|
I believe you're right on the water pressure. It's the highest I've experienced in any residence I've lived in. I'll have to take a measurement and reduce the pressure somehow if this is the case. Hopefully we have a regulator already installed, but I have to crawl under the house to see for sure. Thanks for your help. [Edit: I called our water co and while they couldn't tell me the PSI for my block the ones on either side are 92 and 87. Way too high.] AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Nov 13, 2009 |
#
?
Nov 13, 2009 21:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 22:57 |
|
|
Where is your house located? Note the 80 psi is what the UPC code says . It could be different in your area. http://www.professionalequipment.com/water-pressure-gauge-for-residential-water-supply-wtg254ls300/water-pressure-gauges/ Here is a pressure guage that you can buy online that screws right on to anything with hose threads. So a outside hose bib will work. Or the hook ups for your washing machine.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2009 00:48
|
|
|
Thanks for the link. I live in Pacifica, California. I think a PSI of 50 would be a bit more reasonable inside the house.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2009 01:54
|
|
|
Do Not Resuscitate posted:Thanks for the link. Well if you live in california. I belelive they run off of the UPC also. So 80 psi is fine. When you get to 100+ i beleive angle stops can blow off the wall.(not saying they will for years but it can happen) You can always look for a Pressure reducing valve on the water main. It looks like a kind of con shaped body with a flat base. I have one in my house that i installed. I can send pics to give you an idea what it looks like.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2009 08:36
|
|
|
Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Well if you live in california. I belelive they run off of the UPC also. So 80 psi is fine. When you get to 100+ i beleive angle stops can blow off the wall.(not saying they will for years but it can happen) I took a reading over the weekend and have 80-82 PSI at the house. I'd like to knock it down a bit if, for no other reason, than to conserve water. My wife and son are experiencing lack of hot water at the end of their lengthy 20-minute showers. The high PSI combined with a 40-gallon water heater is causing them to rethink how long they stay in the shower (not a bad thing - heh, heh). I may end up getting a shower flow restricter if it turns out we don't have a pressure regulator installed anywhere. There isn't one at the water cut-off by the house and I haven't found the meter yet -- I think it's on the neighbor's side of the fence! I still need to crawl under the house too. Back to the noise issue... I experimented a bit and the noise we hear is restricted to the kitchen faucet -- a levered one. It's really loud when in the mid-flow range. At low flow or at full open there is no noise to speak of. It's a fairly new piece of hardware.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2009 18:01
|
|
|
Do Not Resuscitate posted:I took a reading over the weekend and have 80-82 PSI at the house. I'd like to knock it down a bit if, for no other reason, than to conserve water. My wife and son are experiencing lack of hot water at the end of their lengthy 20-minute showers. The high PSI combined with a 40-gallon water heater is causing them to rethink how long they stay in the shower (not a bad thing - heh, heh). 80 PSI is safe to run. My installed a pressure reducing valve for my parents because they were hitting 90 psi at peak usage times and 100+ during the nights. I never had one of there angel stops blow off of at any of there fixtures. I have a couple other ideas what it could be but I'll need more info. Do you have a gas water heater? Also lowering the PSI wont really help you conserve water. A 20 minute shower is about all you get out of a 40 gallon water heater. The shower heads around 2gallons per minute. So in 20 minutes your water heater will be about empty. Even though you do mix it down a little with some cold water to get the right temperature. You wont get much more then 25 minutes or so.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2009 02:41
|
|
|
Well, I appreciate all your advice, Rd Rash 1000cc. The previous owners of this home made some very odd decisions with regards to some very basic upgrades they went with and one of them was purchasing a 40-gallon gas water heater. For a family of four. I don't know how they managed it. They had a pretty high-end home theater set up which I think they paid for by cheaping out and so many things around the house. (Attic insulation?! Nope, we don't need it!) Thanks again for giving me some background on all this stuff. AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Nov 17, 2009 |
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2009 19:49
|
|
|
As a stop-gap, you could adjust the temp of your water heater hotter. Just be mindful of scalding! Less hot water for a given temp shower will stretch the tank a little longer. You can also get valves that go on your shower head to reduce the flow. I did both of these until we upsized our tank, and it can really help. Even a relative trickle makes for a nice long comfortable shower. Edit: Scald temperature chart showing the number of seconds it takes to get a 2nd degree burn at different water temperatures (EG, don't ever set it above 135F, and even that's getting pretty dangerous, especially for kids): 
grover fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Nov 21, 2009 |
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2009 20:15
|
|
|
While we're on the subject of showers, will 1/2" pipes be sufficient for adding a full body sprayer system? We're redoing our bath with radiant heat tile and while we were at it decided, what the hell, let's take out the boring shower inserts and tile it. And while at that, what the hell, let's upgrade to a full body sprayer. I could run tees from the bathtub over to provide additional flow if need be, but I think that would only be useful if it was 3/4 up to the shower / tub split, right? And, if 1/2 supplies are sufficient, anyone have any full body sprayer recommendations or sites that generally offer good deals on them? I found what I thought was a good deal on overstock (Vigo, I think was the brand), but the reviews scared me off.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2009 22:49
|
|
|
jackyl posted:While we're on the subject of showers, will 1/2" pipes be sufficient for adding a full body sprayer system? We're redoing our bath with radiant heat tile and while we were at it decided, what the hell, let's take out the boring shower inserts and tile it. And while at that, what the hell, let's upgrade to a full body sprayer. I could run tees from the bathtub over to provide additional flow if need be, but I think that would only be useful if it was 3/4 up to the shower / tub split, right? 1/2 pipe should be fine but it doesn't really hurt to over size it. One thing you got to remember when installing a full body spray system. Each side must be equally balanced or certain heads will have more pressure then other heads. So when you make the loop for the body sprayers. So make sure each side is equal with the amount of pipe used. Also how big of water heater do you have? Lets say each head is 2gpm. You have 4 sprayers and the shower head running. That ls 10 gpm. If you have a 40 gallon tank. That equals out to 4 minutes of use with the body sprayers till your hot water is gone.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2009 01:46
|
|
|
Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Great info Thanks! We have a 75 gallon tank, so it isn't quite as dire as the 40 gallon scenario, but I will have to pay attention to GPM ratings when I am picking one out. After some quick googling, it looks like your 2 GPM estimate was pretty close, so I will definitely take that into consideration - maybe only a couple sprayers instead of four. I was anticipating jacking up the water heat too so we used less hot water as grover told someone above, so that'll help too. Thanks for the advice on pipe length too - it probably would have been pretty close to the same length, but now I will make sure of that.
|
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2009 22:47
|
|
|
I think this is a simple project but I'd like some advice on it before I start from someone who knows about pipes and poo poo. I was helping a friend of a friend move a couple months ago and while we were hauling all the poo poo out of the apartment I glanced in their bathroom and saw their shower and immediately decided I must have something like it so I had my friend snap a couple pictures. Click here for the full 800x600 image.  Click here for the full 600x800 image. I get the gist of it but I was wondering if you guys have any tips for putting together something like this. There's a few differences I need to account for too, in my apartment the pipe coming out of the wall in my apartment has a bend in it and is angled downward, and I thought it'd be cool if I could add some valves so I could turn one of the sprayers off if I felt like it. However I do it, I want to be able to take the thing down and bring it with me when I eventually move out of this apartment. Any tips? I believe I've got all the tools I'd need, but nothing else right now.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2009 09:03
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:I think this is a simple project but I'd like some advice on it before I start from someone who knows about pipes and poo poo. I was helping a friend of a friend move a couple months ago and while we were hauling all the poo poo out of the apartment I glanced in their bathroom and saw their shower and immediately decided I must have something like it so I had my friend snap a couple pictures. 100 HOGS AGREE posted:I think this is a simple project but I'd like some advice on it before I start from someone who knows about pipes and poo poo. I was helping a friend of a friend move a couple months ago and while we were hauling all the poo poo out of the apartment I glanced in their bathroom and saw their shower and immediately decided I must have something like it so I had my friend snap a couple pictures. You will have to take out the chrome 45 degree chrome peice that is coming out of the wall. And install a galvanized nipple in its place. After you 90 up from the wall. I'd put a galvanized nipple so you can easily remove most of the shower head with out actually having to take all of it apart. I'd also put a ball valve between the first and 2nd head so you dont have to have both heads on if you don't want too. His design isnt the best way to balance the heads but with limited space its about all you can do. * You will need to put pipe dope on the face of the union before tightening both ends together. If you don't it will leak . Any other questions feel free to ask.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2009 18:58
|
|
|
So the chrome piece coming out of the wall, does that just screw in back there and will I be able to put it back later? Because I have to be able to put the shower back how it was originally when I move out of the apartment, which won't be for a long while but it's bound to happen eventually.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2009 20:14
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:So the chrome piece coming out of the wall, does that just screw in back there and will I be able to put it back later?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2009 20:37
|
|
|
Remember to tape and dope before putting it back on. and tighten it wither either a strap wrench or put a screw driver inside of it to tighten it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2009 20:59
|
|
|
Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Remember to tape and dope before putting it back on. and tighten it wither either a strap wrench or put a screw driver inside of it to tighten it. HOGS, he means take the shower head off the arm first, then you can stick a long screwdriver down the pipe and use it as a lever to tighten the arm.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2009 03:08
|
|
|
Hey thanks guys, nothing's leaking so I'm gonna call this one a success. Thanks for the help, it was pretty easy to put together. I'm gonna find a better way to fasten it to the ceiling in a couple days, I got that strap screwed into the stud but it could be better. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 05:09
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:Hey thanks guys, nothing's leaking so I'm gonna call this one a success. Thanks for the help, it was pretty easy to put together. Well that is awesome that it worked out for ya. How is the pressure with both heads working?
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 08:31
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:I'm gonna find a better way to fasten it to the ceiling in a couple days, I got that strap screwed into the stud but it could be better. You could do like in the original picture with a proper hanger and a short length of threaded rod. Actually your distance looks short enough that you might be able to get away with taking a hacksaw to a long bolt for the threaded end. Here's a tip: screw a nut onto the threads and past the cutting line before you cut it. After you make the cut, the act of backing the nut off of that cut will help line back up the threads at that cut so that the rod will actually screw into its intended place easier. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Dec 20, 2009 |
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 18:02
|
|
|
The pressure is great, we've always had high pressure in this apartment so turning on the second head doesn't diminish the total pressure too much. I was going to use two of the big shower heads but I struck a compromise with my roommate who didn't want to give up on the white one there. It worked out pretty well, I must say.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 19:12
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:The pressure is great, we've always had high pressure in this apartment so turning on the second head doesn't diminish the total pressure too much. I was going to use two of the big shower heads but I struck a compromise with my roommate who didn't want to give up on the white one there. It worked out pretty well, I must say. Is that a pain the rear end to turn that ball valve on and off since its so high up there? Although you could stand on to reach it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 19:45
|
|
|
I just step up on the edge of the tub to turn it, I'm already pretty tall so it's not an issue.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 20:05
|
|
|
How long does your hot water last, though? Most of those tanks only allow for 15-20 minutes at the most, and two heads will probably cut that about in half.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2009 20:18
|
|
|
Is there an average or standard on how often water softeners should go through a regen cycle? Mine is currently set to do it every other day. Too much? It seems like we're going through $30-35 worth of salt per month.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2009 21:24
|
|
|
Richard Noggin posted:Is there an average or standard on how often water softeners should go through a regen cycle? Mine is currently set to do it every other day. Too much? It seems like we're going through $30-35 worth of salt per month. It depends on how hard your water is. But honestly i bet you can do it once a week. Set it to once a week and see if anything changes. I doubt your softenr needs to be back flushed every day though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2009 21:29
|
|
|
I'll give it a shot, thanks.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2009 21:47
|
|
|
I have toilet in the master bathroom that has been giving me a ton of trouble. Specifically, it smells like sewer gas is leaking up, and every time you walk in the bathroom after the door has been closed for a few hours, you get blasted in the nostrils with an unpleasant smell. Of course, the first thing I did was replace the wax ring, but the problem was not fixed. At that point, I had a plumber come in for $75 just to check everything out. He pulled the toilet up again, looked over the flange and didn't see any cracks, then installed yet another new wax ring and left. The smell was gone for a day or so, but then it came back as badly as before. At this point I'm just lost. I'm thinking there must be some sort of hairline crack somewhere that I haven't seen. I'm ready to just go buy a new toilet altogether, but is there anything else I should check before I bite the bullet?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2010 05:40
|
|
|
"[panic posted:"] Could be the sink or tub/shower drain? Try plugging those and see if that stops the smell.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2010 13:35
|
|
|
"[panic posted:"] There are a couple causes; one is if a sink/whatever isn't used often enough, the water can evaporate. This is easy to fix- just pour some water into it every once in a while. Another cause is clogged vent lines. If vent lines clog, the P-trap can be siphoned dry. Symptom of this are bubbling whenever you use a lot of water (there should never be any bubbles coming back up), or the toilet draining almost completely dry after flushing. In this case, you've got to snake the vents to clear the clog.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2010 15:01
|
|
|
Another cause can be clean outs not sealing properly. Do you have any clean out plugs on the sink or bathtub? Depending on location, the lav may have a clean out behind the cabinet. So why do you think the smell is coming from your toilet?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2010 23:00
|
|
|
Thanks everyone, that's a lot of good information. I'll check more closely into the tub and shower. I don't think it is the p-trap, because we run all of the drains regularly and we never get any of the bubbling up or nearly empty flushes. For what it's worth, the smell is only really that bad in the morning. This is when the door has been closed for 8 hours, and the toilet hasn't been flushed for the same amount of time. I work from home, so I will just keep the door closed tomorrow during the day and see what kinds of results I get. The smell seems like it comes from the toilet but I never thought about it coming from the tub or shower. Also, the smell is a lot worse when it is warm than cold. This is logical to me but if that tips anyone off to anything else I'd love to hear it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2010 03:47
|
|
|
"[panic posted:"] When its warmer outside the sewer gasses expand. Which puts more pressure in the sewer pipes. Thus making the smell worse because its pushed out more by the back pressure. Is this is the basement? Waht type of drain pipes are installed in the house?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2010 04:36
|
|
|
What's the right/best way to finish a floor drain in a concrete basement floor? All the instructions I can find say 'pour concrete and set fitting', but I need a bit more detail. I know it needs a bit of a slope around the rim, but do I set the fitting first and pour right up to the grate? Or do I pour with extra drain pipe sticking out, cut that off and set the drain fitting? If I do that, do I have to chip out the concrete if the fitting is larger than the pipe?
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2010 12:54
|
|
|
Set the floordrain about 1/4 below regular slap hight.. Cover the metal grate with duct tape so it doesnt get dirty. Finish the concrete right up to the metal grate with the 1/4 slope towards the drain itself.When its dry it should look smooth and sloped towards the drain. Remove the duct tape off the grate to expose a nice shiney chrome grate. What type of floor drain are you using?
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2010 17:59
|
|
|
If this is a shower that will have tile on it, you need a membrane too. Not sure what the application is, though, so it may be unnecessary.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2010 18:19
|
|
|
I don't have a question, just want to rant about lovely workmanship by people I've never met but gotta fix their poo poo. When we had the gas heater installed a little while ago, we were informed that they had found a very small gas leak in a part of the system they hadn't touched. Well, I fixed it myself today, and upon disassembly, I found the REASON the fitting was leaking is whatever person put it in didn't screw a pipe nipple in far enough to an elbow. There were literally only 3 threads engaged. WTF man? How does someone install something like that? Hell... they didn't even have pipe unions where they belonged. It pisses me off that laws, insurance companies, and who know else insist this kind of crap has to be done by professionals, when the "professionals" can't even do it properly. (I'm sure the professional goon plumbers here are very skilled craftsman and don't apply to this.) (And yes, I used a calibrated leak tester to check everything after I was done.) The upside to this whole thing is I finally had an excuse to get a Rigid 3/4" pipe die, which I've been needing/wanting for quite some time. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2010 22:51
|
|
|
OK, now that I've insulted professional plumbers in my previous post, I have some questions for them. Sorry in advance for the wall of text. I also realize I could probably research most of this myself, however, being of a specialized nature I'm hoping to cut that time down. I have a workshop in my basement, in addition to my garage. Conveniently, in my basement, I have a workbench and window located very close to my natural gas pipe. Since I already had the system apart, I added a T fitting and a valve to put an outlet area above my workbench and near the window. For the time being, I put a nipple with an end cap on the outlet side of the valve. The reason that I installed that outlet is because I am insane, and plan to use natural gas to run a forge and crucible furnace, and need to experiment first. I also plan to make my own burner, which I've already done for propane and waste motor oil, so I do have "experience" being an insane pyromaniac, so there is no need to tell me that I should not do this, because it will happen anyway. So my specific questions are this: 1. Are there any types of flash back arrestors and/or check valves, similar to those found on torches, that I should be using? 2. I obviously need to get a hose to attach a burner to the supply. Is there any type of a quick connect fitting that is approved for a natural gas installation? 3. Eventually I need to look into running some pipe out to my garage from my house. How deep does that typically go, and is normal pipe used (galvanized or black steel) or is there something special required? There's a possibility I may not do this, however, as I may get the power company to run dedicated electric and nat gas services to my garage. And another question... I'm currently a welder, (well, an out of work welder.) I'm strongly considering trying to get into the Plumber's/Pipe fitter's Union as an apprentice. What should I know/do? I'm in the mid Atlantic if region has anything to do with it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2010 01:17
|
|
|
Oh, and one more question... For god sakes, what kind of pipe dope is actually rated for Oxygen? I plan to run some oxygen lines this summer, and every bottle I pick up and read says  "NOT FOR OXYGEN!!!"I understand on a chemical basis why most pipe dopes would not be good with oxygen, but I haven't figured out what is.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2010 04:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 22:57 |
|
|
dv6speed posted:
1)I imagine you should use some type of gas valve with a built in check so you don't blow up your house to the meter. 2)The only thing i know is braided supply's (Yellow supply's)but those aren't very quick. 3) I don't have my gas license so i dont know the exact number. But I am guessing minimum of 12 inches of cover. I don't think steel pipe is allowed underground because it has joints. They use yellow poly pipe for gas. 4) The pipe dope used for medgas that supposedly is oil free is made by a couple manufactures. I only know of supply houses that sell it. From what my boss says, its around $70 a tube. Why are you having threaded joints in an oxygen system to begin with?
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2010 05:29
|
|