Water Pressure - All The Highs And Lows

Each has its positives and its negatives. What can be done about it?

Well the first port of call is to always consult your local licensed plumber first. At Mayfair Plumbing and Gasfitting we have been helping our customers for many years to overcome these obstacles and below are some common examples of what we have experienced throughout our local state of South Australia in the city of churches, Adelaide.

Do You have High Water Pressure or Low Water Pressure?

In many of the older established suburbs of SA such as Fullarton, Unley, Norwood, Mitcham, Clapham, St Georges, Burnside and Kensington we often come across exceedingly high water pressure to homes.  When we use the word exceedingly we are talking in the range of 900 kpa through to 1400 kpa, enough pressure to blow a brand-new Bosch hot water service apart and cause damage to ceramic disc cartridges found in brand new Caroma tapware and toilets.  So, what can be done to rectify such a problem?  Installing items called PLV’s also known as Pressure Limiting Valves, these come in many different sizes starting off at 15mm and extending right into the 100mm size and onwards for larger commercial scale set ups.  These items can come factory pre-set to a specific pressure ie: 500 kpa and can also come fully adjustable down to a low-pressure range of 350 kpa.  It is very common to now found a sticker on front of a new product stating that high pressure provided to a new appliance or fixture will immediately VOID any warranties so therefore it is important to always have your plumbing performed by a licensed plumber.

Low Water Pressure

Low pressure, is a dirty word when used in relation to plumbing, no one wants low pressure (very rarely anyway). Commonly found when there is an obstruction inside of the pipe work or a pressure limiting valve PLV has failed.

When the low pressure is only being identified at the hot pipes this can be related to the type of hot water system installed in the home ie: low pressure gravity fed system mounted inside of the roof space. What can be done?

Well if the problem is related to an obstruction then it is a matter of working out where the obstruction is located and trying to remove this, not always as easy as it sounds. But if the problem relates to the low-pressure gravity fed hot water service then there really isn’t a great deal that can be done, except for upgrading the hot water service to a mains pressure unit either storage or continuous flow instant gas hot water.

Mayfair Plumbing are experts when it comes to addressing water pressure related problems around your home or office. We are continually up skilling our staff in the latest products on the market to ensure when they come to your place we can offer the correct advice to help with your situation.

If you would like some further assistance with water pressure, please get in touch via the contact us page on our web site.

Also see our article on water pipe changes due to seasonality.