I have a home which was built ~30-35 years ago. I suspect the plumbing is all original because the house is on a slab and it's probably not easy to change the piping unless something is significantly wrong

The issue that I'm having is that the water pressure is really low at the faucets that are the furthest away from the utility closet. In the utility closet there is the well pump as well as a secondary tank and pressure pump for the entire home.

The water pressure is great at the faucets/outlets closest to the pressure pump, for example on the opposite wall to the utility closet it's the best and it gets progressively worse as you go away from the storage tank/pump.

Any thoughts on how to troubleshoot?

Thank you!

 

What is your piping made of: galvanized steel, copper, CPVC? Is this a new problem or has the pressure always been like this?

 

From what I have seen it looks like it's copper - but I can't see under the floors so I can't be 100% sure.

The water pressure has always been relatively poor (for the last many years) -- maybe it has gotten slightly worse over time.

 

The pipes could be corroding or growing mineral deposits that reduce the inside diameter of the pipe and reduce flow. Galvanized steel pipes are really bad for corroding closed after several decades.

First I would start by removing the aerators from the slow faucets and make sure they are clean. You can also disconnect the supply hoses from the faucets and aim into a bucket to check if you have good flow at that point which could indicate a restriction in the faucet or shutoff valve.

 

Can you take a picture of your well pump/tank setup and where the pipes go into the slab? Also, is there a pressure gauge in your setup?

Usually, with below-slab piping, there's usually a single pipe that goes from the utility room to the kitchen, then another that goes to the bath, etc. The idea is to reduce/eliminate joints under the slab.

Just trying to help troubleshoot what might be the issue.

 

Thank you all for the help, I will provide the pictures.

In parallel I looked to check the pressure at the holding tank and it's gotten me confused.

The pump cut in/cut off pressures are 40 and 60 PSI respectively as shown inside of the pump switch cover.

Turned off the water between the holding tank and the house piping. I drained the water from the draining valve with a hose and the pressure dropped to 0 as it should (the pump was turned off at the breaker).

I then measured the tank pressure with my tire pressure gauge. I read 25.5 PSI which is too low; I learned it should be ~2-3 PSI below the cut in pressure, so in my case 37-38 PSI.

I used an air compressor to pressurize the empty tank to 38 PSI, reconnected everything back up in the proper order (valve to the hose closed, then breaker for the pump back on, the tank filled up with water, etc., and finally the valve to the house open up again).

Once everything was back up and steady I got the family ready to witness the improved pressure. Turned on the faucets and the pressure is worse than before. How could this be?

 

Have you run the faucets with the aerators taken off and run the showers with the sprayers taken off yet?

Run both hot and cold one at a time?

 

Yes I did and you are right, for some of the lines it does appear that the issue is close to the faucet. The kitchen one was the most puzzling as there is some form of check-valve in the flexible hose, so cleaning the aerator did not have much effect until I (temporarily) removed this valve to see the effect!

 

The pressure tank has nothing to do with your water pressure. All it does is accumulate water and hold it under pressure so the pump doesn't have to turn on every time you use a little water. Your well system will work without a pressure tank in the system though the life of the pump will be shortened.

 

Then what is the difference between having a pressure tank at 20 PSI and 40 PSI air pressure? Isn't the idea that this air pressure helps the accumulated water push through the pipes (with the well pump turned off)?

 

The air one puts into the tank (when no water is in it) is to allow for something to compress to a higher pressure when water is pushed into the the tank. The amount of air one puts in, if varied, will correspondingly vary the amount of water one gets between pump cycles. The more air one puts in, the more water one gets, right up until the air pressure is HIGHER then the pump's cut in pressure. When that happens, the pressure tank pushes ALL the water out of the tank before the pump starts again, since the air pressure is higher then the water pressure. We don't want that. When that happens you get a quick drop off to zero pressure just before the pump cuts in and provides pressure again.

Since no one likes to see their water drop off to zero pressure when they are in the shower and when they look up at the shower head to see what is going on, the pressure pops back on and hits them square in the face (that grows old quickly), it is recommended that the air pressure in your tank (when empty of water) is set at a few PSI below your pumps cut in pressure. That will provide the most water between pump cycles without that annoying drop off before the pump cuts in.