Outside water tap: increase the water pressure in the garden

An outside faucet makes gardening easier and allows other uses around the household and leisure. But what to do if the water pressure in the garden is too low? Here's how you can raise it.

Too little pressure - common causes

Of course, the reasons why the pressure in the water supply network is too low can be very individual. Usually, however, some recurring reasons can be identified:

• decreasing cable cross-sections due to calcification and pollution
• Incorrect setting of the pressure reducer on the domestic waterworks
• conscious reduction of the water pressure to protect sensitive components
• Inefficient pump when using rainwater
• with gravity-assisted supply, low tank level or low gradient

find mistakes

Before you can increase it, it is now important to identify the cause of the low water pressure on the outside tap. It is best to use the principle of exclusion and start with the simplest steps:

• Check the pressure reducer for reserves
• Check the performance range of existing pumps
• In the case of rainwater harvesting based on gravity: Check tank content and pipe gradient
• Check lines for limescale and contamination, e. B. by dismantling the outside faucet in the garden

Attention: A layperson can hardly assess whether the resistance of your pipe installation to the affected tap is the cause of a deliberately low pipe pressure. 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:

Pressure reducerreadjust

Typical pressure reducers are equipped with a manometer from which the pressure can be read directly. Carefully turn the adjusting wheel until the pressure display rises to the desired value.

Attention: Here you consciously increase a preset value. Pay attention to possible leaks in the pipe to the outside water tap and if necessary adjust back to the original value immediately.

pumpcheck

Regardless of whether a pump in the domestic water system is used for the drinking water installation or for Rainwater harvesting is used, many permanently installed units can be readjusted similar to a pressure reducer. If there is room for improvement, you can adjust the output pressure of the pump using the adjustment device.

On the other hand, the only thing that helps when pumps are at their performance limit is to replace them with a more powerful model.

Clean lines

It is hardly possible for you as a layperson to clean existing water pipes when they are installed. It is therefore imperative that you contact a competent installer who can show you the various options. In many cases, however, only replacement can help with advanced reductions in the line cross-section.

Special case rainwater tank

Finally, there is the “special case” of an outside water tap with a rainwater supply. If a pump is used here, the remedy that has already been described comes into play. If, on the other hand, the water flows purely due to gravity, i.e. through a high tank and a gradient in the Supply line to the tap, the water pressure can be adjusted quite easily with these measures, even if only to a limited extent, raise:

1. Adjust the fill level

If the water level in the rainwater tank drops, the weight of the water is also reduced, which also presses the outlet and thus on the water in the pipe up to the tap - the pressure decreases. Make sure you have a fuller tank to repressurize the higher load of the water.

Attention: With this procedure, you lose usable tank volume, as a certain amount of water must always be available in order to increase the minimum pressure to the level you want.

2. Increase tank

Instead of the fill level, you can simply make sure that your water tank is higher. A higher gradient in the pipe above the back pressure of the tap water can also lead to a certain increase in pressure on the outside tap.

frequently asked Questions