Advise please -campground has high water pressure, which water regulator should I get?

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C

chrisking

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Going to a campground that sent a note with my reservation confirmation that they have very high water pressure. I looked at gauges and saw several - Valtera had a few variations. I have an older rig (04 Winnebago) kept in very good condition and don't want to blow out my water pipes.

I've been reading about putting the regulator at the spigot vs at the rig- what shall I do. Im inclined to put it at the spigot.

Thanks
Chris
 
If you put it at the spigot you protect the hose as well as the RV. I can speak from personal experience that even typical residential pressures can stress a garden hose with a bit of wear and tear and baking in the sun to failure. I use the ubiquitous "bullet" camco style regulator that just lives on the end of the hose full time. The plus to that one is the collar on it is easy to grab and tighten without tools. The filter (also now protected by the regulator) resides in the wet bay.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
I prefer a regulator that has a gauge and a decent max flow rate, at least 3 gpm. I always carried a "whole house" size regulator, but something like the brass Valterra Adjustable with Gauge should work fine. It's sold under a variety of private label names, e.g. this one from etrailer.com.

Adjust it to somewhere in the 45-65 range and your should be good.
 
The cylindrical style water pressure regulators like this one are pretty much useless, but I guess it's better than nothing. Those with an odd shaped housing like the two mentioned above use a pressure diaphragm driving a valve and regulate the pressure more reliably and generally have much better flow rates. They're both similar to the Watts whole house water pressure regulators that have been around for decades.
 
I have one that looks just like the one posted by Don but brand name is Renator. I've only used it once (same situation - park advertised high pressure). Set it for 60 PSI which was adequate.
 
If you read the whole thing, it says improved .17% lead *Note the "." which is below the EPA requirement of .25% again note the "." lead to be advertised as Lead Free.
 
Actually they come in a range of prices from the cheap plastic type to the $60 Valterra gage. For years I have used a Watts regulator that had parts available and so could be rebuilt. When it failed on a trip a couple of years ago I got what was readily available in a brass, high flow regulator that has a gage. I considered it to be a temporary thing but have found it to be fully sufficient for our use.

It used to be that the most common pressure regulators sold for RV use were all very restrictive of the flow rates and so resulted in weak water flow for showers and similar things because the passage for the water was only 1/4" or less and so they did not supply enough water. More recently the industry has caught up to the market and so the flow rates have been improved. While I would agree that the diaphragm type regulators are better, and will probably work longer than the barrel type but there are reasonably good barrel regulators that do the job quite well.
 
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My concern about the barrel type is they may be more prone to allowing pressure to inch up over time, and without a low side pressure gauge you will not know it is happening.
 
First choice Watts or Zurin "Whole house" type 1/2 or 3/4 inch with hose adapters. (Link to follow)
2nd choice Valterra adjustable
3rd Choice Sur-Flo This one is identical to the one installed on many RV's they simply deleted the mounting Flange/Bib and screwed a hose adapter on the outlet.. I have a spare Zurin if you are near Flint. MI

Pressure Reducing Valves

www.watts.com www.watts.com

The ones I like are 3/4" threaded in and out but they have one that is smaller. Never found one in a store so never tried it.

The ZURIN I have is also the same design.. When I went from zero flow (static) set to 50 PSI to full shower flow the needle did not even wiggle.

NOTE put the regulator on the PARK end of the hose (protects the hose.. Ever see the pinched off garden hose explode on a cartoon... I've seen it for real. .)
 
Isaac-1 said:
and without a low side pressure gauge you will not know it is happening.
Click to expand...
71jFWfSsViS._AC_UL640_FMwebp_QL65_.jpg
 
I've got the Esright mentioned above. Works just fine. Set my pressure at 35, and between spigot and hose.
 
DonTom said:
"3/4 Lead-Free"? 25% lead?

-Don- Ashland, OR
Click to expand...
They are talking 3/4 inch size. Read the description: Durable lead free brass, under the NSF lead-free requirements of 0.2%. Double-layer inlet screened filter design will filter the particles like gravel, debris to prevent impurity blocking and valve body damage.
 
John From Detroit said:
First choice Watts or Zurin "Whole house" type 1/2 or 3/4 inch with hose adapters. (Link to follow)
2nd choice Valterra adjustable
3rd Choice Sur-Flo This one is identical to the one installed on many RV's they simply deleted the mounting Flange/Bib and screwed a hose adapter on the outlet.. I have a spare Zurin if you are near Flint. MI

Pressure Reducing Valves

www.watts.com www.watts.com

The ones I like are 3/4" threaded in and out but they have one that is smaller. Never found one in a store so never tried it.

The ZURIN I have is also the same design.. When I went from zero flow (static) set to 50 PSI to full shower flow the needle did not even wiggle.

NOTE put the regulator on the PARK end of the hose (protects the hose.. Ever see the pinched off garden hose explode on a cartoon... I've seen it for real. .)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info and the generous offer, I am in Virginia so will get one on your list.
Chris
 
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