FAQs on how to measure municipal or well water water pressure at a building:

Frequently-asked questions (and answers) about how to measure water pressure & flow in a building.

This article series describes how to measure water pressure and water flow in buildings in order to diagnose bad pressure or bad water flow.

Q&A on How to Measure Building Water Pressure

Recent questions & answers about how to measure water pressure in a building, posted originally at WATER PRESSURE MEASUREMENT, the home page for this topic.

On 2018-07-28 by (mod) - burst pipe at 145psi water pressure

Watch out: high water pressure that exceeds the rating of a water pressure tank, control, piping, etc. risks more than a building flood. Hot water heating boilers and water heaters suffer leaky TPR valves and risk a subsequent BLEVE EXPLOSION and thus are unsafe, and a burst water tank or pipe can also injure or even kill someone nearby.

In my OPINION you want to regulate water pressure to a safe level, typically 70 psi or less.

Install a water pressure regulator.

Details are at BLEVE EXPLOSIONS

and at RELIEF VALVE LEAKS

On 2018-07-28 by Patrick

We live at the bottom of a huge hill. It’s uphill from here in any direction. The Certified Tester that did our Backflow Assembly Test Report last week says our supplied water is, “the highest water pressure in all the county that I've ever tested” at 145 lbs.

Learning of this high pressure coincides with an expensive recent plumbing repair, due to an underground pipe failure between the meter and our pressure reducing valve. Our irrigation system operates at full pressure as it branches off before the pressure reducing valve.

So far no irrigation problems. Home built 2007. The pressure reducing valve keeps the household pressure at 60 lbs. The pressure reducing valve is 18 feet away from the meter.

The plumber that repaired the burst pipe (he didn’t know about the 145 lbs. of pressure at the time) now says the pressure reducing valve should be as close as possible to the meter with brass pipe & fittings. I contacted my water provider, Clark Public Utilities, they told me the high water pressure they provide is my problem.

I want to ride out the recent repair’s 6-month warranty but be prepared with adequate knowledge for a long term fix should that become necessary. If installing a pressure regulator close to the meter is my solution can I leave the existing pressure regulator as is? Any helpful advice appreciated.

On 2018-05-24 by (mod) -

In North America and some other countries PSI or pounds per square inch. And other areas people may use kilopascals or even atmospheres. All of these pressure measurements can be converted between one another.

On 2018-05-24 by Romu

whats the name of pressure unit for pumps?

On 2018-02-24 by Anonymous

Can improper wiring cause pump to spin in wrong direction

On 2017-12-19 by (mod) -

Mark, I find water pressure in municipal water supply mains ranging from zero to nearly 100 psi - it is entirely dependent on your local municipal water supply company and on local geography. For example a municipal supply in a small hill town in Mexico will be delivering significantly lower water pressure to our friends at the top of the hill than to those living at the bottom.

On 2017-12-18 by MARK

What is the average water pressure for a 6 inch water main.

On 2017-12-09 by (mod) -

Saeed,


That will help but only somewhat as the added pressure will be available only for the volume of water that is higher than previously.

A better solution would be to raise the existing water tank two meters up.

Or at inspectApedia.com, by using the search box found at the top and near the end of any article, or in our ARTICLE INDEX you can find our article on WATER PRESSURE BOOSTER PUMPS or the SCALA-2 BOOSTER PUMP.

On 2017-12-09 by saeed

My overhead water tank 1100 litter does not give enough pressure on bathing shower. The diameter of the tank is more and the height is less. If I change the same capacity tank having lesser diameter and more in height, would increase the pressure in shower???

On 2017-05-20 by (mod) -

It was difficult, I agree. You may be able however to flush the tank inserting water at a top tapping and raining at a bottom tapping. I've done that with some success.

On 2017-05-20 by Anonymous

How do you clean a steel tank from sediments oninthe tank

On 2017-05-11 by (mod) -

No. See https://inspectapedia.com/water/Water_Flow_Rate_Measurement.php

On 2017-05-11 by Dan

Just want to know is it possible that i can measure the amount of water say (150 mm / hour) using only Pressure gauge in PSI ?

On 2017-04-16 by (mod) -

Bas

You're quite right that water "pressure" does not along tell us water "flow" rate in liters per minute. The flow rate will depend on the pipe diameter as well as the sum of all restrictions, elbows, friction losses.

Use the InspectApedia search box above and search for "water flow rate through a pipe" to find our article on how to calculate how much water you will get in a minute.

On 2017-04-16 by basgodumesh

1" water pressure,how much water we get in one minute. ?

On 2017-04-15 1 by (mod) -

No Art, there is risk of burst pipes, leaks, and even personal injury should a water pressure tank or pipe burst when someone is nearby.
I'd prefer to see a max of ab out 70 psi in a typical one family two-three story residence.

Use the on-page search box at the top or bottom of this page to find our articles on WATER PRESSURE REGULATORS as that's probably what you need to install or adjust.

On 2017-04-15 by Art

My house has psi 120 it that a safe pressure for faucets Ty

On 2017-04-15 by (mod) re: unsafe building water pressure, too high at 120 psi

No Art, there is risk of burst pipes, leaks, and even personal injury should a water pressure tank or pipe burst when someone is nearby.
I'd prefer to see a max of ab out 70 psi in a typical one family two-three story residence.

Use the on-page search box at the top or bottom of this page to find our articles on WATER PRESSURE REGULATORS as that's probably what you need to install or adjust.

On 2017-04-15 by Art

My house has psi 120 it that a safe pressure for faucets Ty

On 2017-03-03 by (mod)

http://www.softschools.com/formulas/physics/flow_rate_formula/88/

On 2017-03-03 by Mehar Insar Tabassam

what is flow rate of water with 8 bar pressure through a pipeline of 2.5 dia

On 2017-02-22 by (mod) re: how to equalize water pressure on different floors in a building

You'd install pressure regulators at each floor

On 2017-02-22 by maulik

Hello.... I m electrical engineer and i m working on this type of project to make automatically my question is .....how can I do equal water pressure 1 to 10 floor building?

On 2016-11-23 by (mod) re: water pressure of 110 psi is too high

no it's not normal, and it's not safe. That's an extremely high water pressure risk and burst pipes or a burst pipe that could injure someone.

Heroes of course also a risk of building water damage flooding or mold damage from the burst pipe from the excessive pressure.

On 2016-11-22 by Bernie

With all my faucets off the pressure reads 110. When I turn on a faucet the pressure drops to 45. Is this normal? I am reading the pressure on a faucet after the pressure regulator. For the pressure regulator to function does there have to be water flow?

...

Continue reading at WATER PRESSURE MEASUREMENT - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• WATER PRESSURE GAUGE ACCURACY
• WATER PRESSURE VARIATION CAUSES
• WATER FLOW RATE CALCULATE or MEASURE - how much water is delivered at a plumbing fixture
• WELL FLOW RATE - how much water can we get out of the well?
• GAS PRESSURES LP vs NATURAL GAS for a discussion of the effects of gravity on building piping system flow rates or pressures.
• WELL DYNAMIC HEAD & STATIC HEAD DEFINITION - well water volumes, calculations of how much water is in a well

Suggested citation for this web page

WATER PRESSURE MEASUREMENT FAQs-2 at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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