Can the water volume at home be increased?
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The water supply is from the municipal supply network. This is a picture of the ground floor; the one with the elbow in the middle belongs to my house. The outer diameter of the iron pipe connecting to the water meter is 16 millimeters, while the inner diameter hasn’t been measured – it’s probably 14 millimeters. The outer diameter of the aluminum-plastic pipe is 15 millimeters, and its inner diameter is only 11 millimeters. There are 7 floors in total, and my home is on the 5th floor. We use this type of aluminum-plastic pipe in our house. The flow rate of the cold water faucet is 14 liters per minute, but the flow rate of the showerhead is only 8 liters per minute. What could be the problem? Could we replace the water inlet pipe that comes from the basement? Excuse me, is there any way to increase the water flow from the shower? The larger, the better, mainly because it’s easy to catch a cold when taking baths in winter.
This is a water-saving shower head. The working principle of an air-kinetic shower head is to utilize air supply to increase the proportion of air in the water flow, thereby raising water pressure and saving water.
It’s not that reason; after removing the shower head, the flexible hose connected to it at the bathing area also has a flow rate of only 8 liters per minute.
Replace all the fittings behind the water meter with DN20 ones; the inner diameter of the aluminum-plastic pipes should be increased to DN15, and it would be better to use DN20 if possible.
This post was last edited by albertcp on 2019-3-10 at 15:23. Thank you for your answer. There are currently three common methods for pressurizing water supply systems: using water pumps, direct supply from municipal utilities, and utilizing nighttime pressure to fill a high-level tank, which then supplies water during peak usage times. Our building is likely supplied with water directly by the municipal authorities. In my kitchen on the 5th floor, the cold water faucet delivers 14 liters per minute, while the neighbor on the 3rd floor has a flow rate of 19 liters per minute. Could thickening the water pipes as we go up the stairs increase the water flow? If that’s possible, you mentioned replacing the elbow behind the water meter with a DN20 fitting – but how can the iron pipe be connected to the aluminum-plastic pipe with an inner diameter of DN15? After replacing the thick pipes for water supply upstairs, how much more water flow can my home achieve per minute?
Increasing the diameter of the pipeline behind the water meter will certainly increase the water flow rate, but it’s impossible to determine exactly by how much. There is also a thicker red pipe above your household’s pipes; take a look at how they have it connected, and following their setup should meet your household’s water needs.
It doesn’t seem that simply enlarging the pipes will solve the problem; it’s likely related to pressure. As the building gets higher, the pressure of the water reaching your home decreases, and as a result, the flow rate also decreases. As a solution, you could try buying a small household pressure booster pump on Taobao; this would yield a more noticeable effect. Another factor is the flow rate of the shower – the water flow rate from the storage-type electric water heaters in my hometown is also low, while gas water heaters that use natural gas produce a higher water flow rate. I’m not sure if this is related to the type of water heater used~
Check what size the inlet pipe is; the inner diameter of aluminum-plastic pipes is one size smaller than that of iron pipes. If the diameter of the main pipe is sufficient, then your inlet pipe should be an aluminum-plastic pipe with a DN20 diameter.
Replacing the thick upstairs water pipes is likely to be useless?