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Check out the evolution of my saga with my water pressure and my water heater here:

Water Pressure Regulator not regulating after rebuild

Here: High water pressure when gauge is not observed

And here: Temperature Pressure Release (TPR) Valve Leaking

While working on the 2nd issue above, I set up a 2 way video call w/myself so I could monitor water pressure guage remotely enter image description here

I confirmed that flushing the Master Bathroom toilet spikes the water pressure up to about 110psi, but immediately after it drops back down to the 60psi where I set it.

Is this a concern? Will it cause damage to the water system associated with high water pressure?

Do I need to fix it, and if so, how?

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    I think you are obsessed with the water pressure. Do you have and actual problem?
    – RMDman
    Mar 7 at 13:35
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    @RMDman appreciate your comment. I'm deffinitely obsessed with my water pressure because I don't want to spend thousands of dollars repairing water damage due to a burst pipe or other pressure related issue. And whether or not this is an actual problem is literally the question I'm asking in my post.
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 7 at 13:55
  • 110PSI should not cause any failures. Most pipes and components are rated for many times that. If you have poorly installed compression or sharkbite fittings, they may fail or just dribble a little from 110psi, but you could regard that as a useful warning of the poor installation and go fix them.
    – jay613
    Mar 7 at 16:59
  • @SDSHuge2.0 Where did you read that it should be 60psi and no more?
    – user253751
    Mar 14 at 2:10
  • @jay613 thanks, appreciate your comment. Every recommendation I've ever heard is to have a functional PRV set between 40-80psi, regularly checking it, installing expansion tank in closed system to prevent excess pressure during heating... 110psi is our city water pressure level. If it doesn't pose a risk to the water system, then why is there so much attention on PRVs? Why is anyone even bothering with them and other precautions?
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 14 at 16:31

3 Answers 3

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It's water hammer. Add a water hammer arrestor near the toilet valve.

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  • Hi @Ecnerwal, thank you very much for your Answer. Sorry for the concern, but turns out this was a false alarm. I just explained it in my own Answer the the question. But I'll deffinitely try a water hammer arrestor as you suggest if I ever do actually encounter water hammer. Thanks!
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 7 at 14:14
  • Maybe not entirely false? Maybe you have multiple things causing pressure increase to your closed, static system of pipes. Water hammer is one. Heat, even sunshine, could be another. It's not important unless it rises WAY over 110psi. As soon as any faucet or valve is open it should drop back to your regulator setting. The pipes themselves can handle 110. Maybe you are, as suggested in another comment, paying too much attention to a non-actual problem?
    – jay613
    Mar 14 at 16:57
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You are looking for a problem that doesn't exist. In the real world home water pressure fluctuates.

If you think the gauge is incorrect, change the gauge.

Don't trust the pressure regulator? Buy a new one.

I'm deffinitely obsessed with my water pressure because I don't want to spend thousands of dollars repairing water damage due to a burst pipe or other pressure related issue...

Most all fixtures on the market are tested at much higher pressures than they would be subject to in the real world. ( I know because my wife spent 30 years working in water filter and irrigation manufacturing. Including home systems) Just stay away from the cheep stuff you can buy online.

The fact is your plumbing is not substantially different than your neighbors. If there isn't a history of plumbing issues in the neighborhood related to the water pressure, or for that matter the plumbing age or type, then relax. You are not any more likely to have an issue than most of the rest of us.

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  • thanks for answering this. I saw pressure spiking, and wanted to know the cause. Every recommendation I've ever heard is to have a functional PRV set between 40-80psi, regularly checking it, installing expansion tank in closed system to prevent excess pressure during heating... 110psi is our city water pressure level. If it doesn't pose a risk to the water system, then why is there so much attention on PRVs? Why is anyone even bothering with them and other precautions?
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 14 at 16:35
  • There are dozens of questions on this site every day. Hundreds over the course of a month. You are the only one that is obsessed with the water pressure "spiking".
    – RMDman
    Mar 14 at 18:48
  • See your post below "This was a false alarm"
    – RMDman
    Mar 14 at 18:57
  • thanks for your comment
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 14 at 23:05
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This was a false alarm.

After flushing the Master Bedroom toilet, the pressure hand on my gauge does kick back up to about 65psi, but it's the force of the kick that throws the red hand up to around 110psi which is why I thought the pressure was spiking up to 110psi.

Despite this, something is still intermittently causing the pressure in my system to rise and hold at 80-ish psi, and sometimes 100-ish psi. Not all the time, though. For example, the past hour it's held steady at the 60psi that I set the regulator, but then every so often, some combination of events causes it to rise and hold. Not the water heater that I can tell because I can hear that it's not in it's heating mode.

Not sure what it is. Will keep monitoring and report back when I'm able to reproduce it consistently.

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  • If still using the rebuilt pressure regulator, that would what I would check first. A spring might be good but a bit weak, something that should measure 0.5 inch is really 0.4995 inch. Stuff like this could let the regulator not work perfectly as it should.
    – crip659
    Mar 7 at 14:25
  • @crip659 Thank. It's a long story, but I'm actually using a used eBay PR. Remember the original issue that started this saga was my bad pressure regulator core (with the chips in the bore) that continued to fail even after I rebuilt it with brand new parts? Well, since I only needed the core, and the cores should only rarely go bad, I decided to just one off eBay cheap, and rebuild it with fresh parts when the guts go bad. I know that's probably not advised, but I'll monitor it regularly, and I have the brand new rebuild kit vacuum sealed for for freshness, and ready to go if it fails.
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 7 at 14:52
  • @crip659 from my observations, I don't think the eBay regulator is bad, because it holds steady for a long time (I just edited my Answer with these details since you didn't have that info when you added your comment). Only sometimes do I see it going up and hold high, although, I haven't been able to track down the conditions that lead to this scenario. Will need observe more before I write another Question
    – SDSHuge2.0
    Mar 7 at 14:57
  • What kind of "regulator" are you using? There are Pressure Reducing valves that will limit the pressure incoming from the utility, but will not relieve pressure that forms within your system. And there are Pressure Relief Valves that will discharge water if pressure goes over a limit. Perhaps you have a Reducing valve, and something (heat?) causing pressure to increase within your system. That increase may only be when static, IE your closed system of pipes with all fixtures closed but as soon as any water fixture is turned on it immediately reduces to the regulator setting. More info?
    – jay613
    Mar 14 at 16:52

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