Home Water Pressure Help

[saabski]

My home water pressure is 35 psi. The pressure at the meter is 50 psi. Why the drop? The ranch home is new and has always had low water pressure. What steps should I do to track down the problem and fix it. This is a Florida home. Is 35 psi acceptable?

Thanks for your suggestions.

1800 sq ft ranch
2 bathrooms
Sprinklers on different system

[suemarkp]

How are you measuring the pressure at the meter and at the house? The static pressure (no water flowing) should be the same at both locations. If they aren't, you may have a pressure reducer that is set wrong or broken. With a 50 PSI pressure at the street, you shouldn't need a pressure reducer. I like having a supply of 50 to 60 PSI. Anything less is too weak, but my utility won't do anything if their supply line is 40 PSI or over at the house.

When water is flowing at the house, there will be pressure loss in the lines from the street and even in the pipes in the house. The loss depends on flow rate and pipe diameter. If you have galvanized pipes, they grow crud inside them making the diameter smaller and smaller. If this is what has happened, you'll need to replace the pipes. If you're trying to run the whole house through a half inch pipe, that won't be good either.

[scuba_dave]

My main feed went from 3/4" to 1/2" , but I still had 70+ psi
I had it replaced with 3/4" thru to the main junctions
My main shut off was frozen open too, had that replaced

[Phil H]

Florida is a pretty flat state so this is unlikely. But, if your water meter is 35 feet lower than your house, you would have a 15 psi difference in static pressure.

[saabski]

Not sure how the the water dept measured the pressure. I thought that if it was static the pressure had to be the same. (water pressure law, right) Must have been measured during flow at the outside faucet. This is a new home. I wonder if the value past the meter is wide open? So any restrictions in the pipe ... will cause a drop in flow pressure. Plumber due here this week.
I appreciate all of your help.

[suemarkp]

Static pressure will be the same except for the difference in height. There is about a 1 PSI drop for every 2 feet of height difference. Restrictions in the pipe will cause a pressure drop (as will fittings and pipe walls). The amount of pressure drop is related to flow rate. The more you flow, the more the pressure drops. This is what limits the amount of water that will come out of a broken pipe.

[saabski]

The plumber made an adjustment to a pressure value and now I have 80 psi. :bath: