HawthorneVillager.com

Hello all

I have a question about a pressure relief valve that we have in the house. It was installed by the builder, located on the cold water line just after the main shut off into the house before it reduces to ½ “ copper pipe. A tech repair person was in the house yesterday and commented on the device which I had thought was installed per the building code. He said that the homes in our area ( LSL & Trudeau ) built by Mattamy 11 years ago, all have them and were installed because the builder knew of a water pressure problem in that area. Thinking back to the other homes we have lived in I cannot recall ever having this device on the main line into the house. So I am wondering if the tech was accurate or was it done because of code? Anyone know?

Thanks
Opie

The tech was right. Some areas of the city have high water pressure and that pressure reducing station (along with a tank most probably) was installed to bring the pressure down.

John Allingham
Owner & Certified Home Inspector
Halton-Peel Home Inspection
(416) 254-5869
inspect@peelhomeinspection.com
http://www.peelhomeinspection.com

Thanks John

Guess we will be placing a call into Currie Plumbing then to come out and replace it. The Reliance tech at our house yesterday believed the true problem to our hot water tanks pressure valve leaking all of a sudden (this was the second valve he had replaced in as many days) was because of the of the main line water pressure valve in our house being faulty. This could also explain the all of a sudden drips from our taps and the fridge water dispenser in the house over the last year.

Opie

Post a picture of it. Perhaps you are calling it the wrong thing.
A pressure relief valve does just that. it sits idle doing nothing until the pressure raises to a point where it opens. At that point water would have to be going somewhere to relive the pressure. You have one on the side of your hot water heater. If pressure gets too high, it opens up, water comes out and leaks on the floor and the pressure in the tank goes down as a result.

A pressure regulator is different. It regulates the pressure by closing a valve with a spring on one side of the gate. So as you lower pressure on one side, the valve will open allowing water to again reach the desired pressure and the valve closes therefore maintaining a constant set pressure. These are usually adjustable and there should be a spot with a gage in it so you can see the set pressure. If there is no gage then there should at least be a plug to put one.

Simply check the pressure in the lines before changing parts. You will quickly see if it is a pressure problem or not, and with a gage you will be able to see if cranking the valve spring in lowers the pressure in your lines.

Remember that all adjustments to the valve should be done with water running somewhere in the house otherwise you may not see any changes to the pressure as you crank the valve.

Good luck

C'mon John, it's hard enough teaching the newbies that we live in a TOWN

_________________
Hunter Obee
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty
Diamond Award Winner - Top 3% in Canada
http://www.TheHomeHunter.ca
905-878-8101

I'll never learn Hunter

BTW, the attached pic is from an inspection I did today of a house with a pressure reducing valve and pressure tank.
The item just to the right of the meter is the pressure reducing valve. The item above is the pressure tank. If the pressure tank inlet valve (to the right of it) is closed or the pressure tank is defective, it can cause the relief valve on the hot water tank to lift.