ATOT Plumbers Check in! (Water pressure issue)

[jmolayal]

Hey gang,

Wife and I are buying a home in the Orlando Florida area, and have some concerns about the water pressure. The city came and checked and advised that they are providing 32 psi to the house. We think this seems low, but they are adamant that it's within normal range.

I've been exploring options, and am hoping to get some advice on how to ensure good water pressure inside the house. The home is 3600 sq ft, 5 Bedroom 3.5 bath.

We are definitely installing a new heat pump electric water heater and a new water softener. I'm pretty sure the softener is going to further complicate our issues.

Would a pressure tank be a good idea? Do we need a pump for this?

Thanks gang!

- Jaison

 

[BoomerD]

32 PSI? Fuck that...I bitch about only getting 50-55 PSI to the house.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That sounds very low. We get over 100PSI in our area. I never measured it for myself though, but that's what I've been told. We are above average though. I think the norm is like 90psi or so.

Then again this is Florida we're talking about, where building/infrastructure standards arn't exactly great. They don't even have water drainage systems there, nor basements. At least from what I've heard.

 

[jmolayal]

Yeah we noticed the low pressure during our inspection, and the inspector noted it as well. We had the current owners call the city first, to see if that was the issue, and the measured the pressure at 32 psi. The homeowners uninstalled their 10 year old softener and that fixed the issue inside to be reasonable, but we really feel like we need a softener.

My google-foo has indicated that the softener can result in a 5 - 10 psi loss on it's own. 20 psi or so inside doesn't sound like any fun for us.

 

[woodie1]

Water pressure varies a lot by location. Out in the sticks where I live we have city water @ 42psi. It does take longer to fill the washer on laundry day. Pretty sure the town itself has higher pressure. I think some towns throttle the pressure down in an effort to conserve water - like when watering the yard or washing the car.

 

[iGas]

32 PSI pressure is a bit low for residential service usage and many shower will not operate at this pressure, specially if you have bring that water up several floors, or have to run it through a water softener.

Perhaps a booster pump is needed in this situation.