Losing hot water pressure


  #1  
Old 12-07-02, 09:26 PM
tlatonzea
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Losing hot water pressure

Our hot water pressure has never been great, but recently it has gotten worse. Especially in our 2nd floor shower. Our house was built in 1917. We put in a new gas water heater about 6 years ago. Our hot water pressure has been slowly decreasing over the past couple of years. Our shower is on the second floor and the hot water barely comes out of the shower head. There is a big difference between the hot water and the cold water pressure. I have cleaned all the aerators and I have recently drained the hot water tank. I did not notice any sediment when I drained it. After I drained the tank, the pressure seems to be even less than before. There is no pressure regulator on the water supply line. The water supply to the tank is galvanized pipe. The pipes leading from the tank to the kitchen have been replaced with copper, the pipes to the bath are still the original pipes. The hot water pressure is not much better in the kitchen-causing us to start having problems with the dishwasher. Are there any solutions I can try myself, or do I need to call a plumber?
 
  #2  
Old 12-07-02, 09:47 PM
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Well your pressure is fine, what you are lacking is VOLUME... I would bet my '63 Corvette that you have galvanized pipes in your house... The hot always corrodes faster, so it makes sense that you would notice the hot loss first... It sounds like it is time to start replacing all your pipes with copper or plastic... Sorry, but there is no easy fix for this... A couple things you can do that may have a minor effect though, is to verify that you have a GATE valve on the heater, and not a globe valve... the globe valves are much more restrictive and are not code anymore though they used to be... also, if you replaced the heater 6 years ago, i hope you tied to the tipe with some kind of pipe that doesn't corrode... just double check those connections for unusual amounts of rust buildup....
 
 

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