Poor Water Pressure in the House

Tricky · 17-12-2010, 14:49

I moved in to my house in May this year, and we've always known that the water pressure has not been great -- Since the weather has gotten colder and our power electric

shower has needed to be turned up to heat the water the pressure has dropped even more.

At the tap we get approx. 7-9 ltrs a minute and Yorkshire Water recommend 12 at the tap.

They have been out and confirmed the above and that the supply is 44ltrs at the main, so they have said that it is the supply pipe and therefore my responsibility.

We have done the obvious and checked stop taps etc.

Anyone know roughly ballpark figure how much it would cost to investigate and/or replace the supply pipe. Also, if we opted to get a Meter installed (would be cheaper for me in Water Bills) would this mean that YW would need to fix the supply pipe also.

Any advice?

nomadking · 17-12-2010, 15:12

Is the water coming directly from the supply or via a cold water tank?

Tricky · 17-12-2010, 15:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomadking

Is the water coming directly from the supply or via a cold water tank?

Direct from Supply .. No water tank in the house

Mick Fisher · 17-12-2010, 15:36

Just a thought, if the pressure has dropped since the weather has got colder, is it possible that you have a burst pipe somewhere? Outside tap or in an outside toilet you rarely use. Even a partial leak somewhere would have an apparent effect at the tap.

If you have a shared main then it may be a neighbour who has a burst pipe or maybe there is an unoccupied (unheated) house that has a burst.

If you are set on getting a new supply don't ask the water board to arrange it as the price will be sky high. Get several quotes from recommended local plumbers. It may not be as expensive as you might imagine. Ultimately it will depend on the distance to be dug up to reach the boundery of your property and the lay-out of your property. The digging and subsequent connection from the water boards mains to a new stoptap at your boundery is gratis.

Taf · 17-12-2010, 15:36

Water pressure often gets turned down to reduce/prevent leaks by water companies. They'll tell you it's OK, but often it isn't.

**Rob** · 17-12-2010, 15:40

If you get a meter installed, that is usually done at the pavement stopcock. There won't be any changes to the supply pipe itself, as it's just a few changes replacing a very short bit of pipe around the pavement stopcock.

With electric showers, the temperature of the water depends on the flow rate across the heating elements. It's not that you are in fact turning on a bigger heater, instead you are slowing down the rate of water flow so it lingers longer over the heating elements. If you are successful in getting your mains flow rate increased, you might find your shower gets even colder!

If your general pressure is low, it can be down to the size of the pipes. Perhaps a pipe could be kinked. Even a lot of bends in the pipe will affect velocity of water. Are your stop cocks fully open, or only part open (perhaps one is seized).

martyh · 17-12-2010, 15:46

water meters are usually fitted outside the property on the stop stap at the road so they will not touch the supply pipe .A lot of showers reduce the amount of water going through in order to heat it more ,so the hotter the shower the less water goes through it

Tricky · 17-12-2010, 15:49

Water pressure has not really changed since we moved in
YW say we are on our own main I.e. Not Shared but I need to go under house to see where the inlet pipe goes. Stop taps are all open (Fully)

danielf · 17-12-2010, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyh

water meters are usually fitted outside the property on the stop stap at the road so they will not touch the supply pipe .A lot of showers reduce the amount of water going through in order to heat it more ,so the hotter the shower the less water goes through it

And presumably, as the water coming in gets colder, less will come out at the same temperature without any changes to water pressure.

martyh · 17-12-2010, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

And presumably, as the water coming in gets colder, less will come out at the same temperature without any changes to water pressure.

quite correct ,people will notice a sizeable difference in temperature of the cold water ,i know mine at the moment is only just above freezing so my shower is turned up higher to allow for the drop in temp but the heat at the shower head as it comes out is no dfferent to usual

Pauls9 · 20-12-2010, 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tricky

Stop taps are all open (Fully)

Can't really add to the water pressure discussion, but one thought occurs:

If taps are fully opened, there's a fair chance they'll be jammed when you need to close them. Best to open fully, then close by 1/4 to 1/2 turn.

Saaf_laandon_mo · 20-12-2010, 15:13

Just out of interest my water pressure has gone from about 2 on the bolier dial to 4. Does that sound normal? Should it be so high?

multiskilled · 20-12-2010, 22:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

Just out of interest my water pressure has gone from about 2 on the bolier dial to 4. Does that sound normal? Should it be so high?

Sounds like the tap to re pressurise the system is turned on slightly or may be leaking. Though the pressure will rise when your central heating is on.

20-12-2010, 22:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

Just out of interest my water pressure has gone from about 2 on the bolier dial to 4. Does that sound normal? Should it be so high?

Quote:

Originally Posted by multiskilled

Sounds like the tap to re pressurise the system is turned on slightly or may be leaking. Though the pressure will rise when your central heating is on.

It shouldn't be that high, I'm surprised the pressure relief valve hasn't operated.

As multiskilled says the pressure will rise when the boiler is operating, but not as high as 4.0 ...