[newman0912]

Hi. Seems like a simple question but I'm not sure what to do.
I want to have more water flow / pressure at the end of my garden hose while washing the car or watering gardens. Here's what I've checked so far:
I'm using a 50' 5/8" garden hose.
I bought a pressure gage and checked the psi at the faucet with no hose attached, it's 80psi.
I put a 5 gallon bucket under the faucet and it took 1 minute 20 seconds to fill.
Then I filled the same bucket at the end of the 50' hose, 1 minute 25 seconds.

I'm tempted to buy a 3/4" garden hose, but if the flow rate is the same at the faucet as it is at the end of the 5/8" hose, will the 3/4" hose make any difference?

More info: My house is public water, there is no regulator inside the basement - I know what it looks like, and I know there isn't one. Only the water meter is in the basement.
Also, the copper pipe that goes through the basement wall out to the faucet is 1/2" copper. The main line for the house plumbing is 3/4" copper but reduces down to 1/2" for the front and back house outside faucets.

Ideas I've thought of:
Buy a 3/4" garden hose to see if it makes a difference
Change the 1/2" copper to 3/4" copper (can I use 3/4" PEX instead of copper?)
Buy an irrigation pump to use when washing the car.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[ron45]

I use one of these and really like it.

I chose the video with the gal, I thought you might like it better then the bald guy.

 

[stick\shift]

You're actually talking about two different things, which do you really want - more pressure or more volume of water?

 

[newman0912]

I knew someone would ask that.
Well, as I see it, I have 80psi at the faucet so I guess my pressure is already at the high end.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Changing out the 1/2 for 3/4 will increase your flow and your flowing pressure slightly. So will a hose

At 80 PSI, I'm surprized you are having difficulty....are you sure you have no restriction/choke somewhere in your supply line...the usual culpret is a cloged PRV but you say you don't have one.

 

[newman0912]

MTN, now you have me thinking. Measuring 80psi at the outside faucet really doesn't mean there isn't a restriction somewhere, right?
When I timed how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket, it calculates out to about 3 1/2 gallons per minute. That seems really low, doesn't it?
So the question is, where could there be a restriction? It's copper pipe coming in from the street supply, the water meter is in the basement, and the exit copper pipe to the exterior water faucet is only 8 to 10 feet from where it comes in from the public supply.

We do have hard water. I wonder if the water meter could be clogged?

 

[Old Thomas]

You measured static pressure. Put the pressure gauge on a tee fitting and flow the water so you get the residual pressure.

 

[Oso954]

I’d take the hose bib off and replace it with a 1/2 inch full port ball valve and an appropriate adapter from 1/2 NPT to garden hose thread.

Either one of the big boxes should have those in stock. A good hardware store, irrigation supply store, and marine stores often carry them.

That will give you the greatest flow you can get with your existing piping. (Whether it is restricted or not).

It also may cause a big pressure drop/reduced flow while in use, to other plumbing outlets in the house. Whether the trade off is acceptable to you/your family is your decision.

 

[newman0912]

Great idea. Thanks.

 

[ron45]

Great idea. Thanks.

When doing the test do you have a nozzle on the hose.

 

[newman0912]

Update:
So the problem is solved!
I called the town and they sent out a couple associates to look at the situation. They told me that the town public water has a very high content of manganese in the system. Apparently, this manganese clings to the inside walls of the pipes and narrows the inside diameter of water flow.
They did something I never heard of.
There is a ball valve shutoff in the basement between the basement wall and the water meter. They turned the faucet on full in the basement stationary tub, and then proceeded to shut the ball valve, then open it full, 10 times.
The water came out of the stationary tub faucet pure black, and tiny sand-like particles filled the white stationary tub.
They did it repeatedly for the next half an hour, each time it took longer for the black water to come out. They explained that what they were doing was creating a 'water hammer' effect on the pipe between our house and the 8" main pipe at the street. Every time they opened and shut (10 times) the valve, it created a hammer effect inside the water pipe, cleaning out more and more of it.

Before they left, they removed my water meter, put a temporary bypass in the line in my basement and took the meter back to the shop to clean. They said it was pretty clogged up.

Long story short, I had to clean every faucet screen in our house, including washing machine, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.

Before they came back I installed a whole house water filter in the line after the water meter but before the water softener.

I'll tell you, the water flow now is incredible. I never heard of manganese before, apparently it can't hurt you, but the guys said that every 10 years or so I should have them come out and do that hammer trick.

Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions.