[Tfug] OT: Plumbing

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Angus,

On 2/21/2013 8:01 PM, Angus Scott-Fleming wrote:
> On 19 Feb 2013 at 18:24, Bexley Hall  wrote:
>
>> Just an FYI for homeowners lurking here...
>>
>> We recently checked the (static) water pressure entering
>> the house and found it to be in excess of 100 PSI!
>
> How did yo do this?  If a plumber did it, how much did it cost?

You can purchase (borrow?) a water pressure gauge from Home Despot,
Glowes, etc.  I'm guessing they are about $10.  Usually, they
have a "female hose thread" (FHT) connector so you can screw it
directly onto a hose bibb.

[In my case, I noticed a Tucson Water crew working at a neighbor's
house and borrowed their gauge.  It only takes a few seconds to
screw it on, open the faucet, notice the reading, then remove.]

Note you want to make sure it is rated to handle a pressure in
excess of what you expect to encounter (e.g., for municipal
water supply, >140 PSI is probably adequate -- you might have
other needs that could affect where you could apply such a device)

You want to check *static* pressure by turning off all water
use within the house.  Ideally, if the measuring point is
sited where water flows *past* the gauge to move into the house
(you'd have to know how your house was plumbed), you can also
measure *dynamic* pressure:  turn on typical appliances (e.g.,
shower) and check to see how the pressure changes (drops)
"under load".

Note that you lose water pressure as you move "up".  I.e., the
pressure *at* your shower head will probably be 2-3 PSI lower
than at the hose bibb -- assuming the shower head is ~6 ft "higher"
than the hose bibb.  (I.e., if you have a two story home -- or, if
the water enters the house "below grade" -- you need to take
this into account.)

Remember, your irrigation system sees (basically) the same pressure
so, if you opt to install a PRV, you should consider how its
installation will affect that, as well.  E.g., I want to be able to
have higher pressure in parts of our irrigation system to "mist"
the citrus trees during cold spells.

HTH,
--don