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PLUMBING ANSWERS - SPECIFIC TO FIXTURE => Fittings | Valves | Specialty Fittings and Valves => Topic started by: DUNBAR PLUMBING on April 28, 2012, 11:12:17 AM

Title: Water Hammer - High Water Pressure - Bramble Ave Highland Heights Kentucky
Post by: DUNBAR PLUMBING on April 28, 2012, 11:12:17 AM
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A service call regarding water hammer isolated to a toilet on the first floor of the structure.


Inspected the toilet, age of fill valve was original to the toilet (1993) and replacement of the fill valve along with the toilet supply line was necessary. Along with solving the issue of the old fill valve the pressure was gauged at 80+ pounds. The time of the day (around 4-5pm) indicated that the majority of property owners were arriving home at that time, doing laundry, cooking meals, doing dishes and a vast array of uses involving water demand.

Water pressure if unregulated will fluctuate throughout the day determined by peak/non-peak demand. The very best time to check your water pressure for its maximum or highest point is in the middle of the night, around 1-3am in the morning.

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This is the best time to test as the majority of people are sleeping across the nation, and more volume is present in the water piping system in the ground. More volume equals a higher static line pressure in a standstill position.

Water Pressure cannot be measured solely by water flow emitting from your spout. It takes a pressure gauge that measure the water pressure. Here is a pictures of a Water Pressure Gauge:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/DUNBAR/276h300.jpg)
All plumbing components (faucets-fixtures-valves) are engineered with the pressure of 60 pounds as the governing rule for operation without premature wear or tear.

Operating your plumbing with an elevated/raised pressure has the same results as the following:
Overinflating your tires
Ignoring high blood pressure
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With high water pressure, there are no winners. It is the slow breakdown of O-rings, gaskets, seals, seat washers and many other items in your plumbing system that is subjected to the same dynamic as overuse.

On the front page of our website is a link (http://dunbarplumbing.multiply.com/journal/item/17/High_Water_Pressure) that offers a better representation of high water pressure and its cause and effect.