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Author:
Sharpinv (OR)
I have a 3 level house where the basement and detached building have 3/4 copper lines, but the upper two floors are 1/2" copper going to 1/2" clear pex. Pressure varies from 70 to 50 psi (well system), I have no leaks and the well pump works fine and the pressure tank is good too.
The flow is fine on the 3/4 lines, if you open up 3 or 4 faucets, showerheads, etc you do notice the flow rate diminish somewhat, but certainly no more than expected.
But the 1/2 lines have issues. If nothing is on anywhere else, ONE faucet, showerhead, etc. has tepid flow (both hot and cold, no difference), worse then when 4 things are open on a 3/4" line. If you open a second water source on any of the 1/2" lines (anything on the top two levels of the house), it reduces the first open item to a trickle, sometimes even completely bone dry. If you flush the toilet and go to wash your hands, the faucet is dry until the tank has refilled. If you open anything on the 3/4 line when you have something on the 1/2 line open, it isn't quite as bad but cuts the already moderate flow in half on the 1/2 line.
While I would not expect the flow in a 1/2 line to be as good as a 3/4 line, this seems extreme. All the valves are on the 3/4 lines before the reduction to 1/2, so I know it isn't a bad valve. Hot and cold are the same everywhere (good on 3/4, bad on 1/2), so I believe the restriction would be in a cold water line closer to where the reduction from 3/4 to 1/2 happens.
In my unfinished well room in the basement I see two 3/4 copper lines moving upstairs, and then between joists a 1/2 line overhead leading to a bathroom, and then in the new construction upstairs on the other end I see 1/2 clear pex, so my assumption is that everything on the top two levels drops to 1/2 pretty quickly.
So is this a design problem, or could I have a restriction? (we do have a lot of red sediment in the water), but I have copper and PEX, no galvanized, and no valves on the 1/2 inch.
I've never lived with 1/2 inch line before, but I can't imagine that such poor flow is normal.
Help!
thanks
Dan
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Author:
srloren (CA)
1/2" is inadequate and not plumbed properly. The way water pipes are sized depends on the incoming pressure, the distances involved and the size of the pipe. For the distance you start at the last and most distant fixture from the source of your water and use a table in the Uniform Plumbing Code or other accepted Code for your area. Get these computations wrong and you are asking for less pressure as you have now. Also the Red Sediment mentioned could clog up aerators for faucets and mixing valves for shower/tub valves not to mention what it does to your white clothes in the laundry. So you will require a whole house filter as the first step prior to entering the home with your water lines (and maybe other filters as required) and it must be maintained (cleaned and replaced as needed religiously).
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