Is your water heater dripping from the relief valve pipe? Do your pipes makes whining sounds when used? Does your toilet intermittently run during the night and day? If you have one or all of these symptoms then you may be in need of a new Pressure Reduction Valve (PRV) on your home or business. This is a brass bell device on your main water supply line typically inside the home. In Asheville, a gravity feed watershed region, we see this issue quite often. The PRV will last for approximately 1-5 years based on the pressure it is exposed to and must be changed to prevent damaging your homes water system and fixtures. When the PRV fails or starts to fail it will expose your home intermittently to high water pressure most noticeably at night. You must never have more than 100 PSI on your homes water supply system. The reason our water pressure is so high in this region is due to a gravity feed pump assisted water system we use. During the days our pressures are typically between 125-200 PSI. This water is delivered via gravity and pumps down the mountain to us. When the business day comes to an end and schools, restaurants and office buildings start to close, the demand decreases and the water starts pump to back up the mountains to our water sheds. At this point the pumps switch off and gravity takes over. These water sheds are between 1000-2500 feet above our homes which can equate to extremely high pressures ranging near 200-400 PSI coming to the homes and business. In the late hours of the night and early morning is when your homeS PRV will be doing most of the work to stop these pressure from entering your homes plumbing system. That is why it is so important that PRVs be maintained and inspected by a licensed plumber annually. We service and replace over 200 PRVS per year in Asheville. Call us today for a free water pressure test and PRV inspection. 828-274-4858.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:52:36 +0000