Water Pressure and Hot Water Heater Grounding

It all started with low water pressure and limited hot water on a recently purchased house. The house has copper pipes and is about 10 years old. Seattle / Tacoma Washington area.

I replaced the gas water heater, which fixed the supply issue, but it was still a problem with pressure, so that when ever a sink was used, my pressure was essentially gone.

I replaced the shower faucet valve, cleaning it out, and replacing the integral filter. No fix for the pressure....

Next the water company was called, and pressure was checked. There is a gate valve, but water pressure is set (reduced) to 75. They did however note that there were green and blue specs behind my faucet screens, and commented that this was due to corrosion, most likely from inside the water tank. He said that although the task was grounded (via braided cable attached to the water pipe), that the best way was to run a single copper grounding wire to a dedicated 10 foot grounding pole. Also, because pressure is okay, but an existing flow problem, I probably have some obstruction in my line.

My questions....

How can I find the obstruction without tearing my sheet rock apart?

Is my tank truly grounded incorrectly (I have never heard of this), and what would be the long term impact? What reccomendations do you have?

You can find the location of things that cause pressure loss by measuring the pressure at different places when the conditions that result in pressure loss occur. For example, if you measure the pressure at your shower, water heater, and pressure redicing valve when the faucet is causing low flow at the shower, you may be able to find the cause of the pressure loss.

Pressure gauges are much less expensive than searching for problems with a Sawzall.

Pressure fluctuations can be especially bad if your shower comes off the side of a 1/2" tee where the flow to the offending faucet is flowing straight through that tee. Putting two high-demand fixtures on a 1/2" line is almost always going to cause problems.

I'll bet your PRV is bad.

prv valve

I agree with Cass,

try changeing out the pRV
valve before you go nuts rippping out
drywall chaseing ghosts that are probably
in the PRV ....


haveing a dedicated ground for your home plumbing
is a good idea too....because

The PRV Valve Breaks the ground to the city water line.....

just nailing a ground rod into the concrete floor in the basement
and then tieing in a number of copper jumpers to different areas of the
plumbing system is not a bad idea....

no one listens to me when I tell them that is the reason their
water heater only lasted 3 years....... everything in the house
trying to ground itself through the water heater...

.cause ti cant get through that prv valve.





jsut dont hit a drain or water line when installing that rod.

Cass said:

I'll bet your PRV is bad.

Click to expand...

Is there a way to test the PRV valve before I replace it? I've never done that before.....

Sure, install a pressure gauge B4 and after the PRV and check the pressure difference.

Personally, I would just replace the PRV but the choice is yours.

pressure

Until you find out exactly what the problem is, do not spend time and money changing things that you "think" are bad. You will just waste money and still have the same problem. Grounding the heater is not a factor and has nothing to do with your problem. But from here we cannot tell you why the pressure is low, because we cannot make the necessary tests to pinpoint the source of the problem.

master plumber mark said:

The PRV Valve Breaks the ground to the city water line.....

Click to expand...

MPM - if you don't mind my asking, how does the PRV break the ground to the city water line? You still have a solid connection with electrical continuity between the inlet and outlet PRV pipes through the PRV housing. I must be misinterpreting something in your statement!!!

A pressure gauge costs less than $10, and in my opinion, every home should have one. They can be attached just like a hose to any faucet with hose threads, and they are quite easy just to plumb into the supply line. If you have a PRV, you have a closed system and should have an expansion tank and that requires balancing the pressure in the tank with the supply pressure. The city can tell you what the your water main pressure is outside, the gauge will tell you what you have at the delivery points inside.

How old is the house?

What kind of pipe is the service line. Copper, galvanized, plastic?

Is the pressure low at every faucet in the house?

prv and grounds

It might not ok like it has broken the ground,

but usually their ia a union and possibly a washer in the
valve that compromises a good connection...

its just one of those things where if the power can find an easier
and faster way to ground itself,

it will take thepath of least resistance...into the heater
and attempt to ground itself through it.


wether we like it or not.

Cass said:

How old is the house?

What kind of pipe is the service line. Copper, galvanized, plastic?

Is the pressure low at every faucet in the house?

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the input and help!

The house is about 10 years old, and has copper piping.

The pressure is low at the faucets, but is most noticable when someone is in the shower, and someone else opens a different faucet.

I am kinda considering taking the PRV out completely, and just putting a ball shutoff valve in place. I know that this would mean unrestricted water pressure coming into the house, but this is my first experience with a house that had a PRV (at least to my knowledge)

Gary Swart said:

A pressure gauge costs less than $10, and in my opinion, every home should have one. They can be attached just like a hose to any faucet with hose threads, and they are quite easy just to plumb into the supply line. If you have a PRV, you have a closed system and should have an expansion tank and that requires balancing the pressure in the tank with the supply pressure. The city can tell you what the your water main pressure is outside, the gauge will tell you what you have at the delivery points inside.

Click to expand...

I will buy a pressure guage.

I know I have a PRV, but my only expansion tank is off my hat water heater. This I am sure of. I will ask the city what my water main pressure is. What is the maximum pressure that I should not exceed inside my house on 3/4 inch copper lines? God... I would hate for one of those to fail.

You don't want more than 80 pounds pressure in the house, although most valves will handle more. Even at that pressure, it can be pretty strong and people often adjust the prv for less. Back before they mandated flow restricted valves, the water pressure at my parents house would knock the glass out of your hand if you weren't expecting it. They put in a prv eventually. With a working prv, though, you should have an expansion tank on the supply side of your hot water heater. Search some threads here and you'll see many people have had problems with their pressure relief valve on the hot water heater leaking when there is no tank. It is cheap insurance, and can help extend the life of things.

The reduced pressure range on many of the PRVs (Wilkins, Watts) tops off at 75 psi. So if you want more pressure then that inside the house be careful in your selection of a PRV. The Honeywell Braukmann reduced pressure range is 15 -150 psi, so that is one brand that would be suitable.

I still think the PRV is bad.