Water Pressure Gauge

[gdbontly]

I found this little gadget while engaging in one of my favorite pastimes; perusing through a hardware store. Cost was around $10.



Of course, I always use a pressure regulator, but I was curious to know what the water pressure was right out of the spigot, and to know how accurate the gauge was on the pressure regulator. At the Kirtland FamCamp where we're staying, the raw pressure is 70 psi. The regulator reduces that down to somewhere between 35 - 40 psi (not sure which gauge is more accurate, but they're relatively close).

[rockintom]

Glenn,

I do the same thing....gauge hooked up before the regulator and 2 gauges behind the regulator.....one regulated water pressure in front of water softener and one behind. Anal....who's anal? I can't believe I see a pic of you having a regular RV water regualtor....shame on you.....bust out the dust of your wallet and get a household regulator like a Watts. Very little water restriction verse the RV style. I don't even own a emergency RV regulator, anymore. So far in our 6 year journey, the highest pressure (with a huge volume also) was in the Sutherlin, OR at the golf course RV park.......105 psi. We just were doing an overnight and not hooking up water or sewer.......the camp host said watch the water pressure it's high. I hooked up a dead head gauge and then hooked up a water hose to it just to see how far it would spray.....I felt like a fireman holding the hose....Holy mackerel! This thing shot a stream out of my 5/8" hose that went way across the street!!!!!

Please remember.....my experience is those little RV regulator won't handle anything over about 80 psi.....put a guage on the regulated side and watch it for about 5 minutes.....the pressure with rise and rise and rise almost to the pressure pre regulated. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! rockin'

[RickO]

Same here. I have a Watts regulator mounted to my water softener and have a gauge mounted on each side of the Watts so I can see pressure in and out of it.

I'm not anal about it either

Rick

[gdbontly]

Like this one?

Watts Pressure valve 3/4 In. - N55BU M1 at The Home Depot

[gdbontly]

Rick and/or Tom--can you post a picture or two of how you set yours up?

[rockintom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdbontly Rick and/or Tom--can you post a picture or two of how you set yours up?

Ask and you shall recieve!!! As you can see the old regulator is a little dirty and needs a touch up on the paint. I noticed I don't have the faucet side gauge on this one.....this is my third set up......2 were stolen out of nice rv parks. Then I started painting the thing with flat black so it doesn't look so shiney and expensive. Right now I don't have it hooked up cause this winter park is very consistant at 55-58 PSI. I put my 90* and 45* on the ends just to let you see them. The 45* in this pic is on the faucet side. The other pic is my other gauge showing what's going into the rig. Easy to see at-a-glance out of the rig window in the slide. rockin'

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdbontly Rick and/or Tom--can you post a picture or two of how you set yours up?

I'll try to snap a couple of pics tomorrow and post them. I'm currently using mine so it'll show the whole set up.

Rick

[Arch Hoagland]

Stayed at a place in Texas that had warning signs of high water pressure. My gauge said it was 110 pounds. I've got a built in regulator so I was OK.

They sold regulators at the office for $20. Makes me wonder.

[Bruce and Jenna]

I use a Watts regulator too.

Works well, but the gauges don't last long.

The first one failed after one year. Vendor said "Don't let it freeze." Too bad he didn't say that before hand. Second gauge failed without apparent cause. Maybe I shouldn't get it wet?

The regulator still works. But I'll be in trouble when I take it apart to clean it and don't have a gauge to reset it.

[rockintom]

Bruce....you are so correct.....don't let the gauges freeze. Especially a hard freeeze. I've been bad and left my gauges out from time to time (not my fault....it's the OP!).......If it's not too bad....I've taken them apart and "finessed" the internal bulb and made the gauge work again.
The first sign that the gauge has been frozen is when there is no pressure on the system and it reads 30-40 PSI!!!
Otherwise, it's over to Lowe's or HD to get another one to be wrecked again. If your smart enought to take them out of the cold.......the next thing that goes is the clear plastic cover....it get's cloudy with time from the elements......mainly the UV. rockin'

[Workshop]

Having just got back from a short trip to Ft Clinch SP in North Fla...I've decided it's not worth not running a pressure regulator on the unit of some sort.

When we checked in, the Ranger was asking everyone to disconnect/remove their water hoses and allow the fauset to drip overnight because of the freeze. Yes the freeze...can't believe we were looking at low 20's overnight during the stay...the highs were not much better in the hi 40 to highest of 51 during the three days and windy. Normally 60's this time of year.

After checking the water tank....we connected the hose and filled the tank. The hose was connected until after the meal cleanup and showers...when it was disconnected and stowed...it was 33 outside and when I was puttiing the hose in the basement I noticed that the top of a storage container was slightly damp. First thought it was from some left over in the hose that didn't drain completely...but further looking it seemed to also be damp further up on the basement wall. I wiped it up and decided to look at it in the morning.

The next morning it was dry and since we were 'not connected' untill the last day, it remained so. On the last morning I connected the hose to do some chores and fill the Black tank further. When breaking down to come home I noticed the moisture on top of the container again. With daylight...I noticed that the wire bundle and a section of PEX above the container was damp. Could not idenitify the source, being in an area I couldn't reach...but appeared to be a minor small weep from a tee fitting in the water line that might have been the source.

This is the first time I haven't used a regulator of some sort. Would guess that the pressure at the hose bib was higher than expecting. I first started out using an inline regulator and filter before I built the filter box...I have kept the small inlines as spares and because I can't get rid of things...but didn't use anything on this trip as I didn't want to install and disconnect everyday because of the freezes. Easier to just use the tank. Luckily the weep happened where it was noticed and not someplace else.

After Rockin's comments about his experience with the small inline regulators...I decided to check mine out by leaving connected to a bib at the RV cover and checking the psi readings the last several days. With a 55-65 psi input pressure, depending on what the pump is doing, they have stayed below 45 psi. I will be using one of them if I'm faced with this situation again and not wanting to use the filter box. I feel they will give adquate protection at reasonable input pressure but might not when your facing 95 psi.

workhorse

[rockintom]

Thanks for the update work.......time for you to build a house around your rig to protect it from the elements!!!! Just kiddin'

Regarding the pex connections.......the pex piping is suppose to handle pressures up to 125 lbs. However, on my old rig ('05) the pex pipe held fine at higher pressures, but where the connectors met the tubing with the old clamps......it would start seeping water at those joints at about 70 psi.....and most connection would seep at about 75.... bring the pressure down and the drip goes away. Obviously that's too high pressure to run anyway.

On the new rig the piping has nicer and more robust connections that are machine crimped rather than clamped like the old pex at the joints. I haven't push my limits.......but I know it will hold 80 psi without leaks.....not that I plan to use that pressure other than a quick test......if your running pressures in that neighborhood....you're 'cruisen for a bruisin' for sure. It serves no useful purpose!!! rockin'

[KTM Guy]

I couldn't resist posting another shot of my pressure regulator. Notice the cable swaged around the brass body. I lock it to the trailer frame along with the cable from the 50-amp power cable and then throw a ragged towel over it.

[ernieh]

It's absolutely amazing what kind of things can be dreamed up when you are bored.

What about just using the gauge to check the pressure before you connect? That's what I have done for over 30 years of RVing. Never had a problem and I'm still on my first gauge.

BTW: A couple of drops of mineral oil in your gauges and regulators after you disconnect, will really extend the life of said items.