Hi all, I have a few questions on a water pressure regulator. Had a plumber installing a new sink & garbage disposal for the home builder on a 10 year old house. The kitchen sink comes on with so-so pressure for a few moments and then the pressure starts to taper down. The pressure in the front bathroom pressure seems OK so I've always thought low pressure in the kitchen was because of the location of the kitchen in the back of the house,-furthest down the line in the house. Any way the plumber goes outside to the regulator and says that the diaphragm inside sounds like it is going bad on the incoming 1 inch water supply line. He went out and put a water gauge on it & said it was fluctuating. He said it would cost 400 bucks to change the pressure regulator. The plumber said since we have pex pluming system we really can't afford for the regulator to fail & bring in city water pressure of over 120 psi. It looks like we have a 1 inch supply line coming in to our house and the previous owner painted the entire regulator so I can't see who makes it or anything else. So, I live in southern California and I wonder if this is a good price to do that job. I saw some 1 inch water supply pressure regulators at Home Depot & the ranged from 80 to 150 bucks!!(not that I would know which is the correct regulator to get). Can these regulators be rebuilt in place? Or are they hard to change out? Ours look like it has 2 nuts on it (one on each end). Any ideas ??
Water Pressure Regulator questions
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At least post a picture of it so the guys can make some quesses.
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Not so fast. Did this kitchen sink have these water symptoms before the plumber stepped his foot in the door?
The water pressure at the kitchen sink was pretty much like this before we got the new faucet, & in fact it has been like this for the 3 years we have lived here. I had my daughter take some pictures of the pressure regulator in front of our house on pipe which I think is 3/4 or 1 inch. which I am posting here today. Obviously I don't want to ignore something that needs to be fixed or have the excessive city water pressure get in to our home PEX plumbing system & damage it. On the other hand I really don't have 400 bucks laying around to pay a plumber. But I don't know if I am getting sold a bill of goods or if I really have trouble. Perhaps after looking at these 2 pictures someone can yell me what kind of pressure regulator I have on my home, and then tell me if it can replaced easily, and/or be rebuilt in place? Thanks in advance for all of you assistance and help!!
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Well..$400 seems reasonable for a plumber to change it out. He'll get a PRV (pressure reducing valve) from a supply house, which will use better quality parts than HD, Lowes, etc, which will swap out brass parts for plastic parts to make it cheaper for home owners. Keep in mind, its more than the part your paying for-your paying for his time and gas to pick up the part, his investment in tools, business license, 4 (or 5) years of an apprenticeship + a business has to make money.
If you have a couple of crescent wrenches- turn the valve off before the PRV, drain the water, take the PRV to a plumbing supply house, see if you can get the guts for that model and replace them yourself or match up the make/model and reinstall one.
If you have a couple of crescent wrenches- turn the valve off before the PRV, drain the water, take the PRV to a plumbing supply house, see if you can get the guts for that model and replace them yourself or match up the make/model and reinstall one.
Hi all, I wondered about removing the pressure valve but wasn't sure if there would be any soldering involved. I saw a you-tube video where the guy just loosens the nuts on the top & bottom & slides out the old valve & puts in the new one. It looks like our valve has a nut on the top and on the bottom, similar to the video -- if I can remove it the same way & take it out & put it back- I know I can do that. I don't want to wind up removing it and then having to do a bunch of re-pipe work to get a new one on. Can anyone tell from the pictures I posted if I should be able to loosen the nuts and remove the valve? Or can anyone tell if I can get a rebuild kit? Any and all help is appreciated.
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If you have union nuts on both sides and if you can find the exact same model- you can do a swap. As for a rebuild- you need a model # Is there a metal tag hanging from the center adjustment screw? If so, clean it up and call around for parts or replacement using that info.
Hi all, we were able to get a lot of the paint off the label & it shows the number: N45B . I am posting the picture of the label in hopes that someone can tell me more about this valve. Is there anywhere on the WATTS label that tells me the pipe size? And does anyone know if this regulator can be rebuilt in place?
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