What Is My Water Pressure Problem?

[mnbcm]

Do wall mounted water heaters restrict how much water pressure you get? I see there is a PSI of 3.6. Not sure if that's water pressure or not.

Right now I am on city water pressure and I can barely take a shower because the pressure is so low. That problem will hopefully be fixed once I get my water pump fixed, but when my pump is working, I still don't get much pressure. Do I need a different water heater?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Do wall mounted water heaters restrict how much water pressure you get?

They need a minimum water pressure to operate.. Typically water is forced through heating elements, and water doesn't do that by itself just for the heck of it. Similarly it's not easy to convince water to stream upwards. I blame Newton.

Right now I am on city water pressure and I can barely take a shower because the pressure is so low. That problem will hopefully be fixed once I get my water pump fixed, but when my pump is working, I still don't get much pressure. Do I need a different water heater?

What's the pressure like when you just open a tap on the same floor where the water heater is? Do you get real good pressure then? If so then you need to get all the gunk out of the water heater, there's usually some filters innit.

If you don't have good pressure also from a regular cold water tap then you're looking at installing a water tank and proper pump.

Believe me, proper water pressure is one of the key success factors to comfortable living in this country.

Edited May 7, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Crossy]

Not directly, but they DO restrict the flow rate in order to actually get heat into the water, particularly if it's a baby 3.5kW heater.

If the 3.6 is PSI it will be the minimum pressure to trigger the heater, if it's 3.6 Bar (about 50psi) then it's the maximum pressure allowed for the heater.

How good is your cold pressure? If it's OK then it could be the heater is bunged up. Pop the inlet pipe off, there's a mesh filter to stop the crispy bits entering the heater, bet it's clogged

You may get better responses in the DIY forum, PM one of the forum moderators if you want to move the thread (not me, I'm not a Mod for CM).

[tigerbeer]

dont' they have those small heater machines that have a built in water pump? Heard someone mentioning it but was not able to find anything like it.

[Daffy D]

Water heaters do have a pressure restriction. If the water rushes through to fast it will not get heated, so the water flow will depend on the rating of the heater, the higher the rating the faster the water flow.

[Daffy D]

dont' they have those small heater machines that have a built in water pump? Heard someone mentioning it but was not able to find anything like it.

We got one. A National DH-3AP1 same size as regular wall mounted heater but with integrated pump. been working trouble free for about 6 years now.

[Bill97]

You asking about water pressure coming out of your water heater, right?

If so, your likely first step should be to clean the filter which usually right where the input water line joins the heater. If this filter is dirty, you will have low water pressure in your heater which will improve when you clean the filter. While you are at it, you might disconnect the input hose on the heater and see how the input pressure is. Check the spray head and clean all the little holes in it too, they get jammed with particulate matter and slowly closed with minerals. You will have to take it apart to clean it properly.

In general wall mounted hot water heaters reduce water pressure so the output pressure is lower than the input pressure because of friction loss as the water flows through the small pipes and many turns in the heater.

[mnbcm]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not real handy so I appreciate the help.

I attached a picture of my water heater info, pump info, and a couple pictures. Out near the street I have the option to switch between pipes going direct to the house or through the tank and pump. Right now I'm bypassing the tank and pump and going straight to the house. The pump just hums when I turn it on like it's stuck. It was working fine before so I suspect it's a motor problem. That's when I switched to the city pressure going direct to the house. When it's working the water pressure is strong everywhere except the shower which is why I suspected the shower water heater was keeping the pressure low. I'd rather have a cold shower with high pressure than a hot shower that drips.