Water pressure

[Keeping Up]

Our fresh water system uses a Shurflo pump, followed by a "Square D" pressure switch which has adjustable cut-in and cut-out pressure settings.

 

I would like to check that the cut-out pressure is set well within the pressure rating of my calorifier. Does anyone know a convenient way of measuring the water pressure?

 

Allan

[davidandheather]

Our fresh water system uses a Shurflo pump, followed by a "Square D" pressure switch which has adjustable cut-in and cut-out pressure settings.

 

I would like to check that the cut-out pressure is set well within the pressure rating of my calorifier. Does anyone know a convenient way of measuring the water pressure?

 

Allan

Hi Allan you would have to put a pressure gauge in the line you can get a cheap crop sprayer gauge from a ag dealer

David

[John Orentas]

You can buy simple pressure gauges from pneumatic system suppliers or catalogues such as RS Components or Farnnel, or even car spares shops sell oil pressure gauges. Ideally get a 0 - 30 psi.

[Keeping Up]

You can buy simple pressure gauges from pneumatic system suppliers or catalogues such as RS Components or Farnnel, or even car spares shops sell oil pressure gauges. Ideally get a 0 - 30 psi.

A good selection of suggestions so far, I wonder what else the inventivenss of the people here can produce?

 

I'm inherently lazy so I'm looking for something that will easily fit to a 15mm acorn pipe, or to a tap or garden hose conector; oil pressure gauges tend not to have the right sort of connection.

 

Also I'm a cheapskate so I don't want to buy loads of adaptors and things that will only get used once.

 

After rejecting the idea of a 50-foot high manometer, I had wondered about trying to fix a hose to my tyre pressure gauge in some way.

 

Allan

[dcruk]

Hi , just found one on screwfix No 82412 fits 3/4" bsp tap so wouldn't be too hard to fit it to 15mm pipework . Reasonable price too ! Dave

[Keeping Up]

Hi , just found one on screwfix No 82412 fits 3/4" bsp tap so wouldn't be too hard to fit it to 15mm pipework . Reasonable price too ! Dave

Thanks for this one Dave. I often use Screwfix but mainly for electrical or DIY bits so didn't think of looking for this one there (also didn't know if such a product existed).

 

Allan (the lazy cheapskate)

[DaveR]

Use your water hose and someway of raising it up.

 

14.7 psi is one atmosphere and equal to about 30 feet of water head.

 

Work out how high you need to have the hose for the correct pressure for your calorifier, rig it up and adjust the water pressure until it it over flows.

 

Easy and cheap!

[DHutch]

Or turn it up till the saftey valuve lifts, then back i off half a turn?

 

- But to do it properly, you need a cheap presuregauge.

 

 

Daniel

[DaveR]

How acurate is a cheap gauge though?

 

At work we have decided to forgo the cheap and ceerful routine as they were too inacurate.

[dor]

the PRV on your calorifier will vent long before the calorifier is stressed. The PRV will be set to 3 atm, the calorifer will be tested to at least 5 atm. Your pump is probably set to 20 psi. You could try turning it up until the PRV lifts and then back it off again if you want to test things.

[Bones]

Slightly off topic, but I(and my glass of wine) just feel the need to comment on water pressure. In theory I had always known about water pressure, but in practice I was ignorant - you can imagine my surprise when I undid a connection in my water pipe in order to adjoin a different join! I got SOAKED, my eye got hit and I was very surprised. I decided then not to worry about my water pressure because it certainly seemed far better than i had expected.

[Amicus]

I was in the B&Q shed last weekend and they had a gauge with a push-fit connector.

[DHutch]

How acurate is a cheap gauge though?

Thb, some are not that bad.

- We got a pair of cheap 300psi gauges which where about £25 a peice, and they where pritty much spot on.

- Certainly a lot better that the one by the wheel, which has frozen twice!

 

 

Daniel

[Keeping Up]

To finally round this one off, and maybe useful information for anyone else who wants to check, I've just been 100% successful in measuring the water pressure by using a couple of feet of hosepipe and a tyre pressure gauge (one of the ones that looks like a pen and you read it from the length of tube that pokes out of the top). I just pushed the gauge into the hose, tightened a worm-drive clip around it, and attached it to a tap.

 

When I turned the tap on it immediately read the pressure as 10psi which was too low (as I suspected), so I was able to turn up the switch until it read 20psi, without any risk to my calorifier. Job done.

[DHutch]

Cool, glad it worked for you.