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Personal Consumer Issues • Do I need a new water pressure regulator?

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I was told by a plumber that water pressure regulators help prevent pinhole leaks and water hammer. I've had a few pinhole leaks so this caught my attention. Also, some mild water hammer exists at one bathroom sink.

60 psi is supposedly the sweet spot for most homes. But a plumber measured the pressure at a hose spigot near the front of the house at 100 psi.

The plumber said he could replace the regulator and if I bought one myself, it would be cheaper. He didn't give me much guidance other than saying to get a 1-inch model, which I did. It was almost $300. He didn't give me an estimate for installation as he had a lot of other work in the queue.

I then shopped the install around to two additional plumbers, both of whom, after seeing photos, said it looked like they would have to add some piping and unions/fittings to make it all fit. So instead of around $180 for a simple one-for-one replacement, it would cost between $350 and $475 to install...even though it's my own $300 piece of equipment.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should return the regulator and just have a plumber buy one of their own that they know will fit without additional piping/fittings.

I'm also wondering if I actually need a new pressure regulator given that nothing is broken per se -- just a high reading at one tested location.

Background
  • House is over 60 years old
  • Water pipes probably original
  • Existing pressure regulator is rusting
  • House has almost 3000 sq ft total living area
Some questions
  1. Is the 100 psi measurement a valid measure? It was only measured near the front door.
  2. Does size of house matter? Specifically, does distance to kitchen/bathroom fixtures matter? Are there cases where 100 psi could actually be justified based on water travel distances?
  3. Especially for old piping, is it better to get a regulator that exactly fits the existing piping rather than adding additional piping/fittings to accommodate a newer customer-supplied model?
  4. Do pressure regulators actually reduce the incidence of pinhole leaks and failing fittings, O-rings, etc.? Or is age and composition of plumbing more important.
  5. Is the slight water hammer at the one sink harmful to leave unadressed and can it actually be fixed by using a pressure regulator?
Basically, I've been spending a lot of money future-proofing the house and am not sure how much weight to give to replacing the pressure regulator, and whether I should go with the plumber's equipment or my own.

Statistics: Posted by roamingzebra — Fri Nov 15, 2024 10:33 pm — Replies 2 — Views 222



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