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Old 05-17-2019, 06:42 PM   #1
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Question Residential Pressure through Quality Plumbing

While on hookups, I want to take advantage of the full residential water pressure coming from the tap. I also want quality plumbing to last for decades. Off hookups, I'll need to put a regulator on the consumption, so do I use a smaller diaphram pump or put a regulator fitting after the accumulator?


First off, where does residential & RV park water pressure top out at so I can build for the highest tap pressure I'll encounter + 50 PSI? 150 PSI? 190 PSI? Can copper piping withstand decades of vibrations in a traveling skoolie? What is the typical residential plumbing size? 3/4 inch, 1 inch, other? What is the best plumbing money can buy?

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Old 05-17-2019, 06:51 PM   #2
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I have stayed at parks with water pressure ranging from 20psi to over 90psi.

I would recommend that you have a pressure regulator on your city water connection.

Your house water pump is regulated around 35psi.
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Old 05-17-2019, 08:32 PM   #3
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Dont need time and expense of copper.

Go with 1/2 pex as easily available and cheap, fittings too. Could go smaller but less available, and same price.

RV pumps often are built in check valves, so just install RV
city water connector anywhere convenient .

No reason a regulator needed except caution.
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Old 05-18-2019, 01:16 AM   #4
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How about when I am parked with family, hooked up to the garden hose? I want to be able to enjoy max flow rate while on shore water.



I ask about copper pipe because it wont degrade over the decades, even with millions of thermal cycles.
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Old 05-18-2019, 01:23 AM   #5
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City water pressures can vary a lot. Here it's about 60 PSI in the storage yard where I keep my bus, some places are well less than 50 PSI, and I've heard horror stories about some RV parks with almost 90 PSI. For this reason I have a Watts 263A adjustable pressure regulator to ensure my bus water pressure is never more than 45 PSI, whether I'm using city water or drawing water from my tanks through the SHURflo 2088 pumps. I've adjusted the pumps to 45 PSI output, and that's plenty for me in the bus. I'm using 1/2" PEX throughout, and 45 PSI gives a good flow. To monitor water pressure I have two 100 PSI gauges, one for incoming city pressure and one for bus pressure. So far, so good.

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Old 05-18-2019, 01:54 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debit.servus View Post
How about when I am parked with family, hooked up to the garden hose? I want to be able to enjoy max flow rate while on shore water.



I ask about copper pipe because it wont degrade over the decades, even with millions of thermal cycles.
I have a domestic water pump in my home ( we live in the country and have our own water system ) - it turns on when the pressure drops to 35 lbs and turns off when it reaches 50 lbs - it gives a measured 5 Imperial gallons per minute ( that works out to just over 5 1/2 US gal ) which happens to be ample to supply a vigorous shower
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Old 05-18-2019, 04:22 PM   #7
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The question becomes the maximum working water pressure household plumbing supports per building codes. If I come across 90 PSI I want 90 PSI in the shower. I might be using the wrong metric, is there a measurement that is the fluid equivalent of watts? Combining pressure / flow rate into one number or an equation?

Basically I want the maximum output of the tap I’m hooked upto coming into the shower, upto 150-200 PSI. Why settle for good when you can build amazing?
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Old 05-18-2019, 04:31 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by debit.servus View Post
The question becomes the maximum working water pressure household plumbing supports per building codes. If I come across 90 PSI I want 90 PSI in the shower. I might be using the wrong metric, is there a measurement that is the fluid equivalent of watts? Combining pressure / flow rate into one number or an equation?

Basically I want the maximum output of the tap I’m hooked upto coming into the shower, upto 150-200 PSI. Why settle for good when you can build amazing?
I doubt that residential plumbing is built to withstand that kind of pressure - there is almost always a pressure regulator on the incoming water line right after it comes through the wall - it's usually set at 50 lbs

https://www.popularmechanics.com/hom...a1053/4202333/
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Old 05-18-2019, 05:05 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debit.servus View Post
The question becomes the maximum working water pressure household plumbing supports per building codes. If I come across 90 PSI I want 90 PSI in the shower. I might be using the wrong metric, is there a measurement that is the fluid equivalent of watts? Combining pressure / flow rate into one number or an equation?

Basically I want the maximum output of the tap I’m hooked upto coming into the shower, upto 150-200 PSI. Why settle for good when you can build amazing?
You'll find at those pressure the seals were not meant to handle those kinds of pressures and may start leaking.
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Old 05-19-2019, 12:42 PM   #10
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So if I’m understanding this correctly, if a tap is 90 psi through half inch, and my bus plumbing is all 1” PEX, with a garden hose inlet. 90 psi from a half inch pipe would be freed into a 1 inch pipe, same flow rate but lower pressure because the water has a larger channel.

I laugh at these misers who have unlimited tap water, yet set their flow to a dribble because they believe water is scarce and it’s morally wrong to use more than the bare minimum to get the job done, spending two hours to scrub 12 dishes & beating themselves up over a half a gallon.

Scarcity does not create abundance!
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Old 05-19-2019, 01:17 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by debit.servus View Post
The question becomes the maximum working water pressure household plumbing supports per building codes. If I come across 90 PSI I want 90 PSI in the shower. I might be using the wrong metric, is there a measurement that is the fluid equivalent of watts? Combining pressure / flow rate into one number or an equation?

Basically I want the maximum output of the tap I’m hooked upto coming into the shower, upto 150-200 PSI. Why settle for good when you can build amazing?
I do commercial piping for a living and if you want those types of water pressures in your plumbing system then you need hard copper pipe and fittings or galvanized steel. they will handle the vibrations longer than most other material.
but you need to look at the manufacturer specifics for each shower valve,bath sink faucet,kitchen sink faucet? most list a max pressure of around 65 PSI so a pressure reducing valve will save you some trouble of replacing new faucets.
industrial kitchen style faucets usually can handle up to about 90 psi but only fit kitchen style equipment but a PRV is still required to protect the fixture.
YOU could just build with a booster pump and pressurized storage tank with a PRV so the pump doesnt short cycle and then you have plenty of water but need to look at your water heater pressure rating?
almost sounds like you want a full kitchen scrubbery in your bus?
just my thoughts and opinion?
might be a hill of beans and might be a mountain for you.
I have over come the plumbing mountain but have been through to many hills of beans and everything else that goes with plumbing along the way.
pipe welder by trade but get handed crap pipe every now and then
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Old 05-20-2019, 05:39 AM   #12
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might be a hill of beans and might be a mountain for you.
That's what I was thinking as well. Plenty of good advice here and I have similar - built-in pressure regulator, 1/2" pex, accumulator tank, etc. and I have residential like flow to all faucets. I can't imagine why more is necessary. An abundance does not necessitate use. It might be worth finding/testing a few operating setups and see how the flow looks to you before spending time/money fixing a problem that doesn't exist.
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Old 05-23-2019, 11:20 PM   #13
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Basically I want the maximum output of the tap I’m hooked upto coming into the shower, upto 150-200 PSI. Why settle for good when you can build amazing?
A 200 psi shower???

I love strong water pressure as much as anyone, but that seems a bit... excessive.
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Old 05-24-2019, 01:14 AM   #14
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A 200 psi shower???

I love strong water pressure as much as anyone, but that seems a bit... excessive.
Not to mention ... owch!!!
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Old 05-24-2019, 01:48 AM   #15
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Not to mention ... owch!!!
what he ^ said!!!!!! :O
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Old 05-24-2019, 09:04 AM   #16
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Not sure I'd want a shower that doubles as a Hotsy! Good if you're seriously into exfoliation, tho.
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Old 05-24-2019, 10:40 AM   #17
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So if I’m understanding this correctly, if a tap is 90 psi through half inch, and my bus plumbing is all 1” PEX, with a garden hose inlet. 90 psi from a half inch pipe would be freed into a 1 inch pipe, same flow rate but lower pressure because the water has a larger channel.
The ultimate pressure in your 1" pipe is controlled by the OUTLET size, not the pipe size. If your 1" pipe just ends without a shower head (most have flow-limiters built into them now-a-days) then your pressure will drop. If you have a shower head then it won't matter so much the size of your pipe, so long as it is wider than the limiter's hole.


Quote:
Originally Posted by debit.servus View Post
I laugh at these misers who have unlimited tap water, yet set their flow to a dribble because they believe water is scarce and it’s morally wrong to use more than the bare minimum to get the job done, spending two hours to scrub 12 dishes & beating themselves up over a half a gallon.

Scarcity does not create abundance!
I have long frizzy hair. It will NOT get wet unless the pressure from the shower is high. If I shower at a friend's house and their shower head is a wide-area disperser with thin little streams, the water just flows off the top layer of hair and down my back; then my friend complains that I take 45 minute showers. My Aussie Sheppard had three-layer fur. She could walk all day in the rain, but her inner layer stayed dry. My scalp (where the sweat comes from) stays dry in a low-pressure shower like that, unless I spend lots of time working the water in with my fingers. And rinsing the shampoo? Forget it. Another 10 minutes.

When I travel, I bring my Leatherman into hotel rooms, and often remove the shower head altogether. If I'm in the desert, I turn off the water while washing. But I'm in and out in under 7 minutes.


Also, I would hate to have a 120psi, let alone a 200psi stream of water catch me in the eye or ear. 50-60psi is plenty enough pain for me.
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Old 05-24-2019, 10:50 AM   #18
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100 lb pressure through a half inch pipe fed into a 45 gal drum, then into another half inch pipe comes out as 100 lb pressure at the other end - reducing the size of the outlet would increase the pressure as it flows through the restricted opening
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Old 05-29-2019, 08:30 PM   #19
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I ask about copper pipe because it wont degrade over the decades, even with millions of thermal cycles.
Copper is about the worst thing you could do if you are worried about degradation—you won’t know anything about the water coming in on a hookup. The ph might be high, or low—no way to know without teatingbit every time. Do you plan on installing anything to treat the water? What with the anti-freeze do to the copper if you winterize it. 1/2” pex is the way to go—that will be the most stable material from a water quality standpoint.

It will also save a ton of money, and time. It is so easy to work with, I really don’t understand why anyone would bother with copper at this point. Any time I have to repair or add on to my home plumbing, I rip out all the copper in the area and replace it with pex. It takes less than a quarter of the time it would in copper.

That's my $.02.
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Old 06-24-2019, 09:13 PM   #20
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...
I really don’t understand why anyone would bother with copper at this point.

...

Because some are concerned about chemical leaching from the plastic piping. Or they like the metal smell / taste of dissolved copper / iron oxides when first starting the faucet. Some want to use more traditonal materials like wood, glass, metal or cotton. I have a strong preference towards traditional materials myself.



People like my aunt susie avoid plastic packaging as much as possible, rightfully so after hearing the long term health effects of plastic leachate and chemicals used in the production of plastics became widely known. Most use a rule of thumb, the harder and more durable the plastic the less it will leach / degrade / shed microplastic to act as slow toxins on humans.



https://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2017/...hing-chemicals
Holy ****, I wonder if these chemical leach levels drop off because they're just used in the manufacture or they're part of the PEX and will stay with your plumbing for decades.



Yes I know you can get heavy metals through copper if you weld with the wrong solder, at least the trace amounts of copper oxides are non-toxic once the pipe is broken in.



There are no solutions, only trade offs. The flouride alone, that is criminally forced into municipal water is far worse for the body and mind than any leachate from PEX-style piping.
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