Want more pressure

OK, now that my pump system is working correctly and I have a a 40/60 pressure switch up an running without chatter, why is my pressure the same as it was before. I went from a 1/2hp 10gpm pump to a 3/4hp 19gpm pump and increased the pressure switch from a 20/40 to a 40/60. Can my water softener be the culprit? The system was there when I purchased the home. A 2 tank system with an aquamatic electro-mechanical control valve. I would hate to have to replace the system(pricey). I belive that the pressure tank contains carbon for filtering iron and maganese, but the only reason I think that is that my laundry machine (direct water from the well) gets rust in the detergent drawer. I don't know why they bypassed the laundry when they installed it but they did. I am not a plumbing or a water treatment genius, but I would imagine that you would want soft water for your laundry. Any advice would be appreciated.

I would put those machines on bypass and see if your pressure is better. If its 2 units that you have,the first could be an acid neutralizer that raises the Ph in your water so its not acidic. The second is probably a softener that removes water hardness,iron and manganese. I would try to get more information on them like the brand and model. Gary can be a real big help to you when it comes to water treatment. I'm sure hell drop in with some suggestions when he reads this but i would suspect the treatment system as the culprit to your low water pressure.

SAM

If the water softener truly does bypass the laundry, then you should notice that the washing machine has "more pressure" than the rest of the system? Sammy's right, those two cylinders are not pressure tanks, they instead serve to filter/treat the water in some way as it passes thru. Hopefully the plumber put bypass valves on them so you can simply disconnect them and see if pressure is better in your house.

You're right though, it makes no sense to me either that you'd not soften/treat water for the laundry. Clothes are expensive, despite that they come from you-know-where, and you want to use clean, soft water for them.

Our well went dry and we are using rainwater now, and in a serious conservation mode, and are considering a front-load washer cuz they use far less water than a top-load. I mention it only because the only reason I can think that your installation may bypass the laundry is that someone thought you needed to conserve water--maybe?? Washing not only uses lots of it, but when it also uses conditioned water, well, then the conditioner has to be re-genned more often which then uses MORE water!!! Just a thought.

OK, I bypassed the water softener this morning and no difference in pressure. My main feed line is 3/4 with 1/2" feeds at the point where the water goes to the fixtures. The home is 43 years old, could there be that much build-up in the pipes? How would i clean the inside of the pipes and would it even be worth it? Any advice is appreciated.

3/4 and 1/2" what? What kind of pipe? Copper, galvanized?

bob...

Sometimes it can be as simple as clogged aerators on your faucets or a bad shut off valve.

SAM

If the pipes are galvanized, it is probably time to think about replacing them.

To help distinguish between "pressure" and "flow" and to see how much of which you actually have, get a hose adapter you can screw to a faucet (in place of an aerator) and rig a tee with a pressure guage on one side and a small valve on the other ... then see how much pressure your system can maintain while delivering two gallons per minute. Or, see how many gpm you can get at a selected and maintained pressure. And if you can, try that at one fixture close to the source and one that is farthest away to assess the presence of any overall restriction in your piping.

I have copper pipe. I will check the aerators, however, all my fixtures are new within the past 2 years. I will also try the tee with a pressure guage.