Water pressure and flow regulator question

wa8yxm wrote:
I have used several regulators. and will commeont on one more

Standard, 3/4" cylinder brass or plastic, male and female hose ends : JUNK
Reason: They restrict the flow, Oh the ones I've tried do limit the pressure, but they also limit the flow.

Hi-Flow, like the above but with either Wings (Camco) or a bright plastic Grip on the Female end... Same comments.

Valterry adjustable: I have not tested, others say nice things about it.

Sur-Flo Inline... This is identical to the ones installed on many motor homes only with a male hose adapter screwed on the outlet and no benzel.

Good when new, I give it a 9 out of 10.. But as it ages (This applies from here on out) 9.8.7.6.5... (The joke about Bo Derrek gettin older)

It appears it can be rebuilt but I've never found (or looked for) the kit.

Watts, Mine is 3/4 Inch, I do not recommend the SMALLEST one but anything larger shoudl work. New it gets a 10, as it ages.. Well same as Sur-Flo and also can be rebulit.

ZURIN, also a 3/4 inch (Was cheaper than a half inch) Same comment.

What is a 10?

I hook it up and set the pressure (Adjustable) to 50 PSI.

I turn on the outside shower for testing and observe the pressure gauge.. If it does not move, that's a 10.

If it drops to less than 10 PSI, that's a 1

Unit gets one point for every 5 PSI up to 10 points (50 PSI)

Nice information. Using the shower to watch for pressure drops is a great idea! Thanks for your analysis.

I have used several regulators. and will commeont on one more

Standard, 3/4" cylinder brass or plastic, male and female hose ends : JUNK
Reason: They restrict the flow, Oh the ones I've tried do limit the pressure, but they also limit the flow.

Hi-Flow, like the above but with either Wings (Camco) or a bright plastic Grip on the Female end... Same comments.

Valterry adjustable: I have not tested, others say nice things about it.

Sur-Flo Inline... This is identical to the ones installed on many motor homes only with a male hose adapter screwed on the outlet and no benzel.

Good when new, I give it a 9 out of 10.. But as it ages (This applies from here on out) 9.8.7.6.5... (The joke about Bo Derrek gettin older)

It appears it can be rebuilt but I've never found (or looked for) the kit.

Watts, Mine is 3/4 Inch, I do not recommend the SMALLEST one but anything larger shoudl work. New it gets a 10, as it ages.. Well same as Sur-Flo and also can be rebulit.

ZURIN, also a 3/4 inch (Was cheaper than a half inch) Same comment.

What is a 10?

I hook it up and set the pressure (Adjustable) to 50 PSI.

I turn on the outside shower for testing and observe the pressure gauge.. If it does not move, that's a 10.

If it drops to less than 10 PSI, that's a 1

Unit gets one point for every 5 PSI up to 10 points (50 PSI)

X2

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Get rid of that piece of junk and buy a WATTS adjustable regulator.
Problem solved.

"Nice! Does yours have the oil filled gauge? "

Thanks!

Yes it is oil filled.

I also bought 3 different length white water hoses with nice brass ends from them. They will never wear out and are flexible in cold weather.

I have a gauge that has a needle that will "stick" at the maximum pressure seen, can be interesting.
bumpy

Got my Watts regulator, gauge, and assorted brass fittings at Home Depot.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
This is a Watts that is top quality, I keep it set to 60psi with good flow!

Nice! Does yours have the oil filled gauge?

DutchmenSport wrote:
Unless your's is different, I've never heard of an RV toilet needing water pressure to flush it. You either push slightly on the peddle with your toe and it fills the bowl. Or you lift with your tow slightly and it fills the bowl. Once fill, you push the peddle down and it empties, usually just straight down into the holding tank.

Shower head also have restrictions on them preventing the full pressure to be felt. Before making any changes, remove the head off your shower and see how fast the water is running. You may be just fine getting a different shower head.

I don't know about your regulator, but before messing with it, how about adding water to your fresh water tank and try running water and taking a shower using the water from there. See how much your water pump is putting out. Your water pump will not exceed the pressure for your plumbing pipes. But outside city water can ... very easily. If the on-board pump performs better, you might consider just getting a new regulator rather than messing with the existing one and setting up for failure.

(I think I ready your post correct)... the "down stream" regulator is NOT in your camper plumbing is it?

FYI, I quit dealing with the question of water pressure and regulation. I simply fill my fresh water tank and use my on-board water pump. Been doing this for years. When the tank nears empty, I simply fill again and put the garden hose aside. Never have to worry about water pressure this way.

My regulator is one of those brass 90 degree adapters. I originally wanted a 90 adapter to hook to my camper to take some of the stress off the connection on the camper. The hose hangs straight down instead of sticking straight out and then bending down to the ground. The regulator was part of the piece I bought. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

The toilet flush was probably a bad example to use in my post. The toilet flushes ok with the regulator installed but is better without it. When I fill the fresh water tank, the pressure from the onboard pump is more than adequate to flush the toilet and provide a nice shower spray.

My question is intended more to whether or not there are unintended consequences to drilling out the plastic piece on the regulator. Having thought more about this...I'm thinking the size of the hole is about the size on the inside diameter of the piping inside my camper. Given that, maybe the hole in the plastic piece isn't affecting the water flow but maybe the regulator is not functioning properly when the supply water pressure gets down to the lower value of the regulator.

Sounds like I should buy something a little better like the gauge system mentioned in later replies.

I also use a Watts and have it set to 60 pounds.

I suggest that the first thing you should do is go to rvwaterfilterstore.com and get educated. Then buy a Watts regulator from him (with gage). And a filter setup if you're thinking about it. This guy is the H2O Guru for RVs.