When working with garden hose faucets in your home, there are few things that are worse then if the water reverses the flow and ends up in your home's water supply, possibly contaminating it.
If only there was something that could help prevent that... you're in luck! Vacuum breakers provide back siphonage protection. By installing a vacuum breaker, you can rest assured that your home's water supply stays safe and uncontaminated.
In this blog, we explain why you should install a vacuum breaker on your faucet's hose bibb connection, how to actually do the installation and how they operate.
Why Install a Vacuum Breaker?
If your garden hose connection does not already have a vacuum breaker built in (some do so make sure you double check yours before purchasing a vacuum breaker), you should install one on every faucet or hose bibb that is connected to a potable water
supply. This is a key part of the faucet that will help prevent back flow from entering the water supply.
Vacuum breakers prevent back flow by venting the water and discharging it onto the ground. When the system pressure is strong, it will open the check valve allowing flow through the vacuum breaker into the garden hose.
When the supply pressure is interrupted or if the pressure in the hose becomes to great, the supply pressure stops then the spring loaded check valve closes, simultaneously opening a vent to the ground. In this particular operation, any water that flows backward through the vacuum breaker gets safely vented to the ground, not the water supply.
Normal Flow vs Back Siphonage Condition
A normal flow condition when a vacuum breaker is installed is when the water pressure pushes the rubber sealing disc off its seat, allowing water to flow through the openings.
When back siphonage conditions occur, the spring pulls the valve closed before any reverse flow can take place. The rubber disc in the vacuum breakers seals against the valve seat.
Installation
Vacuum breakers must be installed at least six inches above the ground surface and they must follow the parameters of all Plumbing Codes.
Vacuum breakers are supplied with a "break away" screw. The head of the screw will break off when tightening torque is applied. By breaking off the screw head, you prevent removal of the vacuum breaker once it is installed.
Be sure to adhere to all applicable plumbing codes when working with vacuum breakers. Breaking the set screw head off is mandated by plumbing codes in many areas.
Wall Hydrants with Built-In Vacuum Breakers
The best and easiest way to avoid issues with hose bibb vacuum breaker replacements is to install a wall hydrant that includes the vacuum breaker built into the body of the faucet. Be sure to look for this feature when you go to purchase a wall hydrant.
In Conclusion:
The good news is if you already have a garden faucet installed, you are able to add a vacuum breaker, preventing contaminates getting into your water supply.
The better news is that with a little bit of research, you can purchase a wall hydrant that includes a vacuum breaker already built into the body, removing the stress of having to replace your vacuum breaker if something were to break. Sounds good to me!
For more information on products that Boshart carries, head to boshart.com.
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