Home Page

Services:

► Testing

► Repair

► Installation

► Cosmetics

Contact / Map

Backflow? FAQs

Interesting Facts

Our Environmental Policy

Do-it-yourself Installation info

We are Seminole County Environmental Services' backflow contractor.

Do It yourself Installation (part 2)

Step 3. Digging the hole and exposing the water line.

The following procedure and picture set is for the installation of an RPZ device at the meter. The procedure fore the installation of a PVB device is very similar and in therefore not demonstrated.

Find the meter box and open it. Dig out the dirt to expose the shut-off valve up stream from the meter and the pipe going out of the meter:

Starting from the very edge of the valve box, dig to find the pipe and follow it over a long enough distance to accommodate the BFPA that will be installed and give yourself enough room to work on the pipe:

Step 4: Building the Valve assembly.

We recommend that you pre-assemble the backflow device with its adaptors and elbows. All above ground piping must be schedule 80 per county code and for freeze resistance. In our experience the only mainstream stores that carry schedule 80 pipes and fittings in Seminole County are Lowes and Ace Hardware. (Professionals have access to a wider variety of PVC fittings than is usually sold in these stores, so the valve assembly in the pictures may look slightly different than your assembly). You will also need about 8 feet of schedule 80 pipe, PVC cleaner and cement.

On both sides of the device you will need the following PVC parts:

Firmly secure the valve body in a vise and prepare to install the adapters, using pipe thread compound.

Firmly screw in the adaptor using a pipe wrench or large pliers:

Next install a 2.5" long piece of  SCH 80 pipe using PVC cement. Make sure to use cleaner as appropriate first.

When installing the elbow, hold in straight by using a piece of pipe:

Step 5: Making the splice and installing the Valve.

Before cutting any pipes you must turn off the water at the meter. We recommend a meter wrench, but some times it is possible to use pliers or "channel locks". To make sure the valve is shut tight, open a faucet downstream and watch the flow indicator on the meter; it should stop turning:

Measure the overall length of the assembly; this is the size of the splice you will make in the water line:

Using a PVC pipe cutter or a hack saw, cut and remove the appropriate length of water line. Water will flow out of the pipe for a while, so its a good idea to have an extra deep hole to make room for some water.  (Have some pipe caps ready in case the hole gets flooded; they will keep dirt from washing into the line until the hole dries up).

Next cut two pieces of SCH 80 pipe for the uprights. Size them so the lowest parts of the valve body is 12 " above grade. Preinstall the elbows and reducers as necessary. The underground PVC pipes can be SCH 40.

Install the 2 uprights:

Trim the uprights so they are perfectly level:

It is very important to flush the incoming pipe before you install the backflow device. Backflow preventers contain main sensitive seals and moving parts that will not operate properly should any dirt get into them.

Finally you may install the backflow assembly onto the uprights.

It is a good idea to add a stiffener, a strait piece of channel or angle, to make sure the device is sturdy, and to protect from lawn mowers or other things that may bump into the pipes:

Before refilling the hole, pressure test the finished piping. Then refill the dirt, and replace the sod as needed. It is strongly recommended to spray paint the PVC pipes because they tend to deteriorate with ultraviolet light from the sun. Also, the finished job looks a lot better when painted.

Home | Updated 5-14-2007