Garden tap how to increase pressure

[N95]

Hi i have just moved house and i'm having some problems with the garden tap.

When i connect a short piece of hose pipe say about 1m in length to the tap and turn it fully on there is a good amount of pressure and also on the jet setting of the nozzle i can reach a good distance to the back of the garden while standing next to the tap.

However when i connect the full 25m hose pipe the pressure seems to drop big time and the distance on the jet setting also reduces.

First i thought it was my old hose pipe which was at fault but i have just replaced it with a brand new one and im still getting the same problem.

The garden tap at my old house was amazing compared to this one, and it was connected directly to the main kitchen sink. There was a valve which allowed me to increase/decrease the flow and also to turn it off completely.

However the one in this house seems to be connected differently. The connection to the tap seems to be coming from the central heating boiler which is in the garage. Now i cant seem to see anywhere where i can increase the pressure, apart from the inline valves which either open or close.

I get excellent cold water pressure in all the taps in the house, im pretty sure that i dont have a tank in the loft and all my cold taps are connected directly to the mains.

Is the lack of pressure in the garden tap due the water coming through the boiler system? It only gets worse when i have the full hose pipe connected.

Am i better off getting a new tap fitted which connects directly to the water main underneath the kitchen sink?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Rich

 

[Bernie2]

There are a few issues here I am afraid.

First are you sure its not connected to the central heating boiler system in any way?

What I mean is "Your not draining the system out through the tap or anything?"

I suppose you have checked that so won't linger on the point.

Unfortunately flow and pressure may look the same in a running stream of water, but its pressure you need to drive the water down the hose. That is why it comes easily out the short hose but not the long.

I know the stream of water reaches the back of the garden okay with the short hose, but its not having to fight against the resistance of the long hose pipe only the surrounding air.

I also don't know if there is some reason why you don't have enough pressure at the tap already. There are many reasons why it could be.

High head loss on internal system, water company pressure low if you live on a hill or something similar.

To do some simple checks, just trace back down the line from the garden tap to the incoming pipe under the sink, making sure all stop taps are fully open. Check for any pressure reducing valves blocked. Check double check valve on tap supply is clear.
Then go to the outside stop tap usually on the pavement and make sure that is fully open.

Basically what you are trying to do is make sure nothing is blocking the water supply.

You can't really tell much of anything else unless you have pressure and flow test equipment. But to get some idea, your cold tap on the sink should fill a 4.5 litre bucket when it is full on in about 30 seconds. And if it does the chances are you are living in a low pressure area, but not low enough for the water company to do anything about it. In that case you may have to put up with the low pressure or get a lower resistance hose.

The OFWAT site tells you all about GSS which tell you about what pressure you should be getting. Probably easiest to ask the neighbours and see what they are using.

Hope this helps

 

[heinz57]

If the pressure in the main is ok you could plum in another outdoor tap
closer to where you need to reach. But bear this in mind.
1) you need to run a plastic sleeve or a hose union backplate through the
wall.
2) a double check valve must be inserted on the internal portion of the
new pipe extension a couple of inches before it goes through the wall. This
is to prevent contamination of the main supply - very important!!!
3)an isolation valve should be fixed a couple of inches before the double
check valve. This is so you can drain the tap in the winter to prevent
freezing.
4)the space between the pipe and the sleeve must be sealed at both ends
once the job is finished with a water tight sealant.
5)the new tap must be 300mm minimum from the outside floor!

 

[justlead1]

Hi. Get your self a larger bore hose, the frictional resistance on current hose is the likely culprit, once other causes have been investigated. Good Luck

 

[leakylea]

the reasonn you lose the pressure,
consider you r water comming from the resevoir,many miles away. it will not lose pressure as it is pumped and carrried by rigid pipes.
as soon as it hits soft wallled pipe it tries to force its way through it and a great deal of its strength is lost. moving the rigid pipe to the poibnmt where you need it is best practice. oh and has any body seen copper rust?

 

[REDSAW]

how steep is your garden?

 

[pauls]

hi this may sound silly but is the hose fully wound on or off the reel when you try the water.

it may just be somthing as small as a kink in the hose if still on the reel

 

[REDSAW]

call a plumber to fix new tap and test pressure......

 

[N95]

Thanks for the replies.
Before calling out a plumber and getting a new tap fitted i thought id do a little test. So i went and bought a tap connector to fit the cold tap on my kitchen sink and connected my hose pipe directly to that.
Now im getting the exact same problem i get lots of water coming out but no pressure. Once again using a short hose pipe i get lots of pressure but when connecting the full hose pipe the pressure drops.

I can fill a bucket of water really quickly from both the kitchen tap and the current garden tap so i take it that its a case of low pressure.

My garden is pretty flat, however the local area where i stay in is quite high up but my house is actually lower down in a valley.

Might give it another try tomorrow to see if i can make it any better.

 

[REDSAW]

still say its a problem with hydrolic gradient.
basic stuf really if you know the layout.

 

[Puddle]

I know you said you replaced hose but did you replace fittings as well,if not ,try using fitting from short length of hose pipe that is ok
check with a neighbours,see if they have problem
cut hose to the length you require,at present 25m,if you only need 20m or 15m cut to that length

 

[Dan]

I'm just bumping this thread for no particular reason. If it isn't a current topic, don't worry about it, just ignore it and it'll move off the forum list before long. If it is a topic you'd like to reply to though, go ahead.

 

[Howsie]

That's queer.