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Yesterday one of our irrigation lines burst and we had to call in a plumber to repair the damage. When he checked our water pressure, it was 140psi, whereas it is supposed to be 80. He suggested getting a pressure release valve for around $200.
Now I was searching online and it seems that I also need to install a thermal expansion tank next to the water heater. However the pluber didnt say that was necessary.
I was wondering if anyone else has experience with this kind of thing. Did you install both, or just the PRV? Wouls appreciate any input. Thanks!
We have a PRV at our house, and that's it. So far, so good.
Thanks Native_Son for your reply. How long have you had the PRV without the expansion tank? I have been reading plumbing horror stories online for those without expansion tank, but my plumber doesnt agree!
I just had my water supply line going into the house replaced.
They installed the PRV and the expansion tank, the inspector required the tank to do it to code.
Thanks Native_Son for your reply. How long have you had the PRV without the expansion tank? I have been reading plumbing horror stories online for those without expansion tank, but my plumber doesnt agree!
4 or 5 years now. No problem.
I replaced my own supply line when we moved in cause it was galvanized and 90% clogged, I thought the PRV would be good insurance. Don't know about the expansion tank or why I'd need it. I have a full unfinished basement though, so any problems would be less catastrophic for me.
We spent $400 to install a PRV after replacing two water heaters (1 under warranty), and leaking faucets and toilets. The City said the 95% PSI was within standard (huh?) when they tell a channel 36 reporter the maximum is 80 PSI. Since the PRV was installed, we adjusted the pressure to 65 PSI inside the house, which is the recommended max, according to a couple of plumbers we shopped before getting the valve installed. Nothing was said about anything at the water heater. We went for two decades in the house until the city upped the line pressure to take care of low pressure problems on the Pineville/Ballentyne side of town. <Knock wood> we have not had any problems since the PRV was installed. I failed to add that we had to have our water line from the meter to the house replaced a few years ago because of two many leaks, which I now attribute to the city water pressure and plastic pipe. Too late,I learned the pipe could have been replaced under a class action suit and settlement.
Yesterday one of our irrigation lines burst and we had to call in a plumber to repair the damage. When he checked our water pressure, it was 140psi, whereas it is supposed to be 80. He suggested getting a pressure release valve for around $200.
Now I was searching online and it seems that I also need to install a thermal expansion tank next to the water heater. However the pluber didnt say that was necessary.
I was wondering if anyone else has experience with this kind of thing. Did you install both, or just the PRV? Wouls appreciate any input. Thanks!
Not sure if the plumber was referring to a "pressure relief valve" or a "pressure reduction valve" (PRV). When a homes water supply exceeds 80 PSI at the feed point from your municipality water supply lines it is important to add a PRV to the line to regulate the pressure below 80 PSI. Pressures above 80 PSI can cause the damages you are experiencing as well as damage to other plumbing fixtures, water heaters, etc.
Before a PRV is installed, and as long as there is no other check valve preventing flow back into the city water supply system, your homes supply piping can flow backwards into the city water supply if pressure begins to build to high. However if the city supply is higher than the internal plumbing pressure it can not flow back as it is fighting the city supply pressure. That allows the pressure in the homes supply to increase to at least the city supply pressure and damage plumbing in the home.
When the PRV is installed it creates what is called a "Closed Loop System". The PRV will prevent any attempt at allowing your homes pressure to push water back into the city supply. The incoming pressure is now regulated but it does pose another problem. As your water heater chugs away it is building up pressure, from thermal expansion of the water, and will try to release that by pushing it back towards the city water lines. With the PRV it can't do that and the pressure just climbs and climbs until it either damages plumbing fixtures or activates the Temperature & Pressure Relief Valve (TPRV) installed on the water heater. The TPRV is the brass (typical) valve attached to the water heater and draining usually somewhere outside of the home. The TPRV is set to open at no more than 150 PSI. What an expansion tank does is provide extra empty space for the water heater thermal expansion to temporarily store the water until the expansion stops. This prevents the excess pressure build-up and constant, or intermittent, activation of the TPRV which can damage the TPRV keeping it open all the time. If left open all the time the TPRV will constantly drain water from the water heater outside at the termination point.
Some PRV have what is called an "Integral Bypass Valve" (IBV) to allow the homes pressure to push backwards, around the PRV, and back into the city water supply. Many building departments do not recognize them as effective and still require the expansion tank on the water heater. There is a very good and simple reason they don't accept the IBV and require the expansion tank. Consider what would happen if your city water supply increased to 160 PSI. The PRV would regulate it back down to <80 PSI on the house side but it would still be 160 PSI on the city side of the PRV. If your water heater reached 149 PSI How can it push back against 160 PSI and go back into the city supply? Instead it could sit at the threshold just below the TPRV and damage plumbing fixture in the home. Or it could hit the TPRV 150 PSI threshold and open the TPRV constantly.
An expansion tank might cost a few hundred dollars to install but it is certainly well worth the piece of mind, and safety, rather than experiencing significant damages that could have been prevented. High pressures constantly in your home can easily damage a simple 50 Cent washer in a faucet or valve and cause a major flood in the home.
We had 140 psi water on my street. Called CharMeck to complain. They didn't care. Most people on my street had to buy PRVs and install them ($200 per house).
Few months later CharMeck has a water main burst right by my house on Park Rd. and does half a million in damage. Maybe they should have listened to us?
Also, you can buy a cheap $20 water sensor to put near your water tank if you are worried about a leak. According to my plumber you should be able to catch it in time once the sensor goes off before it does major damage.
We had 140 psi water on my street. Called CharMeck to complain. They didn't care. Most people on my street had to buy PRVs and install them ($200 per house).
Few months later CharMeck has a water main burst right by my house on Park Rd. and does half a million in damage. Maybe they should have listened to us?
Also, you can buy a cheap $20 water sensor to put near your water tank if you are worried about a leak. According to my plumber you should be able to catch it in time once the sensor goes off before it does major damage.
Back when late 90's, early 2000, Char Meck made it mandatory for any existing or new home construction to have PRV's installed to limit pressure to 80 lbs. Prior to that, I use to get blasted every time I took a shower...lol.
Every home owner had a time frame in which to get it done and show proof, otherwise, you faced penalties and fines.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together. Before this went into effect, seldom, if ever would you ever see roads blocked off due to a water main break. Then, soon after, and ever since, it has become a regular occurrence.
Pure speculation on my part, but with the influx and development of more land and population increase, the utility had to figure out a way to insure adequate pressure would make its way to everyone. The problem is when you increase the pressure on anything in this world, things that are old or never built for those kinds of tolerances in the first place to withstand the stress placed on fittings, junctions etc, you have the constant battle to repair what piping infrastructure is already in place as a trade off for the demand.
Think about that next time you roll down a road and see water coming up and out from underneath the asphalt on a dry, clear, sunny day, for no reason at all. Within a day or 2, expect a construction delay with a crew in place in order to fix it.
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