3

I currently do not have a pressure gauge that fits an outdoor bib but I do have a tire pressure gauge. If I check the pressure at the Schrader valve assuming the system is pressurized, will that give me the water pressure for the house?

isherwood
  • 119,766
  • 7
  • 148
  • 349
Rocky345
  • 31
  • 1

2 Answers2

1

It should give the pressure, but might not be quite exact(maybe a few pounds off).

A tire pressure gauge might not be made for water, so if it gets wet(doubt it), it needs to be dried well inside of the gauge.

crip659
  • 19,018
  • 1
  • 27
  • 51
  • 1
    Presumably checking the air pressure in the expansion tank - which should indeed match the water pressure if the system is pressurized. On the third hand, plumbing in a pressure gauge is a Good Thing® – Ecnerwal Feb 10 '22 at 14:43
  • Agree with @Ecnerwal that measuring at a balance tank is preferable because of the air pocket there – Carl Witthoft Feb 10 '22 at 16:33
  • So if I wanted to check to make sure I have the expansion tank to the correct pressure, I can take a reading via it’s schrader valve and then close to inlet water and turn on faucet to take it off the system pressure and recheck the valve? – Rocky345 Feb 10 '22 at 18:05
  • Note that many expansion tanks come precharged. So they won’t show water pressure unless it is at least above that precharge pressure. – Tim B Feb 12 '22 at 00:55
-1

So long as your Schrader valve is on the expansion tank, you will get the pressure of all the pipes connected to the tank. If there is a pressure reducer at the main input, obviously you won't measure the external pressure. Similarly, there may be some balance valves near the hot water tank (if you have one), so take that into account. For another example, if you have radiant heat systems, there's probably a pressure limiter on those specific runs.

Carl Witthoft
  • 3,917
  • 13
  • 14
  • So if I wanted to check to make sure I have the expansion tank to the correct pressure, I can take a reading via it’s schrader valve and then close to inlet water and turn on faucet to take it off the system pressure and recheck the valve? – Rocky345 Feb 10 '22 at 18:02