Water Pressure Hit 120 PSI in the House

[Gale Hawkins]

After sorry water pressure for a long time then it going to 120+ PSI I had to move on servicing the well pressure controls.:laughing:

At least we got a free high pressure test of our home incoming plumbing.

All held but one commode in-tank shut-off valve cried a lot and flowed water but was OK after the 120 PSI test. I was in the shower and heard an alarm or something. It was the commode flowing water at some high pressure. The gauge pegs at 120 PSI.

No one was around at the time so I made a fast trip to the basement to cut pump power and still had more than enough water to finish and the pressure was just down to 35 PSI. We have a large bladder tank.

I whacked on the controls with no pressure and it went back to working. The wife and kids had places to go this evening so I tackled it.

The cause of the low pressure was over the last 25 years it became a 25/48 PSI system instead of 30/50. It takes a long time to get down to 25 PSI because the flow is so slow.

Yesterday I picked up a new pressure switch and gauge at Lowes and brought in the 150 PSI 1.5 gallon Craftsman air compressor from the motor home and tools last night since today was to be below freezing all day. After letting all of the pressure off of the system I aired up the bladder to 2 PSI below the cut in I wanted then I removed all of the old parts and replaced.

After reading the nice how to guide from China I set the bladder pressure to 32 PSI and tweaked the kick-in PSI to 34 and the cut-out PSI turned out to be about 53 PSI.

I sat and watched it for about 6 cycles just to test it well. With cold water on max in the kitchen sink the cycle time is 1 minute on and 5 minutes off.

Not sure but I have made one misstep. I got the one with a off/on switch on the pressure control itself for a few bucks more thinking in the years ahead it may save me some steps to the breaker box. If the power is off and the pressure gets below the cut-in PSI it seems like I am going to have to manually restart it at the pressure control box. Still need to work with that some more when the kids are here to work the breaker. :thumbsup:

 

[ruralNearDallas]

Thanks for the post

 

[TheGoose]

You installed an M4 low cut out switch. Anything less than 20 psi and you have to hold the lever until it reaches at least 20 psi. Next time buy an M-1. It has the switch but no low pressure cut off.

 

[ultrarunner]

The neighborhood where I grew up typically had 160-180 psi back in the 1950's...

If you were not careful, you could easily break a plate washing dishes in the sink.

No one really had any problems till plastic started getting introduced into plumbing systems...

I remember installing a new toilet with a plastic bodies ball-cock valve and that sucker just about exploded... went back to the old brass and no problems... same as the old brass sprinkler valves compared the plastic anti-siphon jobs.

I eventually installed a in house regulator set to 75 psi at my folks home and several of the neighbors...

New plumbing fixtures don't handle high pressure nearly as well as the old stuff...

 

[Kays Supply]

Around here we put relief valves on the pump side for that situation. It will take care of your system if you aren't home and that happens.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

You installed an M4 low cut out switch. Anything less than 20 psi and you have to hold the lever until it reaches at least 20 psi. Next time buy an M-1. It has the switch but no low pressure cut off.

Thanks for that info. After doing some research tonight I have decided to keep the M4 feature :thumbsup:

If a condition developed there the pump could not maintain 20 PSI then it would just shut off the power to it. It may be a small pain when on back up generator but we are going into the basement a lot anyway.

Wait a minute if that is the case it will not be a problem because we do not run the pump full time when on the generator unless it is for a shower and other loads are turned off. Actually it will save me some steps because I can manage the pump's power state at the pump. I can start the generator with there is no water pressure and know that load will not come on until I manually walk to the pump after starting the generator.

If the power is lost but restored before the PSI hits 20 then it is a non event.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction on this feature.

 

[milkman]

I was wondering about the house holding higher pressure, we went from cistern to county water, the cistern pressure topped out at 40#. I'm 600' uphill from my county water meter and only had 37#, called the water company and they adjusted my neighbor to 50# with a gauge on his spigot. They decided to turn mine up the same amount and thought that would give me the same as his, but was only 42. I had the wife watch the gauge in the house and I went to the meter and cranked it up to 50, but by the time I got to the house it had crept up to 57 so I checked for leaks and left it there. The kitchen faucet is like a pressure washer compared to before. I have no idea how much pressure a house system will hold, glad to know it's way up there.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

All held but one commode in-tank shut-off valve cried a lot and flowed water but was OK after the 120 PSI test. I was in the shower and heard an alarm or something. It was the commode flowing water at some high pressure. The gauge pegs at 120 PSI.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[Gale Hawkins]

milkman for home use 40/60 is about the standard high pressure system I see listed. I noticed a warning on the new 30/50 pressure switch stating it was rated at 80 PSI so I am guessing healthy systems can go up to 80 PSI OK.

This had happened a few months before as well and I was using the garden hose and it never even leaked but was like a fire hose. :laughing:

I bought a new pressure switch but lost it before I got it installed. :ashamed:

This time I put it on the next day because I knew after doing it twice I was going to loose the pump or worse. Just had never seen this issue in my life time.