Diagnose Bad Water Pressure Due to Clogged Water Pipes
POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about clogged water pipes and their effect on water pressure; how to repair or replace clogged water pipes for better water flow and pressure in a building.
This article explains how to Diagnose and Cure Bad Water Pressure Due to Clogged Water Supply Pipes - how to diagnose the loss of water pressure and the need for a replacement water pressure tank and water pump.
The process of diagnosis and the costs of the repair are explained. Consumer advice on saving money on well repair costs
includes a review of the parts and labor costs of a typical well pump and pressure tank replacement case.
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How to diagnose clogged building water supply piping as a cause of bad water pressure
Clogged water supply piping can cause poor water flow in a building. This can occur suddenly from debris clogging a delivery pipe, often at a turn or "elbow" in the piping, but that's not common.
[Click to enlarge any image]
If the building water supply
piping is blocked usually this is a long-standing problem.
Examples of causes of poor water pressure due to blocked pipes include
Water pipes becoming clogged internally due to rust or mineral build-up (is your water hard? are the pipes iron?),
Or other clogs of water piping by debris
Poor installation of the supply piping (did the plumber push too much solder into a copper pipe joint during installation?
The sketch (above left), courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates shows how galvanized steel water supply piping becomes clogged from rusting or mineral deposits.
Useful diagnostic tricks to determine if building water piping is clogged
First make sure you rule out simple problems like a clogged water filter , a partly-closed main water valve, or problems with the water supply source itself.
If water pressure is good when you first open a faucet,
but immediately falls off to a poor flow, then the system pressure is good but there is probably a constriction in the piping.
If water pressure is good at some fixtures but terrible at others
then it's not a system problem, it's a problem at an individual fixture or at water supply piping feeding that fixture. For example, awful water pressure at one sink could simply be due to a clogged strainer at the faucet.
If water pressure is good in some areas of the building but poor at others at all fixtures
and if this problem has always been present, there may be a blockage at just one water supply pipe or connection, such as at an elbow clogged by solder.
We've diagnosed this problem the hard way by starting to cut open supply pipes downstream from the last point where we found good water pressure.
If water pressure is poor only at COLD water fixtures, hot water flow rate is fine,
between the municipal water main in the street (or from a private well) and water supply pipes in the building the building,
can occur, perhaps by leaking or by becoming clogged with rust or minerals so that water is not being delivered to the home at good pressure or not at all (if the
water line has burst).
In cold climates, the water supply line may have frozen outside or even in the building at an un-heated location.
Reader Question: how do I improve water pressure at a higher building location?
Eddie said:
I have a wr60 pressure tank near lake being fed by submersible pump. Settings are 40/60 and tank pressure is 38 psi. There is a second pressure tank approx 600 feet away up a hill in the house.
The air pressure in this tank is set at 38 psi. There is never any water entering this tank
The water pressure reading at this tank is 34 psi which I believe is the line loss from the 60 psi reading down at lake. Can the cause of no water in this tank because the air pressure is higher than water pressure . Can I lower air pressure to 32 psi.
Reply:
Eddie you give horizontal distance but not vertical distance between the two tanks - that height is a factor to consider
. But if absolutely no water is entering the upper tank, other explanations include that water pressure is not high enough to lift water the height distance between the tanks or the tank is an internal bladder type and the bladder has stuck to itself.
Our illustration shown here and discussed in our article WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMP shows that if incoming water pressure at ground level were at 60 psi, at a building plumbing fixture that is 30 feet higher the effective pressure would be around 47 psi.
Quoting from that article
For every one foot we push water up, we lose 0.434 psi. Another way of saying this is that it takes one psi to move water up 2.31 feet.
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Mr. Cramer serves on the ASHI Home Inspection Standards. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com
John Cranor [Website: /www.house-whisperer.com ] is an ASHI member and a home inspector (The House Whisperer) is located in Glen Allen, VA 23060. He is also a contributor to InspectApedia.com in several technical areas such as plumbing and appliances (dryer vents). Contact Mr. Cranor at 804-873-8534 or by Email: johncranor@verizon.net
Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
Access Water Energy, PO Box 2061, Moorabbin, VIC 3189, Australia, Tel: 1300 797 758, email: sales@accesswater.com.au Website: http://www.accesswater.com.au/
Australian supplier of: Greywater systems, Solar power to grid packages, Edwards solar systems, Vulcan compact solar systems, water & solar system pumps & controls, and a wide rage of above ground & under ground water storage tanks: concrete, steel, plastic, modular, and bladder storage tanks.
Grove Electric, Typical Shallow Well One Line Jet Pump Installation [PDF], Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Grove Electric, Typical Deep Well Two Line Jet Pump Installation [PDF], Grove Electric, G&G Electric & Plumbing, 1900 NE 78th St., Suite 101, Vancouver WA 98665 www.grovelectric.com - web search -7/15/2010 original source: http://www.groverelectric.com/howto/38_Typical%20Jet%20Pump%20Installation.pdf
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.