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One of our showers has an intermittent leak, and I've figured out that it happens when the hot water heater is on. There's no expansion tank on the cold supply side for our hot water tank, so I'm guessing that the increased pressure while the heater is on is causing the leak.

I picked up a cheap water pressure gauge and measured the cold water pressure at a slop sink in the basement at 100 psi. Presumably that gets even higher when the water heater is on.

I had been thinking that an expansion tank would solve this problem, but now it seems like the water pressure is just too high in general. Do I need something else? Should I just repair / replace the shower faucet and leave the pressure alone?

EDIT: There's definitely no pressure-reducing valve inside the house where water service enters. Our water meter is outside near the street, under a small manhole cover. Might the PRV be in there as well? I couldn't find an obvious way to get into it, perhaps I need a crowbar or something? Municipal water service was installed at this property relatively recently; prior to that it was on well water.

EDIT 2: I've measured the cold line as high as 170 psi while the hot water heater is on. So clearly this is way too high.

My meter is by the street, under this cover (gloves for scale): enter image description here

Is it possible there's a PRV in there? I couldn't pry the lid off with a screwdriver. Do I need a special wrench for one of those fittings to get in there? Am I even supposed to open that thing?

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  • Your supply pressure is 100psi?
    – Steven
    Oct 15, 2012 at 19:21
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    Do you have a pressure reducing valve on the main water line (should be near the meter)?
    – Tester101
    Oct 15, 2012 at 19:24
  • @Steven: Yes, I measured a pressure of 100 psi at a slop sink. The supply pressure might be a little higher, I suppose.
    – Hank
    Oct 15, 2012 at 19:32
  • Unless your water heater has some physical device to prevent water flow back up the intake, which I've never seen as there's no danger from such a backflow condition, the pressure should be no higher than cold water feed.
    – Brian White
    Oct 15, 2012 at 20:03
  • @BrianWhite: I believe there is a check valve on our water supply line at the street. Doesn't the hot water heater increase the pressure in the cold supply line while it's heating? Our tank has a pressure relief valve that drips while the heater is on.
    – Hank
    Oct 15, 2012 at 20:58

2 Answers 2

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If you are on a municipal system and have pressure that high, you quite likely already have a pressure reducing valve (PRV) installed near your water meter. The International Plumbing Code requires PRVs on any water supply over 80psi. If this is the case, your PRV may just need adjustment. As they age, the spring regulating the device's operation can soften. Or it could be faulty and need repair or replacement. If you do not have one, you need to have one installed.

If you are on your own well with a pressure tank, the pressure switch controlling pump off operation needs adjustment. Other types of systems should have similar arrangements to control pressure.

How to adjust a PRV. There is typically a bell shaped housing with an adjustment screw and lock nut on top. Loosen the lock nut and turn the adjuster counter clockwise a small amount. The adjustment can be rather sensitive. Operate the faucets and toilets in your house to allow the system to equalize to the new pressure setting. Take a new pressure reading. How much it changed will give you an idea how much more adjustment is needed. Typical water system pressures should be somewhere in the 40-60 psi range. Shoot for the high 50's.

If the PRV controls supply to a fire sprinkler system (it normally shouldn't), you will need to check with a fire supression professional to determine if and how much you can reduce the supply pressure.

If you do need a new PRV, check with your municipality, they sometimes offer rebates to help mitigate some of the cost.

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  • No PRV in basement, might it be in a vault by the street? See question edit.
    – Hank
    Oct 16, 2012 at 4:30
  • Could you please provide the section in IPC that requires PRVs?
    – Tester101
    Oct 16, 2012 at 11:30
  • For reference. 2012 IPC 604.8 Water pressure reducing valve or regulator. Where water pressure within a building exceeds 80 psi (552 kPa) static, an approved water-pressure reducing valve conforming to ASSE 1003 or CSA B356 with strainer shall be installed to reduce the pressure in the building water distribution piping to not greater than 80 psi (552 kPa) static.
    – Tester101
    Oct 23, 2012 at 16:57
  • Had a PRV installed which is currently set to 50 psi. Still no hot water expansion tank but the pressure is now in a reasonable range and the dripping shower has stopped.
    – Hank
    Dec 7, 2012 at 3:50
  • Is this code universal? Our water pressure is 100psi (measured), there is no PRV, and the home inspection before we bought the place made no mention of needing one.
    – Michael
    Aug 17, 2014 at 20:46
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If your water pressure is always high, you need a PRV, as bcworkz suggests (+1).

If your water pressure increases significantly when the water heater is running, then you need an expansion tank. My suspicion is that newer meters being installed by municipalities (often for remote meter reading) include check valves. So people that never had this problem before might be experiencing it after their meters are replaced.

If you have high water pressure all the time, and it significantly increases when the water heater is running, then you need both (a PRV and expansion tank).

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  • Even if your water pressure is not always high, you need a PRV. Otherwise, one day your water company might do some system upgrades and the next day you have a massive leak in your house.
    – David Schwartz
    Aug 19, 2016 at 2:15
  • If your water pressure is not always high, then the water supply is not a problem and adding a PRV is unnecessary. The water company installing a check valve with a meter upgrade would not change the PSI. The locality would need to do something like install a newer and higher water tower to change your pressure.
    – BMitch ♦
    Aug 19, 2016 at 2:50
  • Or, as happened in my case, decide that your house is high enough and demand from houses near you high enough that now a pump is needed. Suddenly, my water pressure was consistently high. And, to add injury to injury, I now pay an extra "elevation fee" for the cost of lifting water to my house! PRVs are cheap insurance -- your water company takes no responsibility for high pressure up to something like 130 PSI, which will cause a leak in many old houses that don't have a PRV.
    – David Schwartz
    Aug 19, 2016 at 3:11

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