Pressure Loss Using Two Fixtures at Same Time

bob22

Have you tried to adjust the PRV yourself? Try here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4842510_adju...ing-valve.html

Iggier

A plumber adjusted it when he was here to replace the hot water heater, to no avail.

The PRV in question is a now obsolete Watts N35B. According to Watts' website, repair kits are still available. Instead of replacing the entire unit (at substantial cost), I wonder if gutting it and replacing the innards only would prove effective.

Akpsdvan

If the repair kit that is available is say half the cost....
Also in My View.... it is the innards that would have the challenge.. brass bodies hardly ever go bad... freeze, 20lbs hammer hits.....

Iggier

The saga continues...

My plumber came by this morning, removed the existing PRV and though there was nothing apparently wrong with it and the screen was reasonably clean, replaced it with a new PRV. It was quite a job considering the manner in which the PRV was sandwiched between an HVAC duct and several wood support studs.

After all this, the PRV replacement proved worthless as the pressure loss problem continues.

The plumber suggests two remaining possibilities. First, a faulty water meter (I was referred to and left a message with my municipality's utility supervisor), or a kinked/smashed pipe under the house (not something I even want to consider).

Any recommendations for this situation?

Yoyizit

Find a faucet closest to the house inlet pipe. You should be able to get at least 6 GPM from it. If so, the problem is downstream.

Iggier

Well, persistence pays off. Spoke to my municipality's operations superintendent last week about the problem and he arranged for testing of the city's water delivery to my home. Testing took place today and revealed a flow issue somewhere in the public system that clearly is impacting water service delivery to my house. They're all over it. Going to restore my service despite the roads, sidewalks and landscape that will need to be torn up (and restored to their previous condition) in the process .

Akpsdvan

Way cool,,, maybe they will help with the cost that you had to under go to find out that it was Their Problem.....

Yoyizit

They're probably hopping mad!

Bringers of bad news have short lifetimes. . .

So far I have seen PoCo and GasCo try to wiggle out of maintaining their systems. After I reported a problem on behalf of a customer, the GasCo "invited me to defraud them". I didn't take the bait.

Iggier

Just want to close out this thread by letting all those that offered advice along the way that I appreciate their help, and to also report that the water issue is FIXED

Public Works was by yesterday (a couple days prior crews came out to cut the asphalt) and located the problem. As one of the crew members explained, when the 3" main (a feeder off an 8" main at the edge of the community) serving my home and the neighbors homes to each side was originally tapped to extend individual service to those homes via a 1" pipe, the junction for each, created with a self-boring saddle tee for each, didn't actually bore a sufficient hole. He explained it as an opening the diameter of a pinhead (original) compared to that of a quarter (now fixed), thus the severe flow restriction. It was a simple repair and all three homes now have ample water volume throughout. Actually, ample is an understatement

Road repair to commence 6-8 weeks from now, but that's hardly important consider I can now run two faucets, a dishwasher, washing machine and flush all four toilets in the house without issue