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Pipe replacement ) hum) PRV tightening) no hum, ok?

17 years ago

A few days ago, I posted re replacing old polybutylene from meter to house. Black pipe was used as a replacement. I have since discovered that the new pipe is slightly more than 1/2" I.D. and not quite 5/8" and certainly not 3/4", which is the rest of the house interior.

At some point, we noticed loud humming whenever a faucet was turned on. Hot or cold did not matter, but using both at full open eliminated the noise, as did reducing it to a very low flow (almost trickle).

I traced the noise back to the unfinished room where the water enters the house and the PRV is installed. The PRV is new along with the black pipe. The hum was intensely loud and certainly originating here, so I tried turning the screw on the PRV.

Tightening it (I think tightening; this was a clockwise turn when viewed from below, PRV mounted overhead with screw side down) has all but completely eliminated the noise. I know the pressure at the hose bib should be between 40 & 70 psi, but could not find my gauge this late at night; not sure if it got lost during the house move. I will certainly buy one tomorrow and check, but am wondering if tightening (does this mean I increased pressure) could be problematic?

I got to thinking, if the black pipe is less than 3/4" which then couples to 3/4", what does this mean to the health of the system? Could this be the root cause of the hum? Is the smaller size a problem in any way?

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