Pressure reducer replacment

[kevin hunt]

Hi All.

Recently had to have a rush replacement of a Bradford White WH under warranty for a main tank leak.

The install tech told me I had to also must have the expansion tank replaced as well as the PRV. Both the WH and tank as well as pressure reducing valve on the incoming main were done in 2012.

They wanted 1300.00 total for a remove, replace and reinstall of everything despite the fact that it was still under warranty. This is a company I haven't used in years as they are big time over-charging for services in general and have turned the upsell into a fine art. I now use another company that is far far more reasonable in how the charge for work. The reason I called in the original company is they were the initial install company and what with the warranty and all I didn't want to run into trouble with the claim.

Long and short of it is I told him forget the PRV replacement and just get me back up and running.

Charged 325.00 for the expansion tank swap (I think that crazy high) and a couple of hundred more for permit fees and the wholesaler charge for the swap of tanks. 675.00 all in but I was up against the wall with a family without hot water. But, I'll be damned if I'm gonna give him 625.00 more for the PRV itself and 12 turns of an adjustable wrench. This is a guy who wanted 485 for a back-flow preventer for the furnace water supply on a job he was already in the building for and wanted 600 for a run-start capacitor install on a single central air unit that was working but his tech thought "looked old and should be replaced"

Incoming pressure is 100psi from city supply at the moment. So the PRV probably is bad. It appears to simply be a threaded union so it's not difficult to replace near as I can tell. Here is my question;

With the expansion tank presumably pressurized at a few PSI below my current 100psi supply on the bad PRV what happens if I swap out the bad PRV and dial it down to the recommended max of 80psi.

How do I, or do I need to, adjust set pressure in the expansion tank to around 78psi?

 

[Diehard]

That plumbing outfit sounds like a crook based on what you say.
You didn't mention why the PRV had to be replaced.
Was it reading too high even after trying to adjust it?
I wouldn't say that a residential PRV has a "recommended max of 80psi". It may have a code dictated max of 80 psi but I believe the recommended max is a bit lower than that.
What was the reason for the expansion tank replacement? Did the internal bladder/diaphragm fail?
Didn't the plumber adjust the exp tank pressure before they installed it? (Typically set to match water pressure when there is no water pressure on it.

 

[ExtraMilePlumbing]

Water pressure gauges go bad every few months you should buy one and test it youreself, also if a water heater is under company warranty they should not charge to you,also to decrease pressure on expansion tank, turn water on and like a bike tire stick a pin in the insert, then gauge it

 

[ExtraMilePlumbing]

*turn water off

 

[Diehard]

*turn water off

Yeah. Actually you have to make sure you release enough water so it has no affect on the air volume go in. In other words it may have to displace some water which just shuting it off won't accomplish. The idea is to get as much volume of air in the tank at the desired pressure, as possible. Many recommend removing them.
And the same, of course when you're checking on the air pressure.

 

[Tnkrst]

In a 2 gallon expansion tank, I think the max psi is 80 psi. With all the charges, I honestly don’t think it’s a bad price.
I get a lot of customers complain all the time “it’s too high, omg that’s robbery”. I would suggest to the customer to find a 1 man show and maybe it’ll be cheaper. Trying to run a company is costly. For me to break even it’s roughly $320.00 just for one technician to go to a location. Customers don’t take in what it costs for the company to go out. So if a technician gets an estimate, I’m under.
On the other hand I hope you found a qualified technician that was affordable. I would suggest installing a new prv.

 

[Diehard]

Plumber should explain to customer whether things are being replaced due to a problem with it or due to recommended based on average service life.
OP's comments didn't seem to convey that.
I don't disagree with a recommendation to replace a PRV after 7 years as a preventive maintenance approach. But here's what Watts says about it.

How long will a Water Pressure Reducing Valve last?

Water Pressure Reducing Valves have been described as "life-of-mortgage" products, because historically a malfunctioning water pressure reducing valve is not replaced but simply cleaned or repaired via an inexpensive service kit. Design-wise, it is similar to the kitchen faucet in that dirt or foreign matter on the seating area can cause problems and actually it is no more difficult to repair a water pressure reducing valve than it is to fix the kitchen faucet.