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PRV valve for main water

tdlconceptsllc

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Hey guys I have a little situation and have been doing some plumbing work in my self serve equipment room lately new water heater etc.. I noticed my pressure has been kinda high so I look at my gauge on the exit side of my pressure reducing valve and it like 90 psi so I replaced the gauge and adjust it down. I got the pressure down to 60 psi when the equipment gets used it drops to 45psi and rises back up to 60psi. When I leave it alone overnight and come in first thing the pressure can be up to 80psi and this morning it was on 90psi, but if you use some water in a holding tank it will go back to 60psi. I believe my PRV is bad and slowly creeping up overnight when nobody is using it. I wanted to triple check before ordering one its 1 1/2 pipe. On the city side its a 100 psi. Thanks
(Also will this cause a inconsistency on my chemicals pulling through all the hydrominders with the pressure variating like that)
 

Earl Weiss

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I don't think that pressure change will noticeably affect the hydrominder dilution since the venturi will suck in proportion to the water volume passing thru it. (Except for extreme variations.)
 

MEP001

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I agree, a brief drop in pressure likely won't make any difference.
 

tdlconceptsllc

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10.4 my main thing is I am hoping that my PRV is bad before I spend $400 at Ferguson replacing it. I am going to check my psi on my expansion tank tonight to make sure it's not expanding into the main at night when nobody is there
 

Randy

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They don't last forever. How old is the PRV? Which model PRV do you have? Have you tried putting in a rebuild kit?
 

Greg Pack

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It is creeping up to main line pressure. If it Watts and is fairly new a rebuild kit will likely fix that problem. There is a little o ring that can blow out a cause the pressure to creep up. If its older I would replace it.

Best prices I have found on Watts brand is a zoro with a discount code. I think I found a rebuild kit at supplyhouse.com
 

tdlconceptsllc

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Greg & Randy the PRV is 15+ years old I studied it more last night and this morning and it’s definitely bad. Thanks for the zoro tip Greg. I am about to order one. I would think 90psi sitting on my solinods & lines overnight can’t be good for them.
 

Greg Pack

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I would think 90psi sitting on my solinods & lines overnight can’t be good for them.

I purchased a wash around 2011 that had several small leaks in the equipment room and the floor was constantly wet. I finally fixed all the tiny leaks and had a brief satisfying dry equipment room floor for a couple of days. Just a few days later I came in to a wet floor again. There was a small crack at the neck of my softener tank. It was caused by the same problem you describe. The valve would regulate pressure when even the smallest amount of water was flowing. But when I fixed those leaks it lost its' ability to keep the pressure down, and the main pressure was over 100psi. So by fixing those little minor leaks the pressure was able to spike and crack my softener tank, which as you know is a huge PITA to fix. I now keep a pressure gauge on my incoming water pressure now to monitor for that problem. I also keep a spare PRV on the shelf that fits both washes. I know that might be overkill, but it is nice to know I can take care of the problem.
 
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