A lot of times consumers get confused with the technical jargon that comes with buying appliances. One such problems that is common with geyser shoppers is understanding what Bar pressure means. If you are wondering what is bar pressure in geyser, here is what it means for you and your geyser. Well firstly, Bar is a unit of pressure. If you learned the SI system, you might be familiar with Pascal, well, Bar is somewhat similar. It helps you calculate the water pressure to your geyser, which is more important if you live in a building where the overhead water tank is really high.

You could still try and understand how it affects your water heater and what it essentially means. However, if you live in a smaller building, you do not have to worry about the question what is bar pressure in geyser. You can very well do without even thinking about it.

Anywhichways, let us get to it and see what it means.


What is Bar Pressure in Geyser?

Firstly, Bar is the unit of pressure, much like Pascal, atm, or any other unit of pressure. But how does that come into account when talking about geysers you ask?

Well, the water pressure in your geyser, if it is too low, it will not be able to fill your geyser tank with water at the speed it is supposed to, or at all. On the other hand, if it is too high, you run the risk of blowing up the valves connected to the geyser and causing it permanent harm. This is the reason why you might have to look into the water pressure when purchasing a new water heater.

What is Bar Pressure in Geyser all about?

The water pressure of a geyser storage tank is calculated in terms of “bars”. For people living in high-rise buildings, this information is very important and effectively helps you understand if your geyser can handle the higher, or lower, pressure of the water running from the tank to your geyser.

Therefore, bar pressure is nothing else but the water pressure that would be hitting the water tank of your geyser. A higher pressure can easily damage the valves, while lower pressure would result in slower transfer of water.

As a rule of thumb, make sure your geyser has a pressure rating of 8 bars. This way you make sure that it can actually handle the pressure of the water without any harm to the geyser itself.

Look at the product specifications of your desired geyser and make sure it is rated 8 bars in terms of pressure. It might be represented as 0.8Mpa in certain models.

If you have a geyser installed already, and need to know about the pressure that it is facing, you can easily use a pressure gauge to test that. Use it on the inlet valve that comes into your geyser bringing in cold water. If you do not have a pressure gauge handy, you can even use the manual method of calculating the pressure. Simply calculate the distance from the bottom of the overhead tank, to the inlet hose that connect to your geyser. This will give you a rough estimate of how much pressure your geyser is facing.

For example, if the distance between the water tank for your house and the inlet faucet is 10 meters, the pressure exerted on the valve would be 1 bar.

The best water heater in India for home generally aim for the 8 bars of pressure to make sure they can be used in all kinds of situations.

What Bar Pressure is best for Geyser?

Now you must be wondering what is the ideal pressure for your geyser to function normally. Well, on an average, no matter where you are living, it is advisable to go for a geyser with a pressure rating of 8 bars. This is usually a standard practice, and in case you live in a high-rise building, you might have to take a note of this aspect of a water heater.

For people not living in high-rises, this information is not as relevant, but something you definitely can check out to make sure about the specifications of your desired geyser.

Also read: Best Geysers Guides, Reviews & Comparisons

While not all models will blatantly explain to you what bar pressure is, or might not even have the specification listed, you can find a certain spec that is mentioned in either PSI or MPa. Here is a table that can help you understand your appliance better and figure out the different variations of the same specification.

barpsiMPa
687.00.6
7101.50.7
8 (Ideal pressure)116.0 (Ideal pressure)0.8 (Ideal pressure)
9130.50.9

What can cause Low Water Pressure?

Now, there are certain things that can affect the pressure of water running into your geyser. If you find that your appliance was getting ample pressure but has since reduced and rendered your appliance slower, here are certain things that cause low pressure to your geyser.

  • Damaged pipes: One of the primary reasons for lower pressure to your geyser can be attributed to corroded or damaged pipes. If the pipes that bring water to your geyser are somewhat damaged, you might find the flow of water slowing down and eventually just cutting off since damaged pipes generally lead to leaks. Make sure the pipes are in good condition to bring the pressure back up to normal levels.
  • Hard water: Hard water causes the build up of scaling, or minerals all along the pipe. Slowly as the scaling hardens, it lowers the water pressure and causes a lot of issues. To solve this issue, you might have to scrape the insides of the pipe, or have them taken out, cleaned, and reinstalled.
  • Problems with main water valve: If the main water valve at the source is faulty, the water pressure would effectively die out right at the starting point. Check the main valve first in case you see a drop in water pressure levels.
  • Pressure regulators: Pressure regulators are built-in to overhead water tanks. If they are faulty, you might not get flowing water in the first place. Have them checked or replaced in case you suspect those to be the problem.
  • Distance from the water source: This, while not always the culprit, can cause a lot of issues. If the distance from the source to your geyser is too much, along with the bar pressure on your geyser being too low, the water will never be able to reach the geyser in the first place. To battle this, make sure your geyser comes with at least 8 bars of pressure potential.

How to check Water Pressure?

There are a couple of ways you can check the water pressure to your geyser. First is by using a pressure gauge. Here is how you do that.

  • Turn off all water faucets inside your house.
  • Hook up a pressure gauge to the faucet that is connected to the geyser inlet.
  • Tighten the gauge and turn on the faucet all the way.
  • Check the pressure and note it down.
  • Check your geyser’s pressure capacity against what you are getting.
  • If the water pressure is higher than what your geyser can handle, you can get yourself a pressure reducing valve to help. Otherwise you might have to change your geyser and get some that can handle the water pressure.
  • If the water pressure is lower, check for any issues that the pipes might be facing.

If you do not own a pressure gauge, you can try and estimate the distance from the water source to the geyser. For every 10m, add 1 bar of pressure. So, if the distance comes out to be 50m, your geyser must at least be able to handle 5 bars of pressure to function correctly.

📌Also Read: Best instant geyser for kitchen

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much pressure should a geyser have?

The ideal pressure for a geyser is around 8 bars. Anything below might still work in most situations. However, if you live in a high-rise building, or you get high water pressure as municipal water, getting 8 bar pressure geyser is a must.

What is high pressure geyser?

Generally associated with solar geysers, a high pressure geyser is one that can easily handle the high pressure from the municipal water source. There are also low pressure solar geysers available in the market, which, well, can even work with lower water pressures and can even use rainwater as their source.

How do you increase geyser pressure?

To increase geyser pressure, you would have to find the pressure valve at the water source. If there is an overhead tank, visit it and slowly untighten the screws that will increase the water pressure. You could also check the incoming pipes for any dents, or leaks to make sure that is not something that is causing the lower water pressure.


Conclusion

So, understanding what is bar pressure in geyser may not be something you were hoping to see, but if you wish to make a proper, informed purchase, you should totally look at all the specifications on a geyser. Since now you know how and what to look for, always aim to get a geyser with 8 bar pressure to always be on the safe side. While this pressure equation might not even show up if you live in a smaller building, for people living in high-rises getting a new geyser can be tricky due to this particular pressure issue.

Happy shopping!