City of Raleigh Water Pressure Issues (Cary, Apex: house, crawl space, water heater)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I was having some very low water pressure issues in my home and had a trusted plumber take a look at my expansion tank and pressure control valve. Sure enough both were shot and needed to be replaced. Once that was done the water pressure was much much better, but my plumber mentioned it could improve even more if I call the city of Raleigh to come out and clean the "screens" on my water meter that are probably getting a bit clogged after all these years. I know plubmers can't mess with city water meters, and I trust my plumber, but I have never heard of city water techs coming out to clean meter screens. Has anybody ever called the city to have this done?
I've lived in Raleigh in both old and neighborhoods since 1969 and have never experienced low water pressure. And have never had the screens cleaned at the meter nor heard of anyone having that done.
We are close by you North Raleigh Guy and we too have been experiencing low water pressure. I have heard from others in the neighborhood that have been experiencing this as well. If you decide to have CoR come out please report back and leet us know how it went. Thanks!
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(set 19 days ago)
Location: The Triad
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Quote:
Originally Posted by udelslayer
Does everyone require a pressure regulator?
The FIRST step is a gauge to KNOW what the incoming pressure is BEFORE any regulators.
KNOW what you have before changing anything.
With annexation growth and other demand increases virtually every muni system
has UPPED their system wide pressure. Few homes require anything more than 60psi.
The FIRST step is a gauge to KNOW what the incoming pressure is BEFORE any regulators.
KNOW what you have before changing anything.
With annexation growth and other demand increases virtually every muni system
has UPPED their system wide pressure. Few homes require anything more than 60psi.
Thats not what I mean. I'm very aware of what I have. Are the pressures different between neighborhoods or is it a global setting? I lived in a Cary home over by SAS a couple of years ago that had a regulator that I ended up replacing. I have no idea what the supply water pressure is because you cant just tap in on that side if it doesnt have a spigot at the box. The in house pressure was about 70psi. I did have to trench a new supply poly line because the old one had a 5000gal/month leak. I rented an Apex house that didn't appear to have one and my neighbors didn't even know what a regulator is. The pressure there was just horrible and when I brought it up with the slum lord, they ignored me. I couldn't find it and I figured they had it low (I tested it at 45psi) to reduce breaks. Its a good idea, but sometimes you just want some friggn pressure. Now I live in another Cary house that appears to have no regulator but the pressure is good. Even weirder is that they do some kind of "U" shaped pipe setup that runs from the crawl up into the closet for a gate valve shut off which imho is just dumb because they're known to fail, so I dont dare touch it unless I'm going to swap it out for a quarter turn ball valve. The Apex and this Cary house (decades apart in build) have the same kind of setup. I cut my water off at the meter box when I work on stuff.
I just couldn't find if there is some kind of code for pressure regulators requirement. There is code for their installation, but not for having one. Perhaps it was an extra thing at the first house because it had a basement and was easy to access. They run the line for these crawl space supply lines in very annoying locations like its an afterthought without thinking. You really should have everything close to the access door for emergencies and periodic inspection.
I'm not very qualified to answer this question, but I would think if you are hooked up to city water you would be required to have a pressure regulator to step the pressure down from the higher level coming from the city water system.
In our case the pressure regulator started to fail, which caused a temporary increase in pressure that then compromised the bladder in the expansion tank on our water heater. So both had to be repalced.
I've lived in Raleigh in both old and neighborhoods since 1969 and have never experienced low water pressure. And have never had the screens cleaned at the meter nor heard of anyone having that done.
This is what I was thinking. I may call the city just to see what they say. I will let you know how hard they laugh at me.
According to what I've read, the household pressure should be 50-70 psi. Most municipal water is supplied at a pressure well above that. The supply at our old house in west Raleigh (ca 1955) was 125 psi. The house pressure regulator failed and resulted in a leak at the kitchen sink faucet. We replaced the regulator and the leak stopped. Our current house (ca 2007) has a pressure of 50 psi with good volume flow. I don't know what the supply pressure is.
A friend in Clayton had a leak at the water heater bladder. I checked his house pressure and my gauge pegged out at 100 psi. His house regulator had failed and he had it replaced as well as the bladder. No problems now.
One thing to consider is that it's possible to have high pressure and low flow if there is any blockage(s) or obstruction(s) in the plumbing. An opening in a pipe only the size of a pinhole won't allow much flow even if the pressure is high.
Last edited by Corgi Dad; 08-31-2022 at 09:45 AM..
Maybe the need for a WPR when you're on city is your distance from the tower. Usually that is driving pressure and its often on the highest geographical elevation to gain the best pressure. Where I had a regulator, I was within a mile and now I'm no where near one that I can see. I dont think it can hurt to have a regulator, but its just an extra thing you have to deal with. The thing that worries me the most is all the construction here and potential backflows that can contaminate a system.
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