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

Hi,

I can't seem to find a good place to buy an enclosure for my backflow preventer/filter assembly. Even SprinklerWarehouse.com doesn't seem to sell any, unless I haven't been looking in the right way. My backflow preventer (RPZ) and filter are installed alongside my house, above ground. I don't have the exact inner dimensions the enclosure would need to be off-hand but I can't even seem to find a decent supplier to begin with. All the places I have found sell ridiculously overpriced products. The most popular seems to be the HotBox (I see these everywhere, or a similar version without heat from the same company) but I'm pretty sure they don't sell retail and even if they did I suspect the prices would be insane.

I'm looking for something either fiberglass or plastic. It doesn't need to lock, it doesn't need to be heated. Essentially I just need a box (with one open side) to place on top of the assembly to hide it. The prices I've seen for enclosure are ridiculous ($200+) for a fiberglass or plastic box. What could possibly make such a simple thing cost so much money? I'm thinking these enclosures have mostly commercial applications, hence the overblown price. Does anyone know of a place a regular consumer like me can get their hands on one for a reasonable price (less than $100)?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I suppose that's what I may have to do. I always get my feathers ruffled when the cost of a product far exceeds its cost to make. Cost for materials, labor, and distribution on a single backflow enclosure must be no more than $20 yet they sell for so much more. Sure there will be some nonrecurring cost related to development but those costs are typically made up for by the profit on each unit sold. Similarly I wish someone had a convincing explanation for why furniture and mattresses cost so much (ever been to one of those designer furniture places like Dania, Bassett, Thomasville, etc?), but that's for another forum.

What I'll probably end up doing is repurposing something else for this. Some day I'll probably randomly come across a plastic structure that will work perfectly to hide my backflow preventer but is meant for another purpose entirely and it will cost a fraction of the price. If I find such a thing or a lead on a cheap enclosure I'll let you all know.