Water pressure

[Old-Biscuit]

Been using fresh water tank/on-board pump exclusively since 2008 for the reasons posted above.

Wake up to 2" standing water in living/kitchen area and water still flowing and you will reconsider CITY Water hookups with or w/o a pressure regulator.
2 weeks and $6000+ in repairs later I have never connected to CITY Water.........

[Persistent]

Originally Posted by Ricker991

Hello all

I have a water pressure question. We use an adjustable water pressure gauge set at about 40 psi give or take on city water

It holds at that psi until we turn on the water inside the trailer, then the pressure drops to about 25 psi

When we use the water pump and fresh water tank the psi seems almost double although I have no way to measure that

My question is to get more water pressure from city water without blowing a hose should I turn up the gauge and if so by how much?

Lots of good advice posted above. Also some strange descriptions.

Assuming you connect the regulator directly to the RV and connect a hose to the regulator from the pedestal...

An RV water pressure regulator limits the output pressure. It cannot increase the output pressure. If the input pressure drops, the output pressure will drop.

Adjusting the regulator because input pressure dropped is doomed to fail.

Possible causes.

Pedestal water faucet is not turned "ON" all the way.
Hose from pedestal to RV is kinked or restricted.
Hose is too small.
Fitting is restricted.

Water flow exceeds regulator flow capacity.
Regulator has something stuck inside it.
Regulator is defective.

Don't worry about bursting a cheap water hose. That is possible, but highly unlikely. Worry about bursting expensive to fix RV plumbing.

[sblumenau]

I went to the mfg to find out what they said to do. It was what I always thought. "Attention: Turn off all RV Water fixtures before adjusting water pressure to make it reach the desired pressure reading, turn clockwise to increase pressure and turn counterclockwise to reduce pressure"

[OMMM4747]

Set your regulator while in a "static" (no flow) condition since this will be the maximum pressure your pipes will experience. Having any pressure drop, 40 to 25psi in your case, is normal in a "flow condition".

Recommend you install the regulator downstream of any external filters since the filters will reduce pressure as water travels through its filter media. I set my regulator to 53psi (rig's max recommended is 60psi).

Like you, I turn on the water pump to account for the drop, but only for showering. The rest of the time, the slightly higher pressure is not necessary (hand washing, toilets, etc.).

I also carry an identical spare regulator in case my primary craps out and store them at home in the winter to keep them from freezing. Any residual water left in the regulator will damage it and render it useless if it freezes.

Good luck!

[1RetiredFire]

Here’s something important to keep in mind when setting up your water system that most people overlook: friction loss can increase when using longer hoses than necessary or the wrong quick connects and inline shutoff valves. You can lose about 10 psi for every 25 feet of 1/2” hose. Additionally, cheap quick connects or shutoff valves often restrict flow due to their narrow 1/4” diameter ball valves. Be sure to choose appliances with the largest available inside diameter, because no matter how wide your hose is, if you’re pushing water through a 1/4” fitting, you’ll only get a 1/4” flow rate.

Which is why when using an inline water filter some people will place their regulator after the filter.

[Donskiman]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Yeah, I've never been to a park that had pressure above 55. Years ago, I did go to one that said they had over a 100, be careful.

We’ve been to several parks with high water pressure. Every one of them mentioned the need for a regulator. They all sold regulators as well.

We hookup to city water all the time, use a regulator all the time and have never had any of the dire issues some suggest will happen. Makes me wonder how old are the RVs that have water lines burst?

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

I Agree ^^^
Water pressure reg should be set 'static' (no flow)

Set it for 50 psi 'static' if you have an adjustable reg

Personally, we use freshwater tank/on-board pump exclusively
*Consistent pressure/flow regardless of where we go
*Easy to turn water supply off when going to bed/leaving RV
*Should pump 'cycle' w/o ANY faucet/shower being use.....leak
*Refill freshwater tank as need ....drain/stow hose (no unnecessary hoses hookup laying out in the sun or in the dirt, getting whack by weed eaters/lawn crew, ----SAME for sewer hose)

OB is spot on for this. I do the very same thing. Its very rare occasion that I bother to hook up the regulator and hose, only when I expect to be in the same spot for several days. Then I keep going thru the hassle of shutting off the water every time I go anywhere. Its not worth it, just fill your tank and draw from your tank.

Charles

[baraff]

Originally Posted by Donskiman

We’ve been to several parks with high water pressure. Every one of them mentioned the need for a regulator. They all sold regulators as well.

We hookup to city water all the time, use a regulator all the time and have never had any of the dire issues some suggest will happen. Makes me wonder how old are the RVs that have water lines burst?

It's not a question of bursting lines, it's a case of a constant slow undetected leak in a wall or behind a cabinet that you don't discover until your floor or wall rots out. When using the pump you'll know you have a leak because it will cycle on and off, thereby enabling you to find and fix the problem before it ruins your RV.
I caught a leak on our rig, fortunately outside in the wet locker this way.

[NXR]

Interesting comments. I simply looked up the specs on our water pump, a SHURFLO 4008, which is very common.

The 4008 turns ON when the pressure DROPS to 40 PSI.

The 4008 turns OFF when the pressure reaches 55 PSI.

Pressures are +/- 2 PSI.

I figure that if the internal plumbing can safely handle the pressure from the pump it can safely handle city water at the same pressure.

So I set my regulator to 55 PSI to 60 PSI static.

Originally Posted by baraff

It's not a question of bursting lines, it's a case of a constant slow undetected leak in a wall or behind a cabinet that you don't discover until your floor or wall rots out. When using the pump you'll know you have a leak because it will cycle on and off, thereby enabling you to find and fix the problem before it ruins your RV.

Detecting slow leaks definitely is a good thing. I do it a bit differently. We shut the campground spigot off whenever we leave the campground, unconditionally. When I shut the spigot off I take a look at the pressure gauge.

We've been gone for eight hours and lost maybe 1 PSI.

But sometimes it drops more. Then I look closely and usually find it's a slight seep at the inline water filter or even the regulator.

Oddly, whenever we have a campground discussion on turning the spigot off almost every time there's someone who experienced an internal leak while they were gone or saw one or knew of someone it happened to.

It happened to some friends, once. Their cat batted the kitchen sink faucet on, the faucet filled the gray tank, the gray tank filled and overflowed the shower, and what a mess they had.

Ray