For years I have had low water pressure. For some time, it was only on the hot side (across all faucets, tubs). Recently it moved to the cold side and the hot side was fine. Then the low pressure problem started moving from sink to sink. Finally I got fed up and cut the pipes in my basement, went upstairs and shot compressed air at about 60PSI through the pipes. Sure enough THIS THING in the picture below shot out of the pipe. It is small enough to make the 90 degree turns on the 3/4 pipe, but it was too big to make the turns where the diamater was reduced to 1/2. Thus, it was getting stuck on on the upper floors (and for a while on the cold side/hot water inlet).
My theory is that it came in through the main supply line from the water treatment facility. If so, I want to send them the bill. I've done a lot of construction and plumbing but I have never seen an object like this. Can someone please identify it?
Thanks,
David
You got me. I have never come across anything like that in pipes. Since someone mentioed the possibility of a kid playing on site when the house was built, I wish you luck getting compansated by the city. I bet they can come with more ways it could have gotten there.
I would thing there is now ay of telling how it got there, unless it was a game piece and someone at the treatment facility was known to play that game. This or similiar situation to make a connection, if it even came from the city.
There's the possibility that it's something that was simply inside the pipe just before the plumber installed it. It could have been anything from something that was in the pipe before it was delivered on site, or the pipe might have gotten on site, and some neiborhood children around at the time was checking out the house under construction and accidently (or on purpose) got this thing in the pipe before the plumber installed it.
I'm going wioth game piece as well. Look up vintage Milton Bradley games on ebay. You grab the little stem and move the piece around the board. Not sure which one but it looks very familiar. If your water Co. is like mine they will probably laugh at you for suggesting they pay.
It is definitely not a game piece. It was made for some mechanical purpose. Some ineresting characteristics:
1. it floats
2. it is blue (univeral color for cold)
3. it is the EXACT same diameter as the ID of a 1/2 pipe
One person suggested that it is a "stop check" stem or a "check valve" stem. So far, that seems to be the best lead. I noticed a small "16" or possibly "91" if you flip it, stamped on the side. I really want to know if it came from my water heater or from the water treatment facility.
How would it have gone from your hot line to your cold line? Small enough to fit through a faucet fitting and somehow traverse from hot to cold lines? I struggle to see how, though, it would cross over and then re-enter the pipe.
The cold line is connected to the water heater (cold water supply line). The check valve is supposed to keep water from going the other direction.
It was blocking the water coming into the hot water heater (i.e. it did not make it past a ball valve that controls cold flow into the water heater). When I releived the pressure, it floated up the line and continued on the cold side, but stopped when the pipe was reduced from 3/4 to 1/2.
Hope that explains it. I'd still like to find or see a picture of the same part.
Here's my theory...it wouldn't have to get near a faucet. Once it broke free of the check-valve housing it would have been pushed to the next place in the water line that was small enough to capture it. Then it would have sat there, decreasing the pressure until a back-flow pushed it loose and allowed the pressure to get back to normal. Eventually it would get lodged in another place, restricting the flow again.
I doubt it was actually restricting the cold water itself, but it may have occasionally knocked sediment loose in the hot water pipe, which could have plugged the aerators on the faucets.
Here's my theory...it wouldn't have to get near a faucet. Once it broke free of the check-valve housing it would have been pushed to the next place in the water line that was small enough to capture it. Then it would have sat there, decreasing the pressure until a back-flow pushed it loose and allowed the pressure to get back to normal. Eventually it would get lodged in another place, restricting the flow again.
I doubt it was actually restricting the cold water itself, but it may have occasionally knocked sediment loose in the hot water pipe, which could have plugged the aerators on the faucets.
I think you are exactly right! With the exception that it did not knock any sediment loose. It was blocking the intake to the hot water heater on the cold side. At one point it was lodged in the ball valve and I could not turn it to the closed position. I can see little check marks in the stem of the plastic piece where I was trying to close the valve. After it moved back up the pipe (back pressure releived) I was able to close the valve.
Oh, it was definitely on the upper floors of my house (far from the heater and incoming supply line). It was almost comical, becuase it was blocking my sink (where the 3/4 was reduced to 1/2) in the master bath (cold side only). Then I used my air compressor to blow it free. Guess what? It moved to our guest bathroom shower and toilet. So basically, it was just traveling up through the 3/4 pipe all over the house until I cut the pipe in the basement and blew then thing out.
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