Ask Me Help Desk - Adjusting Pressure Regulator

We've had pressure and flow problems for a while. Turn on a faucet it initially has good pressure but slowly tapers off, takes forever to fiill the tub or washer, etc.

After contacting the City they came out and said we had 120 psi coming in at the main. They said we probably just needed to adjust the regulator which was usually somewhere around the water heater. Ha!

I was told if it wasn't there that it is possible it was installed inside the wall. Sounds stupid but after seeing other things done during construction I wasn't surprised. Needless to say after cutting several openings in the sheetrock I still could find no regulator.

The meter is buried near the street and looking there once more (still looking for the regulator) I noticed it had a slight leak. I called the water company about the leak and the guy they sent out this time uncovered another hole next to the meter and lo and behold it contains the regulator. Not sure why the previous guy didn't know this.

Now to my questions.

Which way do I turn the screw? Seems I read somewhere that you turn it clock wise even though it sounds backwards. I'm getting a gauge today to see what pressure is at the house so I can adjust it properly.

When regulators go bad do you get high pressure or low pressure?

Will adjusting this also solve the flow problem?

Many thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbryan

We've had pressure and flow problems for a while. Turn on a faucet it initially has good pressure but slowly tapers off, takes forever to fiill the tub or washer, etc.

After contacting the City thay came out and said we had 120 psi coming in at the main. They said we probably just needed to adjust the regulator which was usually somewhere around the water heater. Ha!

I was told if it wasn't there that it is possible it was installed inside the wall. Sounds stupid but after seeing other things done during construction I wasn't suprised. Needless to say after cutting several openings in the sheetrock I still could find no regulator.

The meter is buried near the street and looking there once more (still looking for the regulator) I noticed it had a slight leak. I called the water company about the leak and the guy they sent out this time uncovered another hole next to the meter and lo and behold it contains the regulator. Not sure why the previous guy didn't know this.

Now to my questions.

Which way do I turn the screw? Seems I read somewhere that you turn it clock wise even though it sounds backwards. I'm getting a gauge today to see what pressure is at the house so I can adjust it properly.

When regulators go bad do you get high pressure or low pressure?

Will adjusting this also solve the flow problem?

Many thanks.

Before you even begain to adjust the regulator you should install a pressure gage inside the house on the line that comes in from the meter. Since you're doing this you should adjust the regulator screw clockwise to about 50 PSI while monitoring the gauge.
There is also a distinct possibility that you don't have a pressure problem but a volume problem instead. How old is your house and what material are the pipes made of? Regards, Tom

I purchased a gauge today and will connect it when I get home.

The house is 10 years old on a cement slab and pipes are CPVC.

My neighbors have good pressure and flow volume with the only difference being our house is at the top of a small hill and just slightly more elevated 15-20 ft.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbryan

I purchased a guage today and will connect it when I get home.

The house is 10 years old on a cement slab and pipes are CPVC.

My neighbors have good pressure and flow volume with the only difference being our house is at the top of a small hill and just slightly more elevated 15-20 ft.

That shoots my theory that you may have a older house with galvanized pipes that have mineral buildup on the walls, thus cutting down on volume and pressure. You have plenty of main pressure to play with to compensate for any line loss caused by a 15-20 raise in elevation. Good luck, Tom

When I connect the pressure gauge on an outside faucet I get 80 psi without any changes to the regulator. When the water is turned on the pressure is great at first but after a couple of seconds starts to drop and within 7 seconds is very low. During this time the pressure drops to about 12 psi on the gauge.

Would a faulty pressure regulator be causing this or is something else wrong?

It has to be the regulater. If you could I would move the regulaters location inside where it won't be affected by mother nature.

Unfortunately with the house being on a slab I'm not sure exactly where the water runs to first once it enters the house. It enters the house on the opposite side from the garage but doesn't appear to go straight to the water heater area (garage) and split from there. I can see a pipe coming from the slab which splits and just runs to the water heater and the master bath.

Would it help to install the new regulator by the cut off valve just before the water enters the house? The main and current regulator is down a hill by the street.

I just wanted to move the regulator to a sheltered area. Regards, Tom