Vacuum breaker and Frost Free

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bikkirum

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2022
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
Hello,

What is the benefit of a vacuum breaker on top on the outside water faucet?
Also, is a 10 inch frost free line versus 6 inch frost free line give much of a difference?

Thank you!
 
The VB allows water to drain out once the valve is shut off.
If it were not there, water would remain in the assembly from capillary tension.
 
The VBs are a backflow preventer. They are designed to prevent water in a hose, or from a puddle the end of the hose may be sitting in, from being sucked into the public drinking water supply and contaminate the water.

Of course for this to happen you need a perfect storm of trouble. You need a source of contaminated water. You need the end of a hose stuck in that water. You need a failure of pressure on the public water supply… moreover, you need the failure of the public water supply to turn what is normally a pressure line into a vacuum line. This can only happen in a absolute widespread power failure or a massive failure of the water supply system when back up generators fail… The pressure in most public water systems comes from water towers so this is really a very rare occurrence.

As to the size of the frost free hose bibbs it all depends on where they are fitting in your home. In some cases they run parallel to the joists and are connected to the water supply with a longer unit such as 12 or 16 inches. In other cases the joist is run parallel to the wall they are mounted on outside and you’ll need a short one as such as 8 inches. I had several different sizes on the outside of my home!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top