Pressure valve

ThisIsWeird

tony3619 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

tony3619 said:

Albermarle said:

Just for info , mains pressure of 2.5 ish is still pretty good. I think legally it only has to be minimum 1

Yea I have no issues with the pressure on the outlets, my biggest worry was I had a leak between my meter on the street  and the  internal stopcock that has dropped the pressure and I'm paying for an undetected leak buried in the concrete 

There's nothing to suggest that.

You can try placing your ear as close to the PRV as possible, perhaps even using a sick - eg a chopstick - as a stethoscope, and listen for a hiss. But for a leak to cause such a drop, we'd be talking major.

Are you on a meter? If so, such a leak would be obvious on there.

I was thinking a leak more underground between the curbside and my meter so it wouldnt be detected other that a lower pressure on the gauge or a high bill. I wouldn't even know where my meter is

Ah, sorry. Yes, that could indeed cause a pressure drop.
Do you have a meter? Check your water bills - are they a fixed annual amount, or are there differing amounts throughout the year? Any mention of a meter number?
Do you know where your 'street' stopcock is? 
That's info you should have in any case, so I suggest worth contacting your WB to ask.

tony3619

ThisIsWeird said:

tony3619 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

tony3619 said:

Albermarle said:

Just for info , mains pressure of 2.5 ish is still pretty good. I think legally it only has to be minimum 1

Yea I have no issues with the pressure on the outlets, my biggest worry was I had a leak between my meter on the street  and the  internal stopcock that has dropped the pressure and I'm paying for an undetected leak buried in the concrete 

There's nothing to suggest that.

You can try placing your ear as close to the PRV as possible, perhaps even using a sick - eg a chopstick - as a stethoscope, and listen for a hiss. But for a leak to cause such a drop, we'd be talking major.

Are you on a meter? If so, such a leak would be obvious on there.

I was thinking a leak more underground between the curbside and my meter so it wouldnt be detected other that a lower pressure on the gauge or a high bill. I wouldn't even know where my meter is

Ah, sorry. Yes, that could indeed cause a pressure drop.
Do you have a meter? Check your water bills - are they a fixed annual amount, or are there differing amounts throughout the year? Any mention of a meter number?
Do you know where your 'street' stopcock is? 
That's info you should have in any case, so I suggest worth contacting your WB to ask.

Yes I have a meter and I had a bill as recently as march which seemed normal. Not sure when I first noticed the pressure drop. Would the WB be able to tell me what pressure I should be receiving?

ThisIsWeird

tony3619 said:

Yes I have a meter and I had a bill as recently as march which seemed normal. Not sure when I first noticed the pressure drop. Would the WB be able to tell me what pressure I should be receiving?

No idea, but I doubt to any accuracy without them actually measuring it. By all means you can ask, and tell them you've noticed a drop in pressure - "any reason you know of?"

Since you have a meter, you'll be able to check for a leak very easily - turn all taps off., and take a couple of readings, with at least an hour betwixt them. For the pressure drop to be caused by a leak, it would have to be significant and easily measured - I suspect you'd see the meter turning.

A way to check for an internal leak - beyond your own s/c - would be to make sure every call on water is off, taps closed, cisterns refilled. Then note the pressure gauge reading, and turn off your s/c fully. If there's an internal leak, the pressure needle will fall. Once tested, reopen the s/c fully, and then back-close it a good half turn. This won't affect the flow at all, but will make the s/c less likely to seize in the open position.

tony3619

ThisIsWeird said:

tony3619 said:

Yes I have a meter and I had a bill as recently as march which seemed normal. Not sure when I first noticed the pressure drop. Would the WB be able to tell me what pressure I should be receiving?

No idea, but I doubt to any accuracy without them actually measuring it. By all means you can ask, and tell them you've noticed a drop in pressure - "any reason you know of?"

Since you have a meter, you'll be able to check for a leak very easily - turn all taps off., and take a couple of readings, with at least an hour betwixt them. For the pressure drop to be caused by a leak, it would have to be significant and easily measured - I suspect you'd see the meter turning.

A way to check for an internal leak - beyond your own s/c - would be to make sure every call on water is off, taps closed, cisterns refilled. Then note the pressure gauge reading, and turn off your s/c fully. If there's an internal leak, the pressure needle will fall. Once tested, reopen the s/c fully, and then back-close it a good half turn. This won't affect the flow at all, but will make the s/c less likely to seize in the open position.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into taking readings on my next day off. I'm assuming it's also possible that a leak could be on the other side of the meter outside the property boundaries and not detected by the meter?

I know these theories are problem nothing to do with the pressure drop but I'm just trying to get a basic understanding. 

ThisIsWeird

Yes, the leak could be anywhere between the main water pipe and the T to your property. In general, everything up to the meter/stopcock is the responsibility of the WB.

Could you ask your neighbours if they've experienced any drop-off?

tony3619

ThisIsWeird said:

Yes, the leak could be anywhere between the main water pipe and the T to your property. In general, everything up to the meter/stopcock is the responsibility of the WB.

Could you ask your neighbours if they've experienced any drop-off?

So if I'm assuming there is a leak on the pipe after the meter it's my responsibility for the fix but I can try and claim the extra water bill from my supplier? 

ThisIsWeird

tony3619 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Yes, the leak could be anywhere between the main water pipe and the T to your property. In general, everything up to the meter/stopcock is the responsibility of the WB.

Could you ask your neighbours if they've experienced any drop-off?

So if I'm assuming there is a leak on the pipe after the meter it's my responsibility for the fix but I can try and claim the extra water bill from my supplier? 

Anything from the street stopcock/water meter onwards is your responsibility - in every respect

But, I repeat - I think a leak is unlikely. Or, at least there's nothing to suggest there is one. And if you look at your water meter, you should have your answer in a few seconds.

tony3619

ThisIsWeird said:

tony3619 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Yes, the leak could be anywhere between the main water pipe and the T to your property. In general, everything up to the meter/stopcock is the responsibility of the WB.

Could you ask your neighbours if they've experienced any drop-off?

So if I'm assuming there is a leak on the pipe after the meter it's my responsibility for the fix but I can try and claim the extra water bill from my supplier? 

Anything from the street stopcock/water meter onwards is your responsibility - in every respect

But, I repeat - I think a leak is unlikely. Or, at least there's nothing to suggest there is one. And if you look at your water meter, you should have your answer in a few seconds.

Cheers for the help mate, I'll update once I look at my meter 👍