RODI public service announcement

[Saltdaddy]

Our old house had great water pressure, ran the unit fine. The new house was at 50 psi. After researching turns out the house has a restrictor valve. It was turned down to 50 psi. So turned it all the up now it's at 75 psi. Just hoping this could help someone not have to get a booster pump.

 

[cilyjr]

Our old house had great water pressure, ran the unit fine. The new house was at 50 psi. After researching turns out the house has a restrictor valve. It was turned down to 50 psi. So turned it all the up now it's at 75 psi. Just hoping this could help someone not have to get a booster pump.

They are called PRVs pressure reducing valves.

That's a weird setup. Is it in the garage?

 

[Saltdaddy]

Yes it's next to the water heater where the main water goes in house.

 

[Troylee]

Our old house had great water pressure, ran the unit fine. The new house was at 50 psi. After researching turns out the house has a restrictor valve. It was turned down to 50 psi. So turned it all the up now it's at 75 psi. Just hoping this could help someone not have to get a booster pump.

I’d rather have a booster pump then blow the pipes in my walls.. there’s a reason they restricted it. Older houses in my area anyways have copper pipes and don’t do well with high pressure.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I’d rather have a booster pump then blow the pipes in my walls.. there’s a reason they restricted it. Older houses in my area anyways have copper pipes and don’t do well with high pressure.

yup +1 !!!

 

[Saltdaddy]

Just trying to help people. My old house was copper and didn't have a restrictor psi was around 80-85. New house has this. I had the plumber that installed it on the house out, 75 psi will be fine. The house has the new plastic pipes. I was just trying to help.

 

[cilyjr]

Just trying to help people. My old house was copper and didn't have a restrictor psi was around 80-85. New house has this. I had the plumber that installed it on the house out, 75 psi will be fine. The house has the new plastic pipes. I was just trying to help.

Copper even old copper can handle much more pressure than that. A soldered joint should be somewhere around 400 psi.

Even soft copper (we use for ac and hp linesets) can handle about 700 psi.

Pressure North of 90psi MIGHT start to stress all the little gaskets and valves in washers, dishwashers, fridges ect.

I work on the HVAC side of my business but my friend ( the master plumber) has his set to 95 psi. I think because he likes his shower to be like that seen in Rambo ( first blood) where they give him the fire hose bath....

 

[cilyjr]

I’d rather have a booster pump then blow the pipes in my walls.. there’s a reason they restricted it. Older houses in my area anyways have copper pipes and don’t do well with high pressure.

Higher PSI is not going to hurt your pipes. It's going to maybe hurt your refrigerator water inlet, your dishwasher, your washing machine, anything that has a normally closed powered solenoid. Which will probably fail around 150psi.


Type L has a fire suppression rating meaning it can be used in fire suppression systems so you're looking at 300 plus psi there.

 

[cilyjr]

Also the OP has PEX not copper. You can clearly see it in that box. My guess is the water comes in, bends and goes through the PRV. ya probably lost 50 PSI on the bends alone.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Also the OP has PEX not copper. You can clearly see it in that box.

my house has PEX in the bathroom and kitchen and copper in the rest of the house which is not clearly seen by looking at one spot of plumbing.

 

[twentyleagues]

Pex has a pressure rating of over 100psi. Its pressure rating drops at over 130F but still maintains 100psi at 180f. so even pex can with stand 80psi across the board.

 

[cilyjr]

my house has PEX in the bathroom and kitchen and copper in the rest of the house which is not clearly seen by looking at one spot of plumbing.

That's true. But those boxes weren't even invented until the 90s. And that run clearly goes in his wall. Mostly repipes will go through a basement, a crawl space or if they have a slab, even an attic.

 

[workhz]

Not sure if 75 psi would damage anything but anecdotally I had a friend in a brand new town house that always seemed to have leaking shark bite fittings and it turned out his pressure reducer had failed. Sharkbite claims they're rated for up to 200 psi.

I'd love me more water pressure everywhere, need to research this a bit and see why they're almost always set to 60 psi.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

That's true. But those boxes weren't even invented until the 90s. And that run clearly goes in his wall. Mostly repipes will go through a basement, a crawl space or if they have a slab, even an attic.

no way to know 100% what's going on in the whole house from picture. like you said I'd be worried about my appliances busting loose.

(of course that only happens when your on vacation or away from the house )

I'm not a plumber but if the only thing in my house im needing more pressure for is the r.o system why increase the whole house when i can get a booster pump designed for the application. I run a booster pump at about 80psi with about 60psi coming into my house.

 

[Reefer Matt]

A lot of people are gonna start digging up their lawns now.

 

[cilyjr]

no way to know 100% what's going on in the whole house from picture. like you said I'd be worried about my appliances busting loose.

(of course that only happens when your on vacation or away from the house )

I'm not a plumber but if the only thing in my house im needing more pressure for is the r.o system why increase the whole house when i can get a booster pump designed for the application. I run a booster pump at about 80psi with about 60psi coming into my house.

My guess is that they were installed when the house was built and the developers have 1 master plumber who's license they use is in Florida ( or something) and the development in let's say Georgia, they have 10 "journeymen" who are really just guys who have installed a few water heaters somewhere.

They are plumbing 7 houses at once. They install a PRV at every location and never bother to go back to actually adjust it. They have a range of 25 to 75 psi and factory preset is 50.

Maybe I'm wrong but I would just adjust the PRV to about 70 psi.
Then I could have everything working properly and have a nice shower too.