Plumbers - need some help with water flow

[CurlyDave]

I think your cheapest solution is going to be to add a pressure tank like they use with a well. Especially for something like a pressure washer where you use it for a minute or so and then stop for a short while. It will also help out with showers. You probably would want a check valve between the service entrance and the pressure tank.

If you decide to increase the size of the line to the house, the meter may also have to be upsized. This could cost a lot more than just the meter. I know when I lived in CA, they wanted an extra $20 per month just to have a 3/4" meter instead of a 1/2". That was a fixed charge before I paid for the first drop of water.

To measure pressure they sell a pressure gauge on a female hose fitting in the hardware stores around here. Just thread it on to a spigot and turn it on.

 

[Sprinklerman]

First , some pressure regulators have a filter screen in them . Me I would just take the regulator out , that alone would increase flow .

 

[ultrarunner]

The only way I know to increase pressure from what you described is with a booster pump.

My brother bought a nice newer home and all was fine for about the first year... his wife was doing the dishes and said there just wasn't much flow... I was thinking aerator plugged... then my brother said the sprinklers just dribble.

He is nearly at the same height as the huge water storage tank and all the houses have a booster pump... he just never realized it...

The booster pump is connected to a captive air water tank of 60 gallon size... with the pump working it cycles between 50 and 70 psi... without the pump he as 20 psi...

 

[cat fever]

The easiest thing to do first is what Sprinklerman said; make sure the screen on the pressure regulator is clean. Remove the regulator or turn the pressure all the way up on the regulator. Back off the lock nut and turn the adjusting screw in all the way. (clockwise)
Depending on the age of the house and water service you may have a partially plugged service line. The calcium deposits you see on the taps also builds up inside the pipes, some worse than others depends on how hard your water is.

 

[Code54]

Wow - lot to think about. I am going to take the wife out to the store today so I will make sure I pick up a pressure gauge!
As for the pressure regulator, ours is as soon as the main enters the house and I checked and there unfortunately no where I can check pressure there. I can shut the water off and drain some pipes and clean it however so that is now on the "list." I will bet money it was NEVER cleaned - heck when we bought this place there was a lot more noticeable things that were never cleaned - LOL. It looks like they ran the main straight to the hot water tank with a T or so in the line. I will have to look at that closer (remove some ceiling tiles and try to see where the closet outlet).
I mentioned the pressure tank to my wife and we are thinking we can rearrange some of the garage and put on in there. If it helps that would be worth it. I am guessing it would also help with the GPM when needed.
Thanks for the info!! This all helps a lot

 

[Code54]

The easiest thing to do first is what Sprinklerman said; make sure the screen on the pressure regulator is clean. Remove the regulator or turn the pressure all the way up on the regulator. Back off the lock nut and turn the adjusting screw in all the way. (clockwise)
.

Does that shut off the water flow "backwards" so you can clean it without draining all the pipes? Thank you

 

[cat fever]

Does that shut off the water flow "backwards" so you can clean it without draining all the pipes? Thank you

I imagine it depends on the brand but to my knowledge there is no check valve in the regulator, so the water will flow backwards. This is not really a bad thing, it will help flush out the mineral deposits.
By chance, do you have a yard hydrant that comes off the service line before it goes into the house?

 

[EddieWalker]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a gauge to measure water pressure from their sprinkler isle. You just screw it on to the end of one of your outdoors spickets. I would chose the one closest to the area where the water line comes to your house from the street.

In most older homes, all of the plumbing in the house is copper. Do you have copper pipes? If so, that's awesome. Copper lasts forever and never plugs up. Unfortunately, a lot of older homes also have galvanized pipes mixed in with the copper. Galvanized pipe corrodes and builds up junk inside the pipe to the point very little, and sometimes, no water can get through it. For less then five bucks, you can usually buy brass threaded nipples to replace the galvanized and solve the water flow problem.

If you have galvanized pipe anywhere in your house or leading to your house, you have to remove it and replace it. Nothing else will solve this problem, and it will just keep getting worse.

I wouldn't do anything else until I knew exactly what I had for pipe leading all the way to the house, and inside the house.

 

[dragoneggs]

a 90 don't restrict that much, but when you don't have much flow.. ever little bit helps... Yes, 2 45's are better than a 90.. when you really get down to it.. you also have friction loss in pipe. so take that into account as well.. you may not be running very much pipe, but if you are.. take that into account as well we don't worry much about it when we plumb a house .. if we need a 90 we just use a 90, but you are wanting a special application

Actually what affects the head loss is bend diameter relative to the pipe diameter. If the bend diameter is more than 5 times the pipe diameter there is very little loss assuming any seams are smooth. If you have a one to one ratio you do see significant loss.

 

[Code54]

Stopped to get the gauge today and of course they didn't have one in stock. Tomorrow I will head to Home Depot and hopefully find one there.
The house was built in 86 and everything is PVC and CPVC inside, plastic line outside from the road to the house (¾ miles worth) so I don't have any galvanized pipe fortunately. I also do not have a yard hydrant, they really didn't go out of their way to make things easily repairable. Now when I do plumbing I put a valve on EVERY single line so it is quick and easy to work on. Hope to do some cleaning and testing of everything tomorrow!
THANKS for all the help and ideas/tips and thoughts