed it just inside my house where it is only 3/4" pipe since I didn't want my hydrant to loose the pressure. Now my water pressure and volume both suck. initially they installed a normal PRV that had a safe max of 60ish and it was worthless, turning on 1 sink and flushing a toilet was like an eternity. so they put in this bigger one. it is better but that is a relative term. the hydrant doesn't have even the slightest effect on the rest of the house even fully open, so I know my pressure is still the same. I am not looking for 2-3gpm out of every faucet at the same time but I tested my shower and with only it on I am getting a little less than 1 gpm being able to get 2-3gpm out of 1 faucet at a time or 1-2 out of 2 at the same time would be awesome.

btw I am testing the gpm with a big bucket to collect the water and then pouring it into something to measure it.

johnjh2o · Sep 23, 2011

You may have a problem with the filter. Try removing the cartridge in the filter if that helps then replace the cartridge. I wouldn't take the PRV out as 135 lbs. is way to high. Did they replace the filter after it blew apart from to high a pressure?

John

Frackin_K · Sep 23, 2011

Hey John thanks for the reply. Yes the filter is new the entire assembly is new. As far as the filter being the cause. The filter is only in front of the hot water heater. But I have an issue with hot and cold water being super low volume.

johnjh2o · Sep 23, 2011

Can you get a pressure reading after the PRV? If so check pressure without running any faucets and also with a faucet running. There are adjustments that can be made to the PRV. Also check the GPM from a unrestricted source after the PRV. (a tub spout or outside faucet will do)

John

Frackin_K · Sep 25, 2011

inside the prv water pressure is about 80psi static and using 1 tub about 40psi, the GPM is the same inside from any faucet, the tub the kitchen sink outside faucet. all of them slow as crud. a bath for the kids in a normal sized tub take 10-15 minutes to fill half way up to give a good reference.

johnjh2o · Sep 25, 2011

What type tankless did you install? If it was electric they have flow restricters built into them to allow the water to heat as it passes through the unit.

john

Frackin_K · Sep 26, 2011

It is an electric start propane unit I brought back with me from overseas when I was active duty. I use it because I can't find one that can here that can heat this well here in the states for the cost. It can heat 30 degrees c at 22 liter per minute. The flow is equally bad on both the hot and cold side. And in testing removing the prv fixes the flow issues.