YA another water pressure question

Yet Another water pressure question:

What is the "proper" water pressure for a single family, or any, house considered to be?

How does one measure water pressure? I saw a gauge for about $9 (at the local big blue box) that looked like it had threads matching a hose bib. Would this be a good investment? Nine bucks for an accurate gauge seems awful low to me.

Reason I'm asking is because I just installed an icemaker setup for my basement bar, which will connect to an icemaker in a fridge. When I opened the valve to bleed the air and check for leaks, I was amazed at the amount of pressure of the water.

This would eventually connect to a 1/4" soft copper line to the fridge. If pressure is not regulated, can this cause problems with the icemaker or fridge?

You should have a gauge. It's not an accurate gauge; maybe +/- 3% of full scale when new.

You may want a regulator if pressure exceeds 80 psi, but nothing should break at less than 100. I assume that you have municipal water.

The 1/4" copper will withstand more pressure than anything else in your house. I don't know about the ice maker but I suspect that the washer hoses and washing machine valves are the weakest links.

Bob NH said:

You should have a gauge. It's not an accurate gauge; maybe +/- 3% of full scale when new.

You may want a regulator if pressure exceeds 80 psi, but nothing should break at less than 100. I assume that you have municipal water.

The 1/4" copper will withstand more pressure than anything else in your house. I don't know about the ice maker but I suspect that the washer hoses and washing machine valves are the weakest links.

Click to expand...

Yes, indeed, I am on the county water system. I also have a regulator in the basement. As to what pressure it is set at, I haven't a clue. Hence my original question.

Based on what you say, I'm assuming that for $9, I can't go too wrong, provided that the gauge is within +/- 3%?

As for your comment that "1/4" copper will withstand more pressure than anything else in your house." I have seen similar comments before. Why is this? Is it because of the ratio of volume to the pipe's wall thickness?

So, basically, I shouldn't worry about a lot of pressure at the icemaker outlet, given that the rest of the house is at "normal" pressure?

tubing

No it is a mathematical relationship between the thickness of the wall and its radius, or curve.

Most would condisder 40 to 80 psi to be the acceptable range on static pressure in the house. 80 should be absolute max. People used to good pressure would consider less than 50 to be unfavorable, but many folks on wells and rural systems get by on less than 40 PSI. I am in the former category, and like to keep my pressure up around 70. Regulators usually are preset at 55 from the factory.

You can get a gauge that with a tee and a couple of reducing fittings can be installed in your supply line. It's the same gauge as the one with the hose fitting. I trust you are not using the saddle tee to install the ice maker line. There again for the cost of a valve and a couple of fittings, you can connect properly. If your water pressure is too high, you should also install a pressure regulator. This will also require an expansion tank installed ahead of the water heater.