Cold water pipe restriction - help?

Hi All

My 4.5 year old 5er has PEX fresh water piping and there is very VERY
low PUMP COLD water pressure on the toilet, shower and vanity. They
work OK on city water.

The kitchen sink works fine on PUMP COLD and everything works fine on
HOT (city or pump). Kitchen sink is a little low on city water but
it's nowhere near as low as the dribble that comes out of the other
fixtures when on pump (city pressure much higher than pump I suppose).

Anyway, why would this suddenly happen. It seems to me that there has
to be a restriction in the 4 foot pipe of PEX pipe that goes from the
pump to the 3 front fixtures (city water inlet is on the 3 fixture
side of that pipe).

Why would there be a restriction? Did it spontaneously kink or did
something come through the pump and block the pipe or did sediment
build up? Of course this pipe is the only one burried under the floor
where access is difficult to impossible - I want to have an idea of
what to expect before I start ripping up floorboards.

Suggestions?

Cheers, Joe

On Jul 25, 11:40 am, Joe Bedford <joebedf...m> wrote:
> Hi All
>
> My 4.5 year old 5er has PEX fresh water piping and there is very VERY
> low PUMP COLD water pressure on the toilet, shower and vanity. They
> work OK on city water.
>
> The kitchen sink works fine on PUMP COLD and everything works fine on
> HOT (city or pump). Kitchen sink is a little low on city water but
> it's nowhere near as low as the dribble that comes out of the other
> fixtures when on pump (city pressure much higher than pump I suppose).
>
> Anyway, why would this suddenly happen. It seems to me that there has
> to be a restriction in the 4 foot pipe of PEX pipe that goes from the
> pump to the 3 front fixtures (city water inlet is on the 3 fixture
> side of that pipe).
>
> Why would there be a restriction? Did it spontaneously kink or did
> something come through the pump and block the pipe or did sediment
> build up? Of course this pipe is the only one burried under the floor
> where access is difficult to impossible - I want to have an idea of
> what to expect before I start ripping up floorboards.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Cheers, Joe

I started another thread with questions about how to work with PEX
tubing and connectors.

Cheers, Joe

On Jul 25, 11:40 am, Joe Bedford <joebedf...m> wrote:
> Hi All
>
> My 4.5 year old 5er has PEX fresh water piping and there is very VERY
> low PUMP COLD water pressure on the toilet, shower and vanity. They
> work OK on city water.
>
> The kitchen sink works fine on PUMP COLD and everything works fine on
> HOT (city or pump). Kitchen sink is a little low on city water but
> it's nowhere near as low as the dribble that comes out of the other
> fixtures when on pump (city pressure much higher than pump I suppose).
>
> Anyway, why would this suddenly happen. It seems to me that there has
> to be a restriction in the 4 foot pipe of PEX pipe that goes from the
> pump to the 3 front fixtures (city water inlet is on the 3 fixture
> side of that pipe).
>
> Why would there be a restriction? Did it spontaneously kink or did
> something come through the pump and block the pipe or did sediment
> build up? Of course this pipe is the only one burried under the floor
> where access is difficult to impossible - I want to have an idea of
> what to expect before I start ripping up floorboards.
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Cheers,Joe

I was going to take apart the plumbing after my wife and I did a
little 5 day trip where we would be dry camping. However, before we
left, I decided to empty my hot water heater because I thought the
water was a bit skunky. I reinstalled the drain plug and attached city
water from my house to fill the tank.

Dontcha know that the cold water blockage has gone away!! I can only
surmise that whatever was blocking the pipe got blown backwards into
the hot water tank, Next time I drain that tank I'll strain the water
to see if I can find what it was.

I'm pleased - for the moment, I don't have to take apart any plumbing.

Cheers, Joe