SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

Quoted from "secutanudu"

Have you tried the wilkins 375 yet? It seems interesting...I like that you can remove the guts for the winter.

If so...thoughts?

Just installed it today.

Looks good to me. Easy removal and re-installation of the BOF and the check chamber. If anything has to be repaired in the check valves, you can replace the rubber only, you can replace check valve 1 and/or check valve two. Both of those options are the same as with any other RP, but with this on you also have a third option. You can also replace the entire chamber. For you that might be a little on the expensive side, to do that. But for me as when I test and repair, I can replace the chamber and repair it later in the shop and keep the newly repaired unit for the next RP repair.

I'll be getting more of these and the double check version, the 350.


Mick

Have you tried the wilkins 375 yet? It seems interesting...I like that you can remove the guts for the winter.

If so...thoughts?

Quoted from "secutanudu"

What make/model RPZ would you guys recommend?

Thoughts on Lead Free?

Thanks.

I've been looking at the WIlkins 375. It has Blow Out and Flush (BOF) module that you can get if you're in a cold weather climate. At the end of the season when you blow out your system, you just have to undo two screws and remove the entire check valve chamber. You then insert the BOF. The BOF has two FIP ports that you can insert adapters for whatever type of air fitting you need for blow out. You keep the BOF in over the winter, and In the spring you just use the BOF to flush your RP and sprinkler system before you turn it on. When your backflow assembly tester comes, you can reinsert the check valve chamber and have it tested.

A lot of my client remore their entire unit every winter to protect it from freezing. This should put and end to that.

www.zurn.com/operations/wilkins/pdfs/CutSheets/WK-375-CS%200410.pdf

I ordered one and got the call today that it's in.

Mick

Quoted from "Wet_Boots"

No problem installing an RPZ indoors, that is, if it is installed in a room with a floor drain capable of handling the entire flow of the sprinkler system. Lacking that, they go outdoors.

Then outdoors it is. Thanks.

No problem installing an RPZ indoors, that is, if it is installed in a room with a floor drain capable of handling the entire flow of the sprinkler system. Lacking that, they go outdoors.

Quoted from "secutanudu"

Do you install strainers with your systems?

Even on city water, you'll get "stuff" in your water. www.irritationtutorials.com suggests a filter for every irrigation system. When I installed mine, I installed a 150 mesh filter ahead of the backflow preventer (DCBA) to help make sure nothing in the water supply fouls the check valves, and minimizes wear on the valves, and keeps me from having to have another filter where I have drip irrigation. And I can tell you from experience with my filter, there is indeed stuff in city water you might not expect (in my case, a splinter of wood I found caught by the filter).

Any reason not to just put the 009 inside?

A working RPZ won't drain automatically. It just so happens that one can blow the 009 clear with a small amount of air on the intake side. (read the manual) A classic design will have water retained in lower portions of the device, and you must partially dismantle it to get out the water.

I was actually looking at the Watts 009 series. So the water drains out of it automatically? Can I install it inside, or does twater leak out of it under normal (or backflow) operation?

Can a blowout valve be installed after the 009? Would the air leak out as it tries to go backwards through the RPZ, preventing pressure from hitting the sprinkler heads?

I'd love to be able to do the blowouts myself...everything i read says you need a huge volume (but low pressure) compressor to get all the water out of the lines.

Lead-free is California - avoid any quantum shift in technology until it shakes out on somebody else's dime. I use several models of RPZ, but my stomping grounds are not so rigorous about testing, so my viewpoint is more about operating convenience. Right now, it is the Watts 009 series that allows the RPZ to remain outdoors without any extra work required prior to winter freezes. A (cooler air) small compressor can actually blow right through the RPZ for winterizing. I wouldn't do that with a jackhammer compressor. - If you had lower water pressure, you might prefer a classic design like a Wilkins 975 - the older designs burden you with having to partially dismantle the device to get out all the water prior to wintertime.