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dboyce5683
Apr 16, 2011, 02:19 PM
Low water pressure copper pipe low at all fixtures and faucets.
City has checked pressure. They installed new shutoff in streetalso.
They checked meter and was OK.
I am orignal owner feed from street is 3/4".copper house also.
House built in 1972.
Problem started 6 months ago.
I am at whits end please help

ballengerb1
Apr 16, 2011, 03:50 PM
"City has checked pressure. They installed new shutoff in streetalso.
They checked meter and was ok.
" Did the city check the psi on your side of the meter, hope so caue that's where it counts. They should be supplying at least 40 psi after the meter

Milo Dolezal
Apr 17, 2011, 03:04 PM
Do you have a pressure regulator ? Was there water turned off to the house recently ? Any repairs to the house recently ? Back to you. Milo

dboyce5683
Apr 17, 2011, 07:32 PM
do you have a pressure regulator ? Was there water turned off to the house recently ? Any repairs to the house recently ? Back to you. Milo

No repairs

Water shutoff when meter was checked

Milo Dolezal
Apr 17, 2011, 08:23 PM
Water shut off at the meter ? Here, make sure the valve is open all the way...

ballengerb1
Apr 18, 2011, 08:06 AM
Dboy, try to answer my questions in post #2, thanks

Safedollar
Apr 22, 2011, 01:47 PM
You may need to repipe your entire house. If your pipes are galvanized and are almost 40 years old, this is very likely. To have someone come out and look in California or Southern Nevada, go to www.repipenow.com.

ballengerb1
Apr 22, 2011, 01:53 PM
From the Op's post #1 "I am orignal owner feed from street is 3/4".copper house also.
House built in 1972.
" no galvanized pipes here, no dboyce either after the first post.

Safedollar
Apr 22, 2011, 02:00 PM
Copper pipes can fail after 40 years also. In the Las Vegas area, they will fail after about 10 years because the water is so harsh. They will last about 30 years in California. You should get a good plumber to take a look at your pipes. Good luck.

Milo Dolezal
Apr 22, 2011, 02:16 PM
Nothing lasts for ever, including copper. One of the advantages of copper was that it doesn't rust as it is case with galvanized pipe. But it fails too - just like any other material.

Nowadays, copper became very expensive. We are now using PEX tubing instead of copper. It is cleaner, a bit cheaper and installation is quicker. You may save about 10-20% on installation.

Your "low pressure" problem may be Volume Problem. Some valve didn't get open all the way or yoko is stuck inside valve in close position. Happens all the time. Also, meter valve may not be open all the way...

FYI: 3/4" main line is WAY too small to fee whole house....Should be at least 1".

Let us know what you've decided to do. Back to you. Milo

ballengerb1
Apr 22, 2011, 03:47 PM
I posted my comment because a mention of galvanized pipes never took place. I have seen a copper pipe have a failure in 10 years but never a systematic failure of the piping itself, leaks happen at bad sweat joints most frequently. 50-100 years would be my minimum expectation if proper thickness pipes are used and they will not cause reduced pressure just before failure. Unless djoyce comes back with more info we are debating with each other and helping no poster.

dboyce5683
Apr 22, 2011, 03:58 PM
Do you have a pressure regulator ? Was there water turned off to the house recently ? Any repairs to the house recently ? Back to you. Milo

Cooper pipe in basement floor had hole in it
Discovered with a .stethescope

dboyce5683
Apr 22, 2011, 03:59 PM
Low water pressure copper pipe low at all fixtures and faucets.
City has checked pressure. They installed new shutoff in streetalso.
They checked meter and was ok.
I am orignal owner feed from street is 3/4".copper house also.
House built in 1972.
Problem started 6 months ago.
I am at whits end please help

Water leak found in concrete floor
Discovered with a stethe scope

dboyce5683
Apr 22, 2011, 04:00 PM
I posted my comment because a mention of galvanized pipes never took place. I have seen a copper pipe have a failure in 10 years but never a systematic failure of the piping itself, leaks happen at bad sweat joints most frequently. 50-100 years would be my minimum expectation if proper thickness pipes are used and they will not cause reduced pressure just before failure. Unless djoyce comes back with more info we are debating with each other and helping no poster.

Water leak found in basement floor

With a stethescope

afaroo
Apr 22, 2011, 07:33 PM
Hello Safedollar,

Welcome to this website.

Dboyce,

The two Best and experienced Plumber (Ballengerb1 and Milo) has given you excellent advices, and I am glad that you discovered the leak, good luck.

Thanks,
John

ballengerb1
Apr 23, 2011, 07:54 AM
Thanks John but Milo is the plumber, I'm just a handyman installer

afaroo
Apr 23, 2011, 10:06 AM
Hello Bob, Whatever you are great, I have learned a lot from you guys (Tom wish him quick recovery, Mark, Milo, and some others), wish you all the best, Thanks.

Best Regards,
John

Safedollar
Apr 26, 2011, 09:25 AM
A slab leak in a copper pipe is usually from flexible, thin walled flexible copper pipe being installed, then the concrete poured over it. This is a common problem we encounter. People will often patch one occurrence only to have it happen again and again. If this is the case, the solution will be to repipe, running new pipes through the walls and bypassing the slab altogether.

I hope this isn't the case with you. Good luck.

jlisenbe
Apr 26, 2011, 11:28 AM
Question from amateur: When pipe is installed below a slab, I thought it was supposed to be protected from the concrete, either by being buried a few inches in dirt or by being routed through plastic. Is that sometimes not done?

ballengerb1
Apr 26, 2011, 02:49 PM
No jlisenbe that is how we do it, buried in gravel and then concrete. We never pour directly on pipe, supply or drain.

Safedollar
Apr 29, 2011, 01:23 PM
Yes it is protected, but when thin walled copper tubing is used, it can kink where it is bent and this can eventually lead to failure.