Low water pressure at tub

Tonglebeak · Jun 20, 2009, 11:30 AM

Hello. Tub spout recently replaced, as well as the showerhead (needed new ones of both anyways due to bad diverter valve, and I didn't like the old head).

Anyways, I find water pressure coming out to be very low. It's so low that when the shower is being used, and I turn the showerhead upside down, the water only goes a couple of inches in the air.

I started reading about repairing faucets and such. I got the handle off, and the compression nut, but I don't know where to go from here (in fact, I think I'm going the wrong way for this problem).

Behind the faucet are two valves that still let drips of water come out when fully closed (I hate that, old plumbing, etc).However, there are stainless steel supply hoses coming out of the valve and into a brass-looking body with 2 inlets and 2 outlets (hot/cold, tub/shower). After removing the hoses and aiming them into a bucket, and turning the water back on, I get a massive amount of pressure (that I would expect). This is true for both hot and cold. Also, not that it matters, but I get great water pressure out of the bathroom sink as well.

So I guess my next step is getting this brass body off. Am I correct? It appears the body is screwed into the tub's pipe, but the other three ports have the steel hoses and the shower pipe screwed onto them. The fitting on the shower pipe refuses to budge though, and I'm afraid of causing more harm than good.

It's an Aquasource single-handle faucet. If anyone needs pictures I can gladly supply them. Thanks!

Milo Dolezal · Jul 12, 2009, 08:28 PM

I think once you install low flow shower head - 2.2 gln/m - it will give you better flow.

Advice: get a good brand shower head, like Kohler ( Home Depot, about $49.00 ) or Grohe. These heads are made to work with low water flow. All Grohe heads are 2.5 gln/m and they work perfectly fine.

What brand shower valve is it ?

Tonglebeak · Jul 12, 2009, 08:30 PM

The showerhead or the faucet? The showerhead is a conair water-saver deal, and the faucet is an Aquasource. Or am I misunderstanding?

I would expect the same ~4GPM out of the shower pipe, that I'm getting out of the tub spout. Am I wrong in expecting this? I have no idea at this point and I think I'm just starting to get too picky now

Milo Dolezal · Jul 12, 2009, 08:33 PM

There is a by-pass device inside of the shower valve. Some manufacturers even install check-valve-like device inside the body leading up the shower head stand pipe. If you ever have that valve out again, take a look inside, through shower outlet. If you see plastic, round insert, remove it. It may be the thing that slows your water delivery.

Tonglebeak · Jul 14, 2009, 05:34 PM

Alright, I'm not going to worry with it. I'm seeing the other half of my problem now, which is water pressure altogether.

Before the pump kicks on, it gets down to 30-32PSI (I lied about the 38 PSI, even to myself, I must've misread something before). It shutsoff at 50PSI, and yes I can see one hell of a difference from the time it kicks on to the time it kicks off. I'll hold my showerhead so the spray reaches eye level, and by the time the pump is done the water is hitting the ceiling. So now that's my other problem. So...

a) is there a way to adjust turn on/turn off points for the well pump? It's a well-x-trol or something like that, looks to be a bit old but I have no knowledge of the well pump area.

b) Would those gatorbites support a higher pressure?

c) am I simply pointing my finger in the wrong direction?

jlisenbe · Jul 14, 2009, 07:58 PM

Tong, welome to the world of residential well water! The distance between 30 and 50 can be noticeable, but your experience seems to be extreme. You have a 20# difference between cutin and cutout which is normal. You can rather easily turn up both points. 40/60 is about as high as I would want to go. This site tells how it's done.

How to adjust water pump pressure, pump cut-on pressure and pump cut-off pressure - private pump and well system do-it-yourself repairs

Frankly, I have not read the 709 posts before this page (slight exagerration), so I'm not real sure what's going on with the shower. However, a good question concerning system pressure would be this: "Are you noticing the same symptoms at other faucets (of pressure dropping and rising), or just in the shower?" I'm going to guess it seems most extreme in the shower.

Tonglebeak · Jul 22, 2009, 07:06 PM

Time to let the thread die. I just took off the holster part of the shower head (which happens to reduce the pipe size from 1/2" to something like 3/16" inches, then back to 1/2" >_>) and hooked the head directly into the pipe (but now I have to let it hang since I have no place to sit it, oh well). That was the other part of the problem and the change in pressure is really not noticeable anymore. Thank god. All is well. Thanks again everyone.



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