Quick question—wouldn't it be better to check pressure at different times of day rather than just once? I'm new to this, but I've noticed my water pressure seems way higher in the early morning than at night. Maybe that's normal, but could it mean the regulator's acting up intermittently? Just thinking it might be safer to test a few times before deciding if the regulator needs replacing...
Checking pressure at different times makes sense to me. When I had similar issues, I noticed my pressure spiked early mornings too—probably because fewer people were using water then, so the pressure built up overnight. But yeah, intermittent regulator issues can be tricky to pinpoint. I ended up testing mine morning, afternoon, and night for a couple days before deciding. Saved me from replacing something unnecessarily...might be worth trying before spending money on a new regulator.
Totally agree with checking pressure at different times—it's surprising how much it can fluctuate. One thing I'd add is to also pay attention to your water heater. Sometimes thermal expansion can cause pressure spikes, especially overnight when hot water isn't being used. Here's what I'd suggest:
1. Do your usual pressure checks morning, afternoon, and night like you mentioned.
2. Then, shut off the water heater temporarily (just for a short test) and see if the pressure still spikes overnight.
3. If the spike disappears or significantly reduces, you might actually be dealing with thermal expansion rather than a faulty regulator.
I had a customer once who was convinced their regulator was shot, but after doing this quick test, we realized it was just thermal expansion causing the issue. Saved them from replacing a perfectly good regulator...and saved me from an unnecessary callback too. Just something else to consider before diving into replacements.
"Sometimes thermal expansion can cause pressure spikes, especially overnight when hot water isn't being used."
That's a great point about thermal expansion. I had a similar issue a couple years back—pipes were banging around at night, driving me nuts. I was convinced it was the regulator too, but after some digging around (and a few late-night Google sessions), I realized my water heater was actually set way hotter than necessary. Dialed it down a bit and installed an expansion tank, and the noise practically vanished overnight.
Another thing worth checking is your home's water pressure overall. Even if thermal expansion is the main culprit, high baseline pressure can make things worse. My city bumped up the street pressure without notice once, and suddenly my pipes sounded like they were auditioning for a drum solo. A simple pressure gauge from the hardware store helped me pinpoint that one pretty quick.
Glad you got it sorted though—nothing beats finally having quiet pipes again...
Good points here, but honestly, thermal expansion isn't always the main issue. I chased pipe noises for weeks before realizing it was loose mounting brackets causing vibrations. Tightened those up and things quieted down significantly...sometimes it's simpler than you'd think.
