Updated -INTERNAL- Flow Restrictors in Todays Newer Plumbing Fixtures

[Elton Noway]

I am aware federal regulations required that manufacturers put flow restrictions on their plumbing fixtures quite awhile ago (faucets, shower heads, mixing valves). The issue is I live in the country on a private well and as many of you know, water pressure can be less than ideal. Years ago I re-worked all the equipment in my well house, installed a Cycle Stop Valve etc. and boosted the household water pressure to 70psi. All was good... until I needed to replace some sink fixtures and ran into the flow restrictor issue. No problem at first because in the early days of flow restrictors I could simple remove them or drill them out. Unfortunately... I recently discovered manufacturers are "now" building the flow restrictors "internal" to the valve body of the faucet making them impossible to access or drill out! grrrr. I can appreciate the need for water conservation but I should be able to use water from my private well as I see fit. FYI: Simply replacing the faucet areator with one rated at 2.2 doesn't work when the faucet restrictor is located in the valve body itself and not in the areator. Anyway... I'm pulling my hair out trying to find a manufacturer or supplier of "quality kitchen faucets" rated at least at 2.2 gpm "or" still has their restrictor in a location I can remove or drill out). Any suggestions?

 

[Gsmith22]

if you have 70psi at your pressure tank tee, then you problem is your plumbing from that point to your fixtures and not your fixtures. Everyone is buying and installing the same fixtures so if the fixture flow restriction was the problem, it would be universal. What type (galv steel, copper, PEX, etc.), what diameter pipe, and how long of a run are we talking from tank tee to fixture?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

I do like filling pots up quickly at the kitchen sink. I installed a kitchen faucet at my mothers place a few years ago, and my sister complained that too much water was coming out. I told her to not pull the handle on so much, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. I like the option to have more water at times though.

 

[Elton Noway]

if you have 70psi at your pressure tank tee, then you problem is your plumbing from that point to your fixtures and not your fixtures. Everyone is buying and installing the same fixtures so if the fixture flow restriction was the problem, it would be universal. What type (galv steel, copper, PEX, etc.), what diameter pipe, and how long of a run are we talking from tank tee to fixture?

Nope,... sorry. Pressure reading of 70psi is before and after the whole house filter. The pressure gauge before the filter helps signal the filter is getting clogged. With a CSV system the 4 gal tank hardly comes into play. Pressure is adjusted and maintained via a Cycle Stop Valve and pressure regulator. All outlets in the house, including hose bids have 70psi and tons of water. For awhile I had it cranked up to 80 psi but the wife was complaining about splashing from the bathroom sinks when she opened the valve all the way. All pipe from the well and throughout the entire house is 3/4" copper. Overkill? Yep! ... but I built the home myself back in 83 so the labor was free and copper was cheap. Anyway... last year I gutted and remodeled a bathroom and replaced all the fixtures. Fortunately at the time I was able to locate fixtures with removable restrictors. BTW: Read some kitchen faucet reviews posted in the last year from people who installed new ones with 1.2gpm internal flow restrictors and you will see tons of complaints about low pressure so it "is" a universal problem. As Terry alluded to in his reply... I'd rather have too much water and be able to dial it back than not enough.

Cycle Stop Valve Installation

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

There are a few models of kitchen sink faucets that have a button to increase the flow as long as you're holding the button. Seems like a fair compromise.

I stopped pulling or bypassing flow restrictors for customers a while back..

 

[Reach4]

until I needed to replace some sink fixtures and ran into the flow restrictor issue.

Do you mean kitchen sink, lavatory? I guess both.

Somebody who doesn't want to post it might message you, so watch for that. Not me. I don't know how to get what you want.

Maybe this is why pot fillers have become more popular. These are supposed to be over 5 gpm:
https://www.faucetdirect.com/kitche...ore than 5 gpm&r=48&s=SCORE&p=1&categoryId=19

 

[Gsmith22]

Nope,... sorry. Pressure reading of 70psi is before and after the whole house filter. The pressure gauge before the filter helps signal the filter is getting clogged. With a CSV system the 4 gal tank hardly comes into play. Pressure is adjusted and maintained via a Cycle Stop Valve and pressure regulator. All outlets in the house, including hose bids have 70psi and tons of water. For awhile I had it cranked up to 80 psi but the wife was complaining about splashing from the bathroom sinks when she opened the valve all the way. All pipe from the well and throughout the entire house is 3/4" copper. Overkill? Yep! ... but I built the home myself back in 83 so the labor was free and copper was cheap. Anyway... last year I gutted and remodeled a bathroom and replaced all the fixtures. Fortunately at the time I was able to locate fixtures with removable restrictors. BTW: Read some kitchen faucet reviews posted in the last year from people who installed new ones with 1.2gpm internal flow restrictors and you will see tons of complaints about low pressure so it "is" a universal problem. As Terry alluded to in his reply... I'd rather have too much water and be able to dial it back than not enough.

Cycle Stop Valve Installation
View attachment 71931

Of course your pressure gauges match before/after the filter in your picture - no water is passing through it and you are measuring the static pressure of the system. How much water comes out of the faucet when you open it is based on the dynamic pressure at the faucet which is a function of the static pressure in the system minus all of the friction loss in the piping system caused by water pushing through fittings and the overall length of pipe. Measure the dynamic pressure at your troublesome faucet with the faucet running all the way open. If you have low flow, I guarantee it isn't 70psi.

Edit: just realized you said 3/4" pipe from the well and entire house. That isn't something to write home about. 3/4" through the house is common (1" in my house as an expample) but well to house typically needs to be 1" or greater as it is usually a long run. Again, the friction losses add up and what you are describing sounds like a very long length of 3/4" pipe. measuring the dynamic pressure at the faucet will tell you if its the faucet or the pipe.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Personally the truth is I hate the low flow as well just did a real nice kitchen last week turned water on its so slow i fill my sinks all the way up to test I guess I shoulda went to lunch . but that's life it is what it is I leave them in (restrictors).
Elton sorry but you'll have to shop around . I don't think your not so big water main is to fault or its other causes as gsmith 22 suspects . You should be able to determine if its the kitchen faucet or not and come up with a better faucet if it is

 

[Reach4]

Edit: just realized you said 3/4" pipe from the well and entire house. That isn't something to write home about. 3/4" through the house is common (1" in my house as an expample) but well to house typically needs to be 1" or greater as it is usually a long run. Again, the friction losses add up and what you are describing sounds like a very long length of 3/4" pipe. measuring the dynamic pressure at the faucet will tell you if its the faucet or the pipe.

It is usually the case that the only pressure drops that really matter as far as reduced flow at faucet are those after the pressure tank and pressure switch. Pressures at a submersible well pump and even in the horizontal pipe run can run much higher if need be.

3/4 pipes through a house can deliver around 7 gpm, and if Elton were getting 4 gpm, he probably would not feel the need for more.

 

[Tuttles Revenge]

Kohler Simplice K-596-CP

• Three-function pull-down sprayhead with touch-control allows you to switch between stream, Sweep® spray and Boost technology.
• Sweep® spray creates a wide, forceful blade of water for superior cleaning.
• Boost technology increases the flow rate by 30% with the press of a button.

 

[Elton Noway]

Kohler Simplice K-596-CP

• Three-function pull-down sprayhead with touch-control allows you to switch between stream, Sweep® spray and Boost technology.
• Sweep® spray creates a wide, forceful blade of water for superior cleaning.
• Boost technology increases the flow rate by 30% with the press of a button.

Thanks for the link! You mentioned faucets with a button to increase the flow in your earlier reply and I wasn't familiar with them. The model you linked had my wheels turning. (i.e., hack or bypass the boost button to maintain 2 gpm ) On further research the unit is rated at 1.5 gpm and the boost button increases it to roughly 2 gpm. The boost button operates a valve that allows more water to enter the head. The valve consists of a sliding spring loaded piston with seals at each end so the boost button is leak proof in both the on and off positions. {sigh} simply removing the valve would result in a serious leak at the showerhead when the button is... hmm maybe I could fill the void with JB Weld
In the meantime found Blanco offers several models claiming 2.2 gpm. Unfortunately reviews are not stellar and it seems their parts service is not that great. Then again I may have to settle and cross my fingers if I want 2.2.
Blanco Atura 442206

 

[Jadnashua]

I have an older Grohe kitchen faucet. It’s a pull-out, tall valve. At least on that model, the quick connect fitting between the hose and the valve body comes in at least 3 different flow values, all color coded but interchangeable. You can replace that adapter on those models. I have not looked at newer models, so they may or may not do it the same way.https://www.amazon.com/s?k=grohe+qu...+quick+cou,aps,171&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_15

 

[Gsmith22]

It is usually the case that the only pressure drops that really matter as far as reduced flow at faucet are those after the pressure tank and pressure switch. Pressures at a submersible well pump and even in the horizontal pipe run can run much higher if need be.

3/4 pipes through a house can deliver around 7 gpm, and if Elton were getting 4 gpm, he probably would not feel the need for more.

This would be true if he had a traditional well pump -> pressure switch -> large pressure tank (with no cycle stop valve). But he has a very small pressure tank with a cycle stop valve. So basically his well pump turns on as soon as he uses any water because the pressure tank has almost no reserve and sits at whatever the cycle stop pressure is set to. So its his well pump that is supplying the system's pressure nearly always and not the pressure tank when any water is used because the pressure tank is so small. So since pressure is being supplied from the pump while in use for the vast majority of cases, friction losses are building up from the position of the well pump apparently all through a 3/4" line. If he had a large pressure tank connected to the tank tee, then I would agree that for most water use (where the well pump wouldn't turn on), friction losses would accumulate from the tank tee/pressure tank.

Most systems are using a pump switch set at 40/60. But he apparently is setting his pump switch at a much higher static pressure of 70 psi (and apparently was set at 80psi at some point). Which means the cycle stop is probably set real high too (65?). These settings are telling because if there wasn't such a huge pressure loss through the lines, you wouldn't need to set the pressure switch that (abnormally) high.

Elton, good luck with your faucet search but I think you are focused on the wrong problem.

 

[Reach4]

This would be true if he had a traditional well pump -> pressure switch -> large pressure tank (with no cycle stop valve). But he has a very small pressure tank with a cycle stop valve.

So as long as his pressure gauge downstream of the CSV and at the pressure switch is 65 psi, and lets say the gauge says 60 psi out of the cartridge filter, then the pipe size to get there does not matter.

He would be very pleased to get 5 gpm out of his kitchen sink, and 3 gpm out of his lavatory faucet.

 

[Gsmith22]

water moving through the pipe from that pressure gauge will lose pressure due to friction against the pipe and through fittings (as well as elevation change assuming this is at least 1 floor up). He won't have 60 or 65psi at the faucet it will be less. How much less depends on the amount of friction losses (+ loss of 1psi for every 2.31' of vertical elevation change); the friction losses are a function of the pipe size (among other things). This is basic Bernoulli's priciple/formula for pressurized pipe design.

 

[wwhitney]

But he has a very small pressure tank with a cycle stop valve. So its his well pump that is supplying the system's pressure nearly always and not the pressure tank when any water is used because the pressure tank is so small.

In normal operation when the pump is running (i.e. during any water draw except at the beginning when it is satisfied by the pressure tank), the CSV is acting as a pressure reducing valve and providing a constant pressure at its outlet. As long as the pressure at its inlet stays sufficiently higher than the CSV setpoint pressure, the frictional losses between the pump and the CSV are immaterial to behavior downstream of the CSV.

Of course once the flow rate goes high enough, the frictional losses between the pump and the CSV (inclusive) will exceed the difference between the pump's pressure output at that rate (minus elevation change) and the CSV set point. For higher flows, the system won't be able to maintain the set pressure, and the pressure/flow curve will show the effect of the frictional losses upstream of the CSV (inclusive).

Cheers, Wayne