Water Pressure Booster. Anyone have one?

12 years ago

Just finished our upstairs shower and with the first shower we were reminded that we have always had poor water pressure upstairs. Now we want to fix it.

We are considering a water pressure booster pump and are wondering if they work? We are on a well but have plenty of water as we are tapped into an underground water source. (100 GPM @ 85' deep.)

Anyone know anything about these devices? Do they work?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

MongoCT
12 years ago
Have you tried adjusting your existing pressure regulator?

Also, if you have a whole-house water filter, it might be a good time to check the cartridge.
golddust
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, Mongot. The cartridge is fine on our whole house filter. The water pressure downstairs (as well as the basement) is just fine. It's upstairs where the problem surfaces.

I'll check out the regulator. How high can I adjust the pressure? Do you know? Good idea.
Related Professionals
Bonita Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Sioux City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Shamong Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Los Alamitos Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rancho Cordova Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Emeryville Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Miami Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Glen Mills Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Tacoma Cabinets & Cabinetry · Wilkinsburg Cabinets & Cabinetry · Arden-Arcade Window Treatments · Colorado Springs Window Treatments · East Setauket Window Treatments · Shiloh Window Treatments · Baytown Window Treatments
MongoCT
12 years ago
I'd do a little troubleshooting first. Are there excessive runs of supply tubing to the upstairs? Too many bends in the tubing? Any chance of sediment in the pipe? Any chance that aerators or flow screens in your poorly performing fixtures upstairs are clogged?

Your flow is outstanding out of the well. 100GPM? Ridiculously good!

If you are comfortable working around electrical and 120/240...it's not a huge deal to adjust. Just take it a little at a time. Make an adjustment, open the taps to let the water cycle the pump on and off to reset to the new charging pressures...then repeat as needed until you dial it in.

Most pressure switches have two adjustment screws. One larger than the other. Actually, they are adjustment nuts that have springs under them. The large nut typically adjusts the cut in and cut out pressure, moving them both up or moving them both down.

The smaller nut, which I don't advise you touching, increases or decreases the pressure differential between the pump kicking in and cutting out. It's usually factory set in the 15-20psi differential range.

If you need to adjust your water pressure higher, you'd turn the larger nut clockwise to further compress the spring under the nut.

Do be careful. There should be a gauge on your tank, near the regulator. If it's low, bravo, it's an easy tweak to increase the whole-house water pressure.

If you already have 50bls or so, then you need to be careful about going higher. Get into the 75-80psi range and you can actually start blowing out your plumbing fixtures and/or unions. Faucets can leak, compression fittings can start to drip, etc.

Lemme see if I can find an online source with photos...this seems pretty detailed.

Good luck! And go slowly.

Mongo