Kitchen Faucet Pressure Reduced - Too much PSI?
First Question: Why does excessive PSI in water line reduce kitchen faucet water flow?
Short Version:
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Four year old Delta faucet worked great until apparent water pressure changes were made to the home, now it's down to a trickle. However, no other faucets had any noticeable (negative) changes.
The water comes out of the faucet at good flow for about 1 second, then reduces quickly and starts a (relatively mild) knocking sound on the pipes. Flows stays at a trickle. No knocking after the faucet is shut off. Nothing else in home triggers any knocking. The knocking *appears* to be in the home piping, as it's much louder in the bedroom than what can be heard at the faucet itself. Though this may be illusory due to sound acoustics via piping and walls.
If I *reduce water flow* into the faucet, by half-way closing the valves from H&C below the sink, it *increases* from 25% to about 75% water volume.
Background:
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Let me first state I've read through dozens of posts and done all the troubleshooting methods for DIYers. I typically do before posting.
Events Triggering Change:
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During the city installation of new water meters (and changed lines in the street), the kitchen faucet started acting funny -- air in the lines, sand in the aerators, reduced pressure, then normal. Figured this was all normal.
After they finished: I cleaned out all the aerators (three times over the next month) and also ran all the faucets in the house to eliminate all air and discolored water in the lines.
Troubleshooting Steps Performed:
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* Aerators cleaned, replaced.
* Removed and cleaned the hand-held sprayer.
* Ran a small brushed-snake down hand-held sprayer line to confirm no obstructions.
* Removed the faucet handle and verified no obstruction and the 3 holes (2 supply, 1 out) were clear.
* Ensured copper piping into faucet (below sink) weren't bent, pinched, etc.
* Replaced old valves from the wall source with new 1/4 turn.
* Cleaned out inside of supply pipe stubs with small brushes (found small amount tiny bits of rust/metal/calcium substances).
* Confirmed water source pressure strong by disconnecting supply to the faucet (the copper intake pipes) and spraying water into a bucket directly from the H&C metal-braid flex lines. Water pressure and volume is strong.
I suspect I had a 1 1/4" piping into the home and city reduced it via new 3/4" meter placed on the home. Speculation though...
Second Question: How can I fix this problem?
My dirty faucet and sink pic below....
Comments (6)
doug_gb
11 years agocebury
11 years agoRelated Discussions
keep blowing pressure reducers and drippers on 1/4 inch line
Comments (2)s, You seem to know you have an excessive pressure problem. You have laid out a description but actually haven't given any information for us to make a recommendation. What part of the system have you pressure tested. Where you getting 60-80 psi from the hydrant in the street? Have you pressure tested from an outdoor faucet from your house? Is that where you are experiencing 60-80 psi? Do you have a pressure adjustable regulator for your house? The link gives standard looking pressure regulators for homes with various pressure problems. http://www.atlantisplumbing.com/water-pressure-regulators.php Does our house use one of these? What is the height difference between the creek and the garden? As you can read, more info is needed. Aloha...See MoreHome Water Pressure - What's too high?
Comments (7)In a municipal water supply system the static head pressure on the system is primarily generated by means of water towers. Water exerts 0.434psi per/ft on a vertical column of liquid. (Vertical Static Head) In order to insure that the system will maintain the required code minimum of 45psi the support tower is 105' tall above average terrain to the base of the storage tank. (105' x 0,434psi= 45.57psi) The storage tank on the top of the tower may then be as much as 92ft higher. (0.434psi x 92' = 39.92psi) From this we can easily see that when the storage tank is empty we still have a static head pressure of 45psi, however when the tank is full the static head pressure at the ground level would be 45psi + 40psi = 85psi. The storage tank is then fitted with a pump controlled by a float system very similar to the fill valve in a toilet tank. Wherever practical the system is allowed to use the water from the tank during the day and the pumps are set up to refill the tank at night when the electrical supply for the pumps is on an off peak demand. Generally a municipal water supply will provide the highest static head pressure to your house early in the morning when the tank is full, but that pressure may decrease throughout the day as the water level in the storage tank drops. To this point we have discussed the pressure above average terrain however the actual pressure at your faucet is a net result of the physical differential between the elevation of your faucet and the top surface of the water in the storage tank. If your house is substantially above the average terrain elevation at the storage tank your water pressure will be less than the average for the community, and conversely, if your house is below average terrain your water pressure will be higher. By example, I am familiar with one community in W.PA where the town is built on steep hills. While the municipal water system can provide water pressures within the prescribed code range of 45-80psi for the majority of the community, there are neighborhoods at the bottom of the hills where all structures must be fitted with PRV's. On the other hand, some of the structures on the top of the hills actually require boost pumps to maintain code minimum. As you can see from this, during the course of a day the line pressure could vary by as much as 40psi, depending upon the actual level of the water in the municipal storage tank. For this reason we do not install pressure gauges on systems supplied by a municipal water supplier because the gauge would not provide any truly useful information, and it would only cause undue apprehension of the part of the untrained homeowner, which would then results in hundreds of unwarranted complaints to the water supplier....See Morewater pressure much lower in one side of house
Comments (4)I'm not a plumber but I know that water pressure and service flow rate (SFR) are two different things. You can increase water pressure to 100 psi and easily exceed the volume of water that can be pushed through a specific diameter and length of pipe and not realize an improvement in flow. Plumbing requirements are usually calculated by considering all the fixtures and appliances and the plumbing itself to determine what size the water line supplying the house must be to meet the demand. If all these additions and improvements were made with no improvement to the water service then there might be your problem and should have been obvious to your plumber. Might be that your best move is to call another plumber. Shouldn't be expensive for a journeyman plumber to recalculate the SFR rate that is required by all the fixtures, plumbing, and appliances and tell you that your water service is too small. Maybe one hour to do it or two if your plumber really gouges you....See MoreTOOOO much water pressure in kitchen
Comments (4)First determine what your pressure is, you can purchase a pressure gauge with a garden hose thread. Find the garden hose connection closest to the water meter and check the pressure. If you have 70 psi or above you can install a "Pressure Reducing Valve" (PRV) after the water meter. If you have 80 psi or higher you are required to reduce the pressure. This will allow you to reduce the pressure to 60 psi and can also eliminate water hammer. See link. Hope that helps, Dan Martyn Here is a link that might be useful: Watts Pressure Reducing Valve...See Morecebury
11 years agoAm I missing a rubber gasket+spring for the mixture(out) line?
As suggested, I turned on the supply and yes both H&C will shoot up water in strong fashion (cartridge removed). If I put pressure against it (flat of my palm), it just makes a mess.
Video of the problem (CLICK to view any below):
Faucet Parted:
Inside with cartridge removed.
Cartridge Closeup:
Cartridge Closeup:
Other than the small gasket above, everything looks good to my inexperienced eyes.
Note: There is only 1 way for all these parts to go on correctly. All parts are keyed, including the steel ball cartridge.
cebury
11 years agoIn case others have this same faucet and use this post for their reference: Delta Single Handle Gourmet Spray Faucet model 466 or model 426. (discontinued)
Here is a link that might be useful: Delta Model 426 466 Gourmet Single Handle
cebury
11 years ago
SparklingWater