Where is the PRV valve located?
The PRV is usually found on the main waterline coming into the house, sometimes buried in a crawl space. People often confuse it with the water meter or discover their home does not have one at all. This prevents them from fixing a sudden loss of indoor water pressure.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Where is the PRV valve located?
- 1Checking the yard for a secondary utility box near the street.Did this help you?
- 2Tracing the main water line inside the house starting from the master shutoff valve.Did this help you?
- 3Buying a water pressure gauge to test the pressure at a garden hose spigot instead.Did this help you?
- 4Following the pipe from where water enters the house in a crawlspace.Did this help you?
- 5Looking directly above the main water shut off valve.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I've lost most of the water pressure in the house and online searching leads me to believe it's the PRV.”source ↗
“What is the most common place to locate a PRV?”source ↗
“I’m trying to find my PRV valve, but I’m pretty sure this is just the water meter. Any ideas where the PRV would be?”source ↗
“I found mine buried in the crawl space about 12 to 18 inches of the main waterline coming into the house, 100 year old farm house.”source ↗
“I’m starting to think my home doesn’t have one”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7Why does water pressure keep creeping up with a new PRV?
- 16How do I find my main water shutoff valve in an emergency?
- 3Which automatic water shutoff valve should I buy to prevent leaks?
- 5Why is my apartment shower too hot and low pressure?
- 12Why is there no water pressure after changing a faucet?
- 14Old water shut off valve won't turn off