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An outside water tap makes gardening easier and allows other uses around the home and leisure. But what to do if the water pressure in the garden is too low? Here's how you can increase it.
In a nutshell
- There are various reasons/solutions for too low water pressure at the outside water tap
- Dirty lines or weak pumps cause the pressure to drop
- The water pressure can be increased via the pressure reducer of the domestic waterworks
- Outdoor faucet supplied from a rainwater tank can receive more pressure over the height of the storage tank
Too little pressure - common causes
Of course, the reasons why the pressure in the water pipe network is too low can be very individual. In most cases, however, a few recurring reasons can be identified:
- Decreasing line cross-sections due to calcification and dirt
- Incorrect setting of the pressure reducer on the domestic waterworks
- Deliberate reduction of water pressure to protect sensitive components
- poorly performing pump when using rainwater
- in the case of gravity-assisted supply, low tank level or low gradient
Old, broken, or dirty plumbing is one of many possible causes of low water pressure at the outdoor faucet.
find mistakes
Before you can amplify it, it is now necessary to identify the cause of the low water pressure at the outdoor faucet. It's best to use the principle of exclusion and start with the simplest steps:
- Check the pressure reducer for reserves
- Check the power range of existing pumps
- in the case of gravity-based rainwater utilization: check the tank contents and line gradient
- Check lines for calcification and dirt, e.g. by dismantling the outside water tap in the garden
Attention: Whether the resilience of your line installation to the tap in question is possibly the cause of a deliberately low line pressure can hardly be assessed by a layman. If you have any suspicions, it is worth talking to the installer who set up the line.
increase pressure
Now that you know why your water pressure is too low, you can take specific measures to increase it:
Readjust the pressure reducer
Typical pressure reducers are equipped with a manometer, on which the pressure can be read directly. Gently turn the dial until the pressure reading increases to the desired value.
pressure reducer
Attention: Here you make a conscious increase of a preset value. Check for any leaks in the line to the outside water tap and, if necessary, immediately adjust back to the original value.
Check pumps
Regardless of whether a pump is used in the domestic waterworks of the drinking water installation or for rainwater use, many permanently installed units can be readjusted in a similar way to a pressure reducer. If there is headroom, you can adjust the pump's output pressure using the adjuster provided.
On the other hand, when pumps are at their performance limit, the only thing that helps is replacing them with a more powerful model.
Clean lines
As a layman, it is hardly possible for you to clean existing water pipes when they are installed. It is therefore essential to contact an expert installer who can show you the various options. In many cases, however, only replacement helps with advanced reductions in the cable cross-section.
Special case rainwater tank
Finally, there is the “special case” of an outside faucet supplied with rainwater. If a pump is used here, the remedy option already described comes into play again. If, on the other hand, the water flows purely due to gravity, i.e. through a high tank and a slope in the supply line to the tap, the water pressure can be increased quite easily, albeit only to a limited extent, with these measures:
1. Adjust fill level
Rainwater tank in the garden
If the water level in the rainwater tank drops, the water weight is also reduced, which also presses the outlet and thus the water in the pipe up to the tap - the pressure decreases. Fill up the tank to restore pressure over the heavier load of water.
Attention: If you do this, you lose usable tank volume, since a certain amount of water must always be available in order to boost the minimum pressure to the level you want.
2. Increase tank
Instead of the filling level, you can also simply ensure that your water reservoir is higher. A higher gradient in the pipe can also lead to a certain increase in pressure at the outside water tap due to the dynamic pressure of the tap water.
frequently asked Questions
What do I do if the lines cannot withstand higher pressure?If your lines to the outside water tap are not able to withstand the desired higher pressure, either replacing the installations or building a pressure booster system directly in the garden will help. However, such a system is associated with costs and space requirements and is therefore certainly the less favorable solution.
Why do I need high water pressure in the garden?The need for high water pressure arises in a wide variety of applications. Irrigation systems in particular use the pressure to regularly control the output volume and throw distance of the irrigation water.
Can the pressure in the garden line be increased independently of the other line network?Normally, the pressure is the same throughout the pipeline installation and only decreases slightly due to differences in height, for example when conveying to upper floors. If a single line to the garden is to be raised in terms of pressure, a pressure booster system in the form of a pump or a separate pressure reducer for the single line is required.