Water Pressure, too much, too little?

[CaravanMan]

Howdy,


We have a 2014 Cougar High Country 321 that we recently purchased and are currently living in as we move towards building our house in Washington. We are staying on some land that has hookups, and I'm working on getting our water situation sorted out. Looking in the manual for this trailer, I find no reference to what the max water pressure recommended is. At first we were using a pressure limiter that according to the Watts gauge I bought today holds the pressure at 50 psi. The water pressure for doing anything was pretty bad. I removed the limiter and the pressure in the trailer was good enough, and now measuring it tonight it was 60 psi. There are not many demands on this system so I would think the pressure may not vary too much? I have also been reading about the difference between regulating flow and regulating pressure, which it seems the cheaper devices restrict pressure but also decrease flow too much, and device starting at about $70 will regulate the pressure but allow for better flow so you can still have decent enough water flow for showers, etc. Some have also talked about a 1/2" vs 5/8" hose. Bottom line for this moment, is 60 psi too high for my rig?
Thanks,


Peter.

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard! Fair question without a good answer. If you have PEX plumbing then the pipes won't be an issue. It's all of the cheap joints, elbows, RV faucets, etc, that are the risk points. 60 psi might work just fine but...

I keep our adjustable regulator set at 45-50psi. Most preset regulators are at ~45 psi.

[notanlines]

Peter, throw that POT away that you have and purchase one similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/Measureman-Ad...a-829884027079
And keep the pressure between 45 and 55 pounds.

[flybouy]

Both recommendations above are spot on. Don’t trust ANY water source when it involve pressures. I'll bet the plumber on your house construction will be installing a 3/4" regulator on the main water line, if not he should be fired. Not asked but I feel the same about a water filter. Even with "public utility" water suppliers the requirements for water filtration might suprise you.

Personally I use 5/8" id water hose. The increase in size effects volume not pressure but I've found them to be less prone to kinking. While that may be just the difference in brands that I use but it's become my preference.

[dutchmensport]

I never hook up to "city water" and use water that way. I always fill my fresh water tank. Remove the garden hose, and then pump water from my fresh water tank for use in the camper. Why? for the very reason you have just indicated .... unknown water pressure. Your on-board water pump is designed to not exceed a PSI that is too high and will never damage the pipes or joints.

Leaving the garden hose attached and under pressure is a risk I don't want to take. RV's are fragile enough and there have been too many horror stories about water pipes inside RV's failing under pressure. If attached to a garden hose, you could have a leak and never know it. Water could be running causing damage.

If using your on board water pump, ... first no over-pressure. Second, every time water runs somewhere, you can hear the pump run. It takes only about 3 ounces of water for the water pump to cycle on and off. That's not much water at all. If you hear the water pump cycle on and off and you KNOW all the faucets are off .... you know immediately water is running somewhere! And you can kill the water pump immediately. 3 ounces of water on the floor isn't going to cause your camper to rot out. 300 gallons may!

I never leave the garden hose attached. The sound of the water pump doesn't bother us at all. It actually aids in keeping track of water usage. When using the water pump, because of the size of the pipes and the restrictors at each faucet, my faucets run about 1 gallon of water a minute. It's easy to keep track (mentally), how much water is being used.

Remember .... that water goes into a holding tank. That tank has a limited size also.

[lunge motorsport]

Pressure vs volume is often misunderstood. Having worked in all phases of the plumbing industry for over 4 decades, I have gained a lot of experience-based knowledge in design and troubleshooting. While RV plumbing systems have similarities to a residential sanitary waste system, they would not be accepted in standard home construction in certain areas of the country. The same goes for water distribution.
I would find 45 psi acceptable in my RV and would ensure that my pressure would not exceed that. Volume to the regulator may or may not be influenced by the supply side hose sizing, depending on where the regulator is placed. My coach has 1/2” PEX cts throughout so that will effect flow at low pressure. Here is a comment that I find interesting:

“ I'll bet the plumber on your house construction will be installing a 3/4" regulator on the main water line, if not he should be fired.”

What? Why would you fire a plumber for that? If the muni water supply is delivered at below 80 psi, there is no requirement for a regulator per the UPC. What if the pipe size requirement is for 1” or greater? I work in many different locations with differing purveyors supplying water of different quality and pressures. I measure pressure prior to making any recommendations regarding that issue.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

Welcome aboard! Fair question without a good answer. If you have PEX plumbing then the pipes won't be an issue. It's all of the cheap joints, elbows, RV faucets, etc, that are the risk points. 60 psi might work just fine but...

I keep our adjustable regulator set at 45-50psi. Most preset regulators are at 45 psi.

Originally Posted by notanlines

Peter, throw that POT away that you have and purchase one similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/Measureman-Ad...a-829884027079
And keep the pressure between 45 and 55 pounds.

Both of these responses are spot on. Those little Camco ones don't really directly regulate pressure they regulate flow and if pressure is already low they make it worse. I have one like Jim posted and it does a great job. I keep one of those Camco ones as backup just in case something happens to the good one.

[travelin texans]

The "regulator" Jim pictured is the one you want!
It will "regulate" the to the set pressure, mine came preset at 50-55 psi, anything less it will have no effect. Meaning if you only have 40 psi at the faucet it will do nothing to increase the pressure.
The "restrictor" will restrict the flow, regardless of pressures, in order to reduce the pressure & are prone to failure further restricting the flow.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

The "regulator" Jim pictured is the one you want!
It will "regulate" the to the set pressure, mine came preset at 50-55 psi, anything less it will have no effect. Meaning if you only have 40 psi at the faucet it will do nothing to increase the pressure.
The "restrictor" will restrict the flow, regardless of pressures, in order to reduce the pressure & are prone to failure further restricting the flow.

Good point. I find that at 45-50psi that I have plenty of water in the shower (inside and outside showers) and bathroom sink. The kitchen faucet has restricted flow, but that's the faucet and I could change that if I wanted to. But it's not the fault of the regulator...it's the faucet itself.

[CaravanMan]

Thanks for all the great input. Here is some information I found very helpful that someone reviewing the Renator Regulator that is very similar to the one pictured above. I am considering the Watts model along with the other options suggested here in this thread.


"This unit does well at controling pressure. It has better flow that the small fixed regulators but its flow rate is significantly less than the similar Watts units. I tested 2 small fixed pressure regulators. One had a discharge orafice 5/16" diameter and it regulated 45 psi and had a flow of 6.17 gpm, the other had a 7/64" orafice diameter and regulated 50 psi with a flow rate of 5.79 gpm. A similar (but sigificantly more expensive) Watts regulator had a flow rate of 7.56 gpm. The Renator had a flow rate of 6.51 gpm. In an RV the flow is critical. The watts has the best flow (by 16%) but cost almost twice as much. The Rentor has slightly more flow (5.5%) than the 7/64" fixed and 12.4% greater flow than the 5/16" fixed regulator."


I think this may be the kind of Watts regulator he is referencing, priced at $100 here, but readily available for about $70 new, and often on ebay for $40: https://www.homeplumbing.com/product...60024_eb4ff5f4