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1

Wednesday, April 27th 2011, 12:05pm

Sprinkler head upstream from anti-siphon valve

I bought a house that's got an irrigation system with a couple of sprinkler heads upstream from the anti-siphon valve. The house is in the middle of a slope and the valves are at the front of the house. The upstream sprinkler heads need to be there to get to the top of the sloped areas. There are other sprinkler heads downstream from the valves as well. But it seems I am getting a slow leakage from the anti-siphon valves after the water flow has been turned off and I'm pretty sure it's due to the location of the upstream sprinkler heads.



Raising the anti-siphon valves to eliminate the upstream situation will require the valves to be about 5-feet above the ground and this is right at the entrance to the house so I don't want to do that. Moving the anti-siphon valves to a location above the upstream heads would mean the valves are sitting next to the sidewalk which I don't want neither.



So is there an elegant way to keep the layout but somehow relief the water pressure downstream after the water has been turned off? Is there a component that can be installed downstream that would allow water to seep out once the water has been turned off? Are there sprinkler heads that don't require much pressure I can install at the bottom of the slope so that water can continue to seep out after the water has been turned off? Any solutions would be appreciated. Thanks.

mrfixit

Moderator

Posts: 1,514

Location: USA

2

Wednesday, April 27th 2011, 12:24pm

Try installing a King check valve right after your anti-syphon. I like to use a 1" check valve on a 3/4 inch line.

www.kbico.com/product_info.php?products_id=249

This post has been edited 2 times, last edit by "mrfixit" (Apr 27th 2011, 12:34pm)


3

Wednesday, April 27th 2011, 2:43pm

Thanks Mrfixit, looks like a good solution.

4

Wednesday, April 27th 2011, 5:46pm

I'm learning as I go along so bear with me. :)



It would be nice to have the water seep out in addition to preventing my original issue with the placement of some sprinkler heads upstream from the anti-syphon valves which causes the leakage at the valve when the water is turned off. Does either of the 2 below options sound plausible?



1. I see now there is an auto drain valve available which is used for weatherizing. Does this valve when placed at the bottom of my sloped pipes basically automatically let water seep out when the water is turned off (without me doing anything)? If yes, can this work in my scenario?



2. Also, is there nothing to prevent the "non-popup" sprinkler heads from letting water out of the pipes when placed at the bottom of a sloped pipe? If so, can this be another "device" I can use at the bottom of my sloped pipes to allow water to seep out after the water has been turned off?



note, at the bottom of my sloped pipes is also an underground drain so excess water there is ok.



Thanks again.

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

5

Wednesday, April 27th 2011, 7:57pm

Where is your location? There isn't any good reason to not make your sprinkler system comply with the plumbing codes. Heads uphill of an antisyphon valve are a code violation, period, and represent a safety hazard. If you cut in an RPZ device upstream of the zone valves, you are covered no matter what.

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