How to increase water pressure?
 

I have an old 1930 house with copper plumbing lines (they are all about 3/8 or 1/2). I have one full bathroom and whenever someone in the house uses the kitchen sink/dishwasher/clothes washer when you take a shower, the pressure will drop and the water turns cold as if there is not enough hot water getting up to the shower. I'm assuming just increasing the line pressure will allow for hot water to get to both the shower and any other appliances that might be running.

Now, the question is, how do I go about increasing the line pressure, and can i even do this? Thanks!

Nick

Pressure booster pump. I need one too. They keep building in my neighborhood which drops the water pressure. It's now 33psi.

I don't think just boosting the pressure would do it. This is a classic problem. When I was growing up it was solved by coordination of water consuming activities.

I do not notice it in my adult house. The house is much larger, more bathrooms, etc. Difference may be size of supply lines I suppose or maybe pressure but I doubt it.

The biggest kicker is the shower getting cold when the dishwasher runs or getting scalding hot when someone flushes. There are anti scald shower valves I do not know if they also help with the shower getting cold when hot water is called for elsewhere.

Maybe a combination of a point of use, on demand, water heater at the shower in conjunction with an anti scald valve. That way you hit both scenarios.

Are you on a well or a public system?

What i would do first is get a pressure gauage and check it, on a hose bib in front and back of the house 45-60 lbs is the norm city.

If you run another supply line to the other end of the supply then it should increase the pressure.

Pressure in my house sux, too. Did the whole house over in 1/2" copper... DUH! I'd love to install a pressure boost unit... Any recommendations?

I've only briefly looked into them. My brother is on well water and uses a bladder type tank. I'm on city water and can't seem to let go of a sq. inch in my wood shop so I'm looking into the electric units. You may want ot consult a plumber or research on the web. Good luck.

The units that I've seen so far have bladder tanks, and a pump to assist when the bladder gets low.

A pressure booster pump c/w flow switch should do it. Stuart have some good models.

Cold water in shower when using water elsewhere
 

Chances are large that the routing of the water is the larger issue -- in this case, I bet the shower is at the end of the water circuit. I addressed this by running a line just for the shower from the water heater. Hope this helps. fyi...one quick way to see if water volume slows is to time how long it takes to fill a glass...compare it to other faucets...compare it @ shower with kitchen / dishwasher / etc. running...

You probably don't need to increase the pressure as much as you need to increase volume. Nothing should be plumbed with 3/8" (unless you're referring to supply lines).

To increase volume, you would re-plumb it and run lengths of 3/4", then branch off to your fixtures with 1/2". Use PEX to minimize fittings.

I hope after almost 4 years the original poster solved his problem

:laughing: Oh geez.. way to think outside the box Scuba lol

if your house is a 1930 you likely have galvanized pipes which get rusty on the inside. Sometimes they get rusty enough to even let no water at all into a fixture(s). My suggestion would be to identify which type of plumbing you have in your house, in your walls, in your yard, and what the material is that connects to your meter on the city's end. If any galvanized pipes exist, be ready to replace them if you really want to solve the problem.:thumbsup: