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Author:
jdub924 (CA)
I just had my house repiped yesterday. The mainline from the water meter to my house is 1" and the original feed through the house was 1" piping that goes down as small as 3/4" depending on the fixtures in my house.
The repiping work was done so that I'm now having 1 1/4" piping coming and moving through my house with the same reduction in size as they go to my fixtures, but the mainline running in my house is now 1 1/4".
We noticed right away that all the faucets and showers had less water pressure than before. I'm wondering if its due to the fact that we now have 1 1/4" pipes vs 1".
The Foreman that did the repipe, explained that he was instructed to use 1 1/4" because we have 3 1/2 baths (4 toilets) 4 Sinks and 2 baths and 1 shower. He believes my pressure dropped because of the larger pipes. The manager of the company called me back and said the 1 1/4" only increases volume and shouldn't affect my pressure.
He's willing to redo and bring back to 1", but he believes that may even drop my water pressure further.
What should I do and what will increase my pressure back? We put in pex over our original copper.
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Author:
Wheelchair (IL)
What material was used?
Best Wishes
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Author:
packy (MA)
there is some other cause for the pressure loss. you should have at least as much if not more than before.
do not change back to 1 inch.
is there a pressure reducing valve installed.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
You lost velocity, not pressure. You up-sized all the way from the street?
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Author:
m & m (MD)
Was the PRV replaced at the same time?
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Author:
SeekMocha (CA)
I'm betting if they replaced the piping, they also replaced the water pressure regulator. If they installed it properly and it's working, your water pressure is now near 65psi. Chances are if your old pressure reduction valve was more than 15 years old, it was broken and maybe supplying over 90 psi to your house. Which eventually creates leaks at sprinkler valves, dishwashers, hot water heater heaters, cloths washers, icemakers and so on. It does make for an invigorating shower!
Reducing the size of your pipes will not increase the pressure. Here in San Diego, I've found about 20% of the pressure regulators on homes over 20 years old are broken. It's the first thing I check when a client reports a leak.
I'm sorry to hear that the foreman on your repiping job thought the pressure loss was because of the larger pipes. By that statement he reveals he knows nothing about plumbing. And he was responsible for your re-piping? That's...unfortunate. Please go down to a hardware store and get a $10 water pressure reading gauge, in the department where lawn irrigation equipment is sold, and test the pressure yourself at any outside hose faucet or the washing machine hose faucets. I wouldn't trust the foreman to know what the proper reading should be, nor to adjust the regulator if required. (Don't go above 75psi)
Edited 2 times.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
1 1/4" PEX has about the same i.d. as 1" galvanized or copper, so it was NOT really a big increase, and in any case INCREASING the pipe size has nothing to do with 'lowering" the pressure. It can only increase it due to less dynamic flow friction losses, so you have a different problem and reducing the size to 1" will either NOT change the pressure or will REDUCE it.
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
Let's back up for a minute.....What was the reason for re-piping, up-sizing?
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Author:
srloren (CA)
If they installed a new Pressure Regulator, be careful about how you adjust it to reduce the pressure. If you turn the adjustment screw in it will increase the pressure not reduce it. It is a Diaphram and adjusts the opposite of a normal valve.
Edited 1 times.
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