I am not a plumber just a DIY homeowner. I have been helping my parents with a few plumbing problems. I was testing their water pressure on an outside hose bib. The pressure would show around 90 psi then continually creep up to around 110 psi. It never actually settles on a consistent PSI. If you open a faucet the water pressure gauge would drop to almost zero. I tried to lower the pressure at the regulator but there was a noticeable drop in pressure throughout the house. I adjusted the regulator back to a similar water flow as before.

The sinks seem to flow as expected but they said the bathtub/shower always had low pressure and I estimated it would take close to a half hour to fill the bathtub.

I checked my water pressure at home and I have 60 psi. When I open another faucet my water pressure does not change.

Based on some basic googling I believe they have a bad pressure regulator. Before we throw more money at the problem I wanted to see if this sounds like a likely place to start.

Something is restricting the flow, could be the regulator.

How old is the regulator? They typically need to be rebuilt/replaced every ~15-20 years. Sometimes less if you have hard water, or if something like a water main break introduces significant debris into the water supply.

We just had our regulator replaced because it was leaking. The part lasted 25 years.

Where exactly in line is this device?
I am not sure we even have one?

Also, check where the regulator is in relation to the bib. A prior house of ours had one bib in between the supply and regulator, other two downstream from the regulator along with the rest of house.

I think 90-100 beyond the regulator is way-high? Normal range more like >60, <80 ?

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Where exactly in line is this device?
I am not sure we even have one?

After the meter, and typically after the water shutoff for the house. But before any fixtures.

Not all houses will have pressure regulators. If your city's supply is within 40-80 PSI, one may not be needed. But lots of cities have 100+ PSI coming in to the house, and a regulator is needed to step it down to a more normal pressure for the fixtures and appliances.

Everything in our house would bang; toilets, washing machines etc. Those water arrestors only worked a little bit.

Finally I called my plumber and he checked the water pressure coming in from the street: 125 psi!!!

He put on a regulator and dialed it in for 60 psi I think. I believe normal pressure for a home is 50-80 psi?

Sounds like you need a new regulator.

Yep, we developed water hammer when flushing the toilet or using the washer when the pressure regulator at my last house was failing.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
How old is the regulator? They typically need to be rebuilt/replaced every ~15-20 years. Sometimes less if you have hard water, or if something like a water main break introduces significant debris into the water supply.

At least 15 yrs old.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Also, check where the regulator is in relation to the bib. A prior house of ours had one bib in between the supply and regulator, other two downstream from the regulator along with the rest of house.

I think 90-100 beyond the regulator is way-high? Normal range more like >60, <80 ?

The regulator is immediately after the main inlet right after the meter.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Where exactly in line is this device?
I am not sure we even have one?

If you didn't have one, every water valve in your house- faucets, toilet, the ice-maker in your fridge, etc- would have blown out within a week of installation. The primary function of this gadget is to reduce water pressure before water enters the plumbing in your home.

Regulators are not used in this area . The pressure normally runs around 60 -70 PSI . My son builds houses and they are not required by code .