Well the local utilities came up with a new one to get some $$ out of it’s commercial customers. Not only do we have to have a “backflow prevention valve”…environmental vodoo B.S. . but we have to PAY to have it inspected once a year!!
How our clean water could back up the 100+ ft from our (1 toilet and 1 sink) into the public water supply is way beyond my common sense level. Seems like every time I turn on our water the water doesn’t have to travel the 100+ feet to get to our faucet or we’d be waiting about 30 seconds to a minute for any water to come out.
You know the fire department doesn’t charge us to inspect our fire extinguishers.
You know what just happened. Anyone that works for the utility department just now is having a price increase the moment they walk into our facility for services. Funny how things like that “just happen”.
Backflow preventers are usually on the fire protection water line, the water in these lines gets pretty rancid over time as other than occasional test it is not being circulated. Some locations also have fire pumps and tanks with high pressure than the city or county. Long story - short NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, requires the inspection. These standard are written by a committee of 20+ guys interested in providing good fire protection, they are not perfect nor will they ever be, but they are the best we have to keep the country safe from fire issues, including pollution of potable water supplies by fire protection supplies.
Most system never cause a problem, a few have, you are paying for their sins.
These are commonly referred to RPZ valves ( don’t ask). Their purpose is to prevent rancid water being sucked back into a water system in the event of a municipal water supply pressure loss… Such “sucking back” occurs when for some reason the municipal water supply system loses pressure/drops, and creates a vacuum. Picture this scenario: You’re bathing your dog with a hose in a tub and water valve open and the hose is in that soapy dirty tub. Suddenly the municipal water system/supply drops in pressure creating a vacuum and sucks the dog dirty, soapy water from the tub into the water system. This valve prevents such happenings. The valves make GOOD sense. The inspections are Bulls===t. MY biggest peeve is that this relatively SIMPLE soldering/sweating installation MUST be done by a licensed plumber complete with the obligatory “plumbers crack” for BIG bucks.
Mark
PS And if you MUST, the best deal is at McMasterCarr.com . About $250 for the 3/4 in and out.
Our city required all businesses to install a back-flow preventer valve—I can see that if you have process water connected to the water system where a pressure drop can suck from you back into their system but we only have a bathroom and a wash sink and that cant happen. When they check the valve every year , the plumber has to come back every time because the valve leaks at the fittings where their test hoses are connected—where else can you get a plumber come out 2x for 50 bucks!
Huh… here in Northern Virginia, we have to have them on our in-lawn sprinkler systems, and yes, we homeowners have to pay for pressure testing and inspection once a year.
Big Bad Wulff
It is the person who is signed for service form the utility that has to foot the billing, that is due to the only name the utility has on file for the site. It is the resposibility of the person signed for service to take it to the property manager/owner, I have installed back flows in hydronic heater when I did service work. Most state and federal regs state the owner of the property can install them on thier own proberty but they still have to pass state/county/city/fed inspection by your local inspector.
Ghost.