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Toller wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Okay, here you go:

The water coming out of my kitchen faucet blasts out like a fire hose.
No other faucet in the house seems to have this problem. Today, I had
a plumber over for a different problem, and asked him to render an
opinion on the faucet-pressure problem.

He looked into it (I wasn't home when he did his check; the wife had
him call me), and said the pressure regulator in between the street
service and the house wasn't actually regulating the pressure -- it
was letting in 145 pounds (psi?), which is street pressure. I raised
the question as to why the other faucets in the house weren't
blasting; he says he checked, and yeah, they are all overpressured (I
just don't see it -- or, rather, feel it).

The fix, apparently, is to replace the regulator (which would seem to
make sense), and also to put some kind of "bladder," or smaller tank,
on top of my water heater, so that when water is let into the tank at
a specific pressure, and then heated (raising the pressure), it won't
blow anything out.

It's this last part especially that sounds fishy. I've never heard of
it before, never seen a water heater that has such a device, and the
"physics" doesn't ring true to me.

So, what are the expert opinions on all this here? (My wife just
phoned again, and this guy wrote on his work order that we should
"turn the water off [that's the main water supply to the house]" so
as not to risk damaging anything.)

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas on the blasting faucet, I'd appreciate
hearing those, too.

Shane

Yes, you want the expansion tank as well. Most (all?) pressure
regulators also have a check valve that keeps the water from going back so
there is no way of releaving pressure in the system without an expansion
tank, and with a water heater the pressure will increase.

My pressure regulator has a backflow bypass so the pressure can never build
beyond street level.
Of course my street level is 90psi. If it were 140 I might be a little more
concerned. 140psi is an accident waiting to happen.

Thanks to all who replied.

I stuck a pressure gauge on a hose bib that's downstream of the
regulator. 145 psi. So, apparently, that's too high (who do I ask what
psi is appropriate post-regulator in my area? My DWP's website doesn't
seem to acknowledge the idea of asking a technical question).

If I'm to assume 145 is too high (and everyone here certainly seems to
think so), then why is the fix not simply going to the regulator,
cranking it down a bit to lower the pressure, and then rechecking the
pressure at the bib until it's down around, oh, 90 psi or so?

What am I not taking into consideration?

Shane