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Author:
Dan0 (TN)
The water main comes into the crawl space (horizontally...), goes to a shutoff valve, then to a pressure regulator and then, about 12 inches downstream from the regulator it goes to a tee. Inline with the main... it gets reduced to 1/2" copper. Vertically out of the tee, we have 3/4" PVC for about 3 feet. Then there is an elbow and the pvc runs about 15 feet out to the hose bib.
This just doesn't seem right. Do I have to have 3/4" to the hose bib for some reason? Shouldn't I have 3/4" to the water heater?
Thanks!
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Author:
hj (AZ)
The water heater should be 3/4", but the majority of hose faucets ARE connected with 1/2" piping. 1/2" pipe is about 6 times larger than the opening inside the hose faucet, (which is the same for both 1/2" and 3/4" faucets anyway).
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Author:
Dan0 (TN)
(The black pipe in the upper right is from an old gas line... no longer in use.)
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Author:
KCRoto (MO)
If that were my house, I would get rid of that mess and repipe it all in Pex. That looks like one cold day away from a flooded crawlspace.
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Author:
Dan0 (TN)
Yep... that's what I was thinking. Is PEX that good? I'm old... I still think of copper as premium...
Oh... and after taking a second look... I see that is 1/2" going to th hose bib... oops.
I am concerned about all the pvc though. Somebody told me it was good for the main.
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Author:
srloren (CA)
PVC is normally used out here in California and many other parts of the country from the Meter to the Verticle copper line that leads to a Valve, Pressure Regulator and a hose bib prior to entering the building horizontally. The transition between PVC and Copper needs to be a Male PVC Adaptor into a Copper Female Adaptor. I have 125 lbs pressure up to my PRV which I reduce to 65 PSI to 80 PSI. I favor the lower pressure but code allows up to 80 PSI. The reason I prefer lower pressure is that Dishwashers and Clothes Washers will not honor a Warranty if you have over 80 PSI, so I like to lean to the lower pressure. Also the higher the pressure the faster the water moves causing friction inside the pipe and fittings which can wear the copper thin over a period of time. Why would you want to wear out your system sooner?
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Author:
KCRoto (MO)
Pex is easy to install, uses less elbows, and doesn't generally break if the pipes freeze. When installed properly, it takes as much time as copper, but costs far less in materials. Also, if you water is acidic or alkaline, pex won't react with it. If you wanted to install copper, it is still a premium material, but pex doesn't require a fire extinguisher when you are working close to old dry wood framing.
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Author:
Dan0 (TN)
Thanks for all the great information! I would have made the mistake of using a female threaded pvc fitting and a male threaded copper fitting...
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
steve (CA)
PVC is usually not permitted inside a structure for water distribution.
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