Sprinkler Check Valves & How They Prevent Water Damage
Breaks in your underground pipes occur more often than you might think!
Whether they’re a result of incorrect line locates, careless digging or trenching, natural wear and tear on your pipe material, or the result of weather, breaks in your irrigation line can prove costly in terms of lost water as well as repair fees.
To avoid these kinds of situations, check valves will be your first line of defense. They won’t necessarily prevent your line from breaking, but they will prevent you from going broke from all that lost water.
In this blog post, we share a complete guide to sprinkler check valves and how they can help prevent water damage.
What Are Sprinkler Check Valves?
When water leaks out of a sprinkler system, it can spell disaster for your irrigation systems. Using a check valve will help to prevent excess water inside pipes from leaking out of your sprinklers.
These devices stop excess water from traveling downwards and leaking out of your pipes, so you’ll be able to conserve your water supply in the event of a break in your irrigation lines.
How Do Sprinkler Check Valves Work?
Without check valves built along with the sprinkler’s body, water can simply leak out from the lowest sprinkler in a particular area. Using a check valve can help to stop this kind of drainage from happening, which is why they are a good investment for irrigation.
To keep the flow of water going in one direction, check valves automatically open and close a disc depending on the amount of water pressure that is flowing through the piping. When the pressure is strong, the disc will open and as the pressure decreases, it will close.
Each component for the valves is built into the sprinkler, which means you won’t need to install a new check valve for every sprinkler.
But without a pre-installed check valve, your sprinkler system won’t be able to stop water from draining after the sprinkler station is cut off, which will waste huge amounts of water.
One of the most important parts of your decision-making process should be to prevent excess water from escaping your sprinklers.
An irrigation system will benefit from pre-installed check valves — while these are the norm, some systems need post-installation done in the piping or sprinkler head.
Furthermore, a sprinkler head check valve will also assist in conserving the right amount of water you need to fill up the pipes every time you run the sprinklers. As a result, you will be able to activate the sprinklers faster whenever they need to be turned on.
The Purpose of Sprinkler Check Valves
Most people in the industry of agriculture will know that there are ways to help them conserve energy, improve the efficiency of their operations, and create a more sustainable process. Many of these same methods apply to homeowners with sprinkler systems.
There is a wide range of components that go into building an irrigation system, but the most important will likely be your check valve.
There’s no way for you to tell just how contaminated water can get without the use of irrigation check valves, and the same goes for how efficiently your system can run. As such, farmers & homeowners alike should invest in these devices to ensure that their practices are both sustainable and completely free from contaminants.
Benefits of Sprinkler Check Valves
One obvious benefit to sprinkler check valves is that they stop water from making its way downward and leaking.
They also help to keep water inside the pipes, which means that your system will run efficiently while helping it to automatically turn on and off. This is a huge benefit since no one can afford to wait around for their sprinkler systems to turn on.
If you already have a sprinkler system that’s set to make sure that your lawn stays lush and healthy, the next thing to do is to ensure it works at full capacity. This is another area where sprinkler check valves will come into play since they can be set to use only as much water as you need while conserving the remainder for next time.
With this device, you can avoid issues with pooling and leaking water around the sprinkler heads. Using sprinkler check valves will limit water from going somewhere it’s not supposed to, which in turn, will save your landscape from overwatering damage.
What To Do if Your Valve Is Leaking
Is your sprinkler valve leaking? Perhaps you’re wondering why water is pooling around your sprinkler heads. You may have an issue with your sprinkler check valve.
When your sprinkler is off while the pressure throughout the system is low, the water that remains will collect inside the pipes. Even the slightest difference in elevation will cause low drainage around the head, and water will begin to travel to the lowest point of your sprinkler system.
As a result, water can leak out from your sprinkler heads and damage everything that surrounds them, including your grass.
If you notice that water sputters and sprays air as soon as you turn on your sprinklers, this is a good indication that water is leaking and is being replaced by air inside your sprinkler heads.
Pooling water like this will prevent growth and create mud puddles, which is why you need to check your sprinkler head valves and replace them when necessary.
Contact Commercial Lawn Irrigation
At Commercial Lawn Irrigation, we work hard to keep your sprinklers in top condition. Our team of experts has the knowledge and qualifications needed to provide you with the right sprinkler system (complete with professional check valves) for your irrigation system.
If you’re looking for sprinkler installation, or even if you notice your sprinkler valve leaking, don’t hesitate to contact us by giving us a call or submitting a contact form.