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mryan705 · Dec 2, 2004, 07:49 AM

When I first moved into my house I had great pressure and volume but now I have very little of anything in my house. If I flush the toilet and run my bathroom faucet the toilet shuts off from filling up until I shut the faucet off. Also if I take a shower in the back bathroom and somebody flushes the toilet in the first bathroom, my shower volume and pressure goes down to nothing, and it takes about 45 minutes. To fill up a regular tub up with water. Please Help!!

speedball1 · Dec 2, 2004, 11:21 AM

Ok, I have your complaint. Now I need some information before I can address your problem.
How old is the house? What material are your pipes? Galvanized? Copper? Plastic? What type of water syatem? Pump or Utilities? Any work done lately on the water system? How about outside the house on the pump or Utilities systems? There's no doubt that your water system is loaded up with trash or crud and that every fixture affected will have to be opened up and both the valve, supplies and the branch will have to be flushed out. But before you can even begain to flush you must find out where the crud's coming from. Get back to me with the information I need and we'll try to sort it out.
Sorry, but this could turn into a major problem for you if the system clogs up so much it just stops working. Tom

mryan705 · Dec 2, 2004, 01:15 PM

The house is 21 years old. I have copper pipes and city water. The only thing that I have done is replaced the water heater ( 50 gallon ), replaced the shower knobs in the first bathroom ( the whole set up ) and also replaced the first bathroom's faucet because it was leaking and one outside faucet.

speedball1 · Dec 2, 2004, 04:03 PM

Have you removed and checked the screens in the areators that are located on the faucet spouts to see what could have clogged your lines. Call the utility company and ask them if they have done any work on the water mains in your area. If they have, (and it could have been blocks away) and some dirt got in the open line and your house made the first draw off the main that would be one explanation. But until we find out what's blocking the lines we won't know where to start looking. You might have to call in outside help to track it down but until then we'll keep searching. Regards, Tom

mryan705 · Dec 2, 2004, 08:54 PM

I have checked the screens and they are all clear. I've also checked with the city and they haven't done any work.

speedball1 · Dec 3, 2004, 06:09 AM

OK! Now it's time to start tracking the culprit down. Start with any faucet you've lost pressure in. Shut off the water at the angle stops located in the cabinet and open up the faucet, ( If you need instructions, give me the name of the faucet, its discription,(one handle or two knobs) and it's age) and placing a pan over the open valve body open the angle stops up for a minute. You're flushing out the supplies and the branch that feeds them. That should force some crud out followed by a full stream. If not then the blockage's further on down the line. Then the entire house will have to be shut down and the angle stops removed while you flush out the branch line.
There's no getting around it. First we must find out what's clogging your lines and then locate the source it's coming from. As I said, this will be a process of elimination, it will be time consuming and a major hassle at best.
If you are considering calling in outside help to do the dirty work, since this isn't a complicated process, consider calling in a handy man instead of a licensed plumber. Much cheaper by the hour. Just show him my directions and if he needs assistance I can help on this end. Your call! Going to try it by yourself or call in help? I'll help in any way I can. Regards, Tom

mryan705 · Dec 3, 2004, 05:51 PM

I've tried what you said about the angle stops but, I get a little more pressure but still no volume. Even with the hoses unhooked I ran the washer for a minute but I still get the same thing, no pressure or volume. Also, I turned the water off to the house , no water in the house but the outside faucet close's to the shut off and regulator was still running a little bit of water out of it. What do you think. Ryan

speedball1 · Dec 4, 2004, 05:06 AM

Good morning Ryan,
You have a pressure regulator valve in your system? I was going to bring up the dreaded word "REPIPE" until I saw that one word, "regulator" in your post.
Check your house pressure. I don't know what's coming into your house but what's coming out of that regulator and into your system should be between 40 and 50 PSI. If not then set the regulator so it does. If you can't raise the pressure bt regulating the pressure regulator then it's faulty and should be replaced. Check the house pressure, Call the Utility Company and ask what pressure's in the water main and get back to me. Cheers, Tom

mryan705 · Dec 9, 2004, 09:03 PM

Hello,

I did have about 4 breaks in my line from the meter to my house. I've got them fixed, so now my meter is not constantly running but I still don't have the pressure or volume in my house. I am going to repipe from the meter to the house with role pipe. Another question is, how come I've got another regulator between the water meter and my other regulator?? Do I need that one that is close to the meter??

speedball1 · Dec 10, 2004, 08:04 AM

Hey Ryan,
Two regulators sound like overkill to me. In my earlier post Iasked, "Check your house pressure. I dunno what's coming into your house but what's coming out of that regulator and into your system should be between 40 and 50 PSI. If not then set the regulator so it does. If you can't raise the pressure bt regulating the pressure regulator then it's faulty and should be replaced. Check the house pressure, Call the Utility Company and ask what pressure's in the water main and get back to me."

I still need a answer to that. Also the breaks in your line could have drawn in some dirt and debris that's clogging up your system. After you replace the meter feed you might want to flush out the house lines. Get back to me on the pressure question and call the utility company and find out why you have two pressure regulators on your line when one would do the job. Ask them what pressure their mains are under. Regards, Tom

mryan705 · Dec 14, 2004, 09:58 AM

Good Morning,

I just wanted to let you know that I got the problem fixed. I installed the new role pipe and took the regulator apart just to make sure that it was fine and everything seemed okay. Before I turned the water back on I back out the screw to the regulator all the way. Turned on the water and turned it in two times and then turned on the water. My pressure in the house is back to normal. I also had the city come out and check the pressure. I'm getting between 50 & 55 on the outside faucets and at the water main between 140 & 145. This website helped me a lot. I'm no plumber by no means. I wanted to thank you for your time to help me.

Thanks,

Ryan

speedball1 · Dec 14, 2004, 10:22 AM

Great Ryan,
Glad you got it fixed. We were just glad we could help. Tom