Water Regulator

[Neal]

I'm done with adjustable pressure regulators. They are horrendous IMHO. I use a fixed regulator now for over a year, inline aft of my water hose reel and it's fixed to have a max of 50-55 psi and I've restored sanity ever since.

Amazon.com

 

[Stuart W]

I'm done with adjustable pressure regulators. They are horrendous IMHO. I use a fixed regulator now for over a year, inline aft of my water hose reel and it's fixed to have a max of 50-55 psi and I've restored sanity ever since.

Amazon.com

What is it that caused issues with adj type

 

[Neal]

What is it that caused issues with adj type

I don't think they were accurate nor ever adjusted properly. I was constantly concerned or felt I had too much restriction and probably never saw over 30 psi regardless of the adjustment. If you think about it, a restrictor, designed for a set PSI, is all you need. You just need something designed to keep you below a max. Why should we "tinkerers" have to adjust a PSI? I think most RVers operate with too low a PSI as well or put their pressure regulators in the wrong place. The pressure at the spigot is or can be far different from aft of the reel IMHO. Typical hose length is 35-50ft.

 

[Neal]

Let me give an example as to why measuring at the spigot is wrong.

Let's say we're using 200 feet of water hose. How much pressure loss would there be? And yes, I'm a mechanical engineer and I know this can be calculated but that was 1400 years ago and I'm not doing it! Soooo, agree that at 200 feet it's going to be lower than the spigot? Where do I care that the pressure is under 60 psi, my upper limit for my coach? At the coach plumbing.

Do I care about blowing a hose? No, they are cheap, typically rated to 150 psi, and easy to replace. If it blows it was going to blow, it had a defect already.

So this is why I personally measure my pressure, i.e. using a fixed regulator, at the exit of the hose reel up against the wall zip tied to be secure. And I don't have to worry about it freezing like you may have to with fluid filled regulators. Why manufacturers don't install these off the line I don't know. Sure would be a good idea to protect plumbing.

 

[Stuart W]

I agree, it’s primarily due to frictional loss as the water passes through the longer hose. You have to wonder why the rv industry doesn’t just install regulators