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
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
- Is the 100 psi measurement a valid measure? It was only measured near the front door.
- 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?
- 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?
- 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.
- Is the slight water hammer at the one sink harmful to leave unadressed and can it actually be fixed by using a pressure regulator?
Statistics: Posted by roamingzebra — Fri Nov 15, 2024 10:33 pm — Replies 2 — Views 222