The standard pressure test for new natural gas or propane pipe in my area (NW Oregon) is something anyone can do. Same for installing the gas line. (Why are there so many naysayers on a DIY forum? This is not rocket science: Just a few new skills to learn.)
Before installing the gas pipe, I consulted with a pro (paid $80 for an hour of onsite questions). He had some good tidbits and some not so great. The best bit of advice was that to prevent leaks, make every connection with no more than two or three threads showing. Since there were 105 connections, this was a heavy duty workout over several days. Using yellow Teflon tape makes turning much easier—as does a 16 inch pipe wrench. The joint's seal is formed by the pipe and fitting being forced together and then settling (which takes hours to days). By turning until only 1 to 2 threads (out of 10) remain revealed, there was no leakage.
(The worst bit of "pro" advice was that he would have routed the pipe through the garage in the most obnoxious way. It would have been convenient to install, but a royal pain in the ass to live with afterwards. Instead, we opted to bore two holes through the garage foundation into the crawlspace and kept 98% of the pipe neatly out of the way.)
To leak test, obtain a $10 gauge as pictured (for black pipe) and install it somewhere on the pipe. In my case, I put it at the top of the riser pipe for the range. I explicitly ran 3/4 inch all the way to the range to suit the gauge, which has a nice benefit of smooth generous flow even when all the burners and ovens are on. (Total extra cost was less than $20 over 1/2 inch pipe, and no perceptible increase in hassle.)
Since every appliance has an independent cut off valve, I closed all those and the gas meter shutoff valve, used a bicycle tire pump to pressurize the system to 30 psi and waited. If the whole system does not hold pressure for hours and hours, there is a leak somewhere. At the end, the worst leak offender was the test gauge itself. I had to clean the needle valve and use gobs of Teflon tape to get it down to reasonable levels—on the tire valve thread into the tester body, on the gauge stem's thread into the body, and a great deal of tape for the gas pipe going into the tester. For preliminary tests I tried temporary caps at the appliance feeders and those were exceedingly leaky—the pipe caps don't seem to fit tapered pipe because they lacked enough thread depth. The valves on the appliance flex hoses didn't leak at all.
Once I was satisfied that 30 psi didn't leak significantly, taking five days to drop to 22 psi (demonstrably through the test gauge), I called for inspection. The mechanical inspector walked in, saw 22 psi and said "you pass" without looking at another thing. According to the test standards (see 406.4), it has to hold pressure for 10 minutes with no perceptible drop and he had no idea if I pumped it up just as he arrived or hours before. So much for inspection insuring safety.
For the nibco valve, does that mean that it would be able to withstand up to 600 PSI of (cold) air/gas pressure, but should only be used as a main shutoff for up to 5 PSI, and an appliance shutoff where the working pressure is less than 1/2 PSI?
Yes.
Should the other shutoff valves rated at 1/2 or 5 be able to withstand the 4 PSI of the pressure test?
Yes.
I plan to do the pressure test at about 4 PSI, with a gauge that reads up to 15 PSI. Should I cap off the lines before the shutoff valves (to avoid stressing valves, but not test them), or close the shutoff valves and remove the caps on the traps so that excess pressure leaking through valves would be vented instead of damaging the appliance regulators.
Why not be thorough? If there is a leak at 4 PSI, it will be very difficult to assess. Run the test at the maximum test gauge reading.
My house's regulator is set at 7" of water column, gauge pressure, and I need to test at a minimum of 3 PSI-gauge, and I'm located in Indiana, United States.
That is standard residential delivery, same as mine.
Yes, that sounds defective.
A pressure regulator (which is what a PRV is) should stop flow when the pressure exceeds the setting. This sounds like you may have a small leak, which could be from debris trapped in the valve, a scratched valve seat or something like that.
Before spending money on it, determine if the PRV is your responsibility or the water company's responsibility. If it's theirs, they may just come swap it out for you.
Your described behavior (particularly the speed of it) would seem to be a leaky PRV. A slightly different case arises when there is a PRV (which also acts like a one-way or check valve) and a hot water heater, with no expansion tank - then the water pressure can rise when cold water is heated and no valves are open.
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Age matters because the unit has springs inside and the springs can lose tension over time, also your seals can fail.
All of that said - you can take the 5 years thing with a BIG grain of salt. People say the same kinds of things about torsion springs on a garage door. Usage Matters.
With a faucet open OF COURSE your water pressure is going to drop - hey you have running water - the water follows the path of least resistance - it is not running into your gauge any more - but into the drain.
What you are seeing is normal pressure drop with an open faucet. You probably should lower your pressure a little as 85PSI is probably at the high end.
Here is a video on adjusting the water pressure.