Plumbing
Plumbing
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Responsibility
This course contains EPA’s federal rule requirements. Please be aware that each
state implements drinking water/wastewater/safety regulations may be more stringent
than EPA’s or OSHA’s regulations. Check with your state environmental agency for
more information. You are solely responsible in ensuring that you abide with your
jurisdiction or agency’s rules and regulations.
Check with your State to see if this course has been accepted.
Basic Plumbing© www.abctlc.com 7/8/2002 All plastic piping photos are used by permission from
Spears MFG. Co, All backflow materials are used by permission from CMB Industries, Inc.
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Contact Numbers
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Email Info@tlch2o.com
Telephone (866) 557-1746
Audience
Water Distribution, Well Drillers, Pump
Installers, Water Treatment Operators,
Wastewater Treatment Operators,
Wastewater Collection Operators,
Industrial Wastewater Operators and
General Backflow Assembly Testers, and
Plumbers--the target audience for this
course is the person interested in working
in a water or wastewater treatment or
distribution/collection facility, performing
basic or light plumbing, wishing to
maintain CEUs for a certification license,
wanting to learn how to do the job safely
and effectively, and/or to meet education
needs for promotion.
Required Texts
The Basic Plumbing CEU Training course does not require any course materials. Course
comes complete.
Educational Mission
The educational mission of TLC is:
To provide TLC students with comprehensive and ongoing training in the theory and
skills needed for the environmental education field,
To provide TLC students with opportunities to apply and understand the theory and
skills needed for operator certification,
To provide a forum in which students can exchange experiences and ideas related to
environmental education,
To provide a forum for the collection and dissemination of current information related
to environmental education, and to maintain an environment that nurtures academic
and personal growth.
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It should be noted, however, that the regulation of plumbing and water distribution materials is an
ongoing process and subject to change over time. For this reason, a list of resources is provided to
assist in obtaining the most up-to-date information on various subjects.
This manual is a not a guidance or code document for plumbers or operators. It is not designed to
meet the requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Health
and Safety Administration (OSHA) or your local State environmental protection agency, health
department, building code or plumbing enforcement agency. This course manual will provide general
water distribution, piping and backflow protection information and should not be used as a basis for
plumbing, backflow protection method/device guidance. This document is not a detailed plumbing
code manual or a source or remedy for plumbing license or certification.
Technical Learning College or Technical Learning Consultants, Inc. makes no warranty, guarantee or
representation as to the absolute correctness or appropriateness of the information in this manual and
assumes no responsibility in connection with the implementation of this information. It cannot be
assumed that this manual contains all measures and concepts required for specific conditions or
circumstances. This document should be used for educational purposes only and is not considered a
legal document. Individuals who are responsible for plumbing, water distribution systems, and
backflow protection should obtain and comply with the most recent federal, state, and local regulations
relevant to these sites and are urged to consult with OSHA, Building Authority, the EPA and other
appropriate federal, state and local agencies.
Copyright Notice
©2000- 2018 Technical Learning College (TLC) No part of this work may be reproduced or distributed
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College. This information is intended for educational purposes only. Most uncredited photographs have
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these issues are brought to the editor's attention.
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Learning College accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the application or misuse of any
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Requests for acknowledgement or permission to make copies should be made to the following
address:
TLC
P.O. Box 3060
Chino Valley, AZ 86323
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. TLC is not liable for errors or
omissions appearing in this document.
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Chapter 3 Backflow.................................................. 31
Types of Backflow Preventers..................................... 39
Backflow Responsibilities............................................. 45
Chapter 4 Pathogens............................................... 57
Hippocrates................................................................. 59
Black Plague ............................................................... 65
Viral Diseases.............................................................. 73
Waterborne Diseases................................................. 75
Glossary..................................................................... 191
Math conversions..................................................... 201
References................................................................ 205
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Archaeologists found the antique latrine in the tomb of a king of the Western Han Dynasty
(206 BC to 24 AD), who believed his soul would need to enjoy human life after death, the
official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.
"This top-grade stool is the earliest of its kind ever discovered in the world, meaning that the
Chinese used the world's earliest water closet which is quite like what we are using today,"
Xinhua quoted the archaeologists' report as saying.
"It was a great invention and a symbol of social civilization of that time," Xinhua said.
The invention of the flush toilet is widely attributed to London plumber Thomas Crapper, who
patented a U-bend siphoning system for flushing the pan in the late 19th century, and who
also installed toilets for Queen Victoria.
Among other inventions claimed by China are toilet paper, fireworks, gunpowder, the
compass, paper money, kites, printing and the clock.
The toilet tomb was discovered in Shangqiu County in the central province of Henan, Xinhua
said.
Archaeologists also found a queen consort's stone tomb, more than 690 feet long and
consisting of more than 30 rooms including a bathroom, toilet, kitchen and an ice-store.
Water Closet or Urinal? Crappers have been here much longer than we may think.
Much longer and that is a good thing.
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Below, Trap Primer to maintain the seal inside a floor drain so that sewer odors do
not come inside the building, Trap Primers are usually inside access panels in walls.
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Licensing
Plumbers must demonstrate their competence as installers of plumbing systems to an official
executing board prior to being issued a license. A plumbing code which is technically perfect is
valueless if its provisions are not observed and enforced. The issuance of a license by a
community specifies that the license holder is qualified both theoretically and practically and that
their technical knowledge is sufficient to maintain
the standards of the code.
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There are many things that an owner or renter can do; there are many things that should be left
to an expert-the plumbing contractor and his staff of journeymen plumbers.
Minor repairs should be made promptly. Annoyances such as a clogged drain, dripping faucet or
a leaking flush valve in the toilet, are more than a mere bother - they usually waste money. This
booklet suggests remedies for these and many other household plumbing problems.
Major repairs, replacements, and new plumbing installations should be left to the supervision of
a plumbing contractor. His working methods are based on years of experience - and his guarantee
is assurance that all materials and methods are of the highest quality.
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One way to identify the valves is to have a tag on each valve indicating its function, that is, which
fixtures or group of fixtures it controls. Valve identifying tags may be obtained from plumbing
dealers. Many plumbers are glad to offer a valve tagging service to their customers or prospective
customers.
Another method of identification is by means of a valve chart. Because this is somewhat more
elaborate, it is usually employed only for houses with several bathrooms. A drawing is made of
the basement piping with all the valves indicated. The valves are numbered on the chart and tags
with corresponding numbers are placed on the valves. Still another idea which aids in
identification is to paint pipes a distinctive color.
Obviously, the most important valve in the house is the main shut-off valve for the entire plumbing
system. This valve, generally located on the house side or service of the water meter, usually has
a handle like a wheel. If it has not been used in many years, it may require a wrench to turn it.
Because the easy operation of this valve in case of emergency is so important, it is advisable to
place a few drops of oil around the valve handle once or twice a year. This will prevent the sticking
action of corrosion.
The shut-off valve may be the ground-key type with a small hole bored in its side for draining the
pipes after the water is shut off, or it may be a drain and stop with a cap nut covering the drain
opening. In either case, close the opening before turning the water off. Unless this is done,
water will spurt with force.
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There are few better illustrations of the use of the integral calculus, as well as the principles of
ordinary statics, available to the student. A great deal can be done with only elementary
mathematics. Properly adapted, the material can be used from the earliest introduction of school
science, giving an excellent example of a quantitative science with many possibilities for hands-
on experiences.
The definition of a fluid deserves careful consideration. Although time is not a factor in
hydrostatics, it enters in the approach to hydrostatic equilibrium. It is usually stated that a fluid is
a substance that cannot resist a shearing stress, so that pressures are normal to confining
surfaces. Geology has now shown us clearly that there are substances which can resist shearing
forces over short time intervals, and appear to be typical solids, but which flow like liquids over
long time intervals. Such materials include wax and pitch, ice, and even rock.
A ball of pitch, which can be shattered by a hammer, will spread out and flow in months. Ice, a
typical solid, will flow in a period of years, as shown in glaciers, and rock will flow over hundreds
of years, as in convection in the mantle of the earth.
Shear earthquake waves, with periods of seconds, propagate deep in the earth, though the rock
there can flow like a liquid when considered over centuries. The rate of shearing may not be
strictly proportional to the stress, but exists even with low stress.
Viscosity may be the physical property that varies over the largest numerical range, competing
with electrical resistivity. There are several familiar topics in hydrostatics which often appears in
expositions of introductory science, and which are also of historical interest and can enliven their
presentation. Let’s start our study with the principles of our atmosphere.
Atmospheric Pressure
The atmosphere is the entire mass of air that surrounds the earth. While it extends upward for
about 500 miles, the section of primary interest is the portion that rests on the earth’s surface and
extends upward for about 7 1/2 miles. This layer is called the troposphere. If a column of air 1-
inch square extending all the way to the "top" of the atmosphere could be weighed, this column
of air would weigh approximately 14.7 pounds at sea level. Thus, atmospheric pressure at sea
level is approximately 14.7 psi.
As one ascends, the atmospheric pressure decreases by approximately 1.0 psi for every 2,343
feet. However, below sea level, in excavations and depressions, atmospheric pressure increases.
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Atmospheric pressure can be measured by any of several methods. The common laboratory
method uses the mercury column barometer. The height of the mercury column serves as an
indicator of atmospheric pressure. At sea level and at a temperature of 0° Celsius (C), the height
of the mercury column is approximately 30 inches, or 76 centimeters. This represents a pressure
of approximately 14.7 psi. The 30-inch column is used as a reference standard.
Another device used to measure atmospheric pressure is the aneroid barometer. The aneroid
barometer uses the change in shape of an evacuated metal cell to measure variations in
atmospheric pressure. The thin metal of the aneroid cell moves in or out with the variation of
pressure on its external surface. This movement is transmitted through a system of levers to a
pointer, which indicates the pressure.
The atmospheric pressure does not vary uniformly with altitude. It changes more rapidly.
Atmospheric pressure is defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight
of the air above that surface. In the diagram below, the pressure at point "X" increases as the
weight of the air above it increases. The same can be said about decreasing pressure, where the
pressure at point "X" decreases if the weight of the air above it also decreases.
Pressure may be referred to using an absolute scale, pounds per square inch absolute (psia), or
gauge scale, (psiag). Absolute pressure and gauge pressure are related. Absolute pressure is
equal to gauge pressure plus the atmospheric pressure. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure
is 14.7 psai.
Absolute pressure is the total pressure. Gauge pressure is simply the pressure read on the
gauge. If there is no pressure on the gauge other than atmospheric, the gauge will read zero.
Then the absolute pressure would be equal to 14.7 psi, which is the atmospheric pressure.
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Vacuum
The term vacuum indicates that the absolute pressure is less than the atmospheric pressure and
that the gauge pressure is negative. A complete or total vacuum would mean a pressure of 0
psia or –14.7 psig.
Since it is impossible to produce a total vacuum, the term vacuum, as used in this document, will
mean all degrees of partial vacuum.
In a partial vacuum, the pressure would range from slightly less than 14.7 psia (0 psig) to slightly
greater than 0 psia (-14.7 psig).
Backsiphonage results from atmospheric pressure exerted on a liquid, forcing it toward a supply
system that is under a vacuum.
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Suppose you placed another cubic foot of water on top of the first cubic foot. The pressure on
the top surface of the first cube which was originally atmospheric, or 0 psig, would now be
0.4333 psig as a result of the additional cubic foot of water. The pressure of the base of the first
cubic foot would be increased by the same amount of 0.866 psig or two times the original
pressure.
Hydraulics
The word hydraulics is based on the Greek word for water, and originally covered the study of the
physical behavior of water at rest and in motion.
Use has broadened its meaning to include the behavior of all liquids, although it is primarily
concerned with the motion of liquids. Hydraulics include the manner in which liquids act in tanks
and pipes, deals with their properties, and explores ways to take advantage of these properties.
Hydraulics is a branch of engineering concerned mainly with moving liquids. The term is applied
commonly to the study of the mechanical properties of water, other liquids, and even gases when
the effects of compressibility are small.
Hydraulics can be divided into two areas, hydrostatics and hydrokinetics. Hydrostatics, the
consideration of liquids at rest, involves problems of buoyancy and flotation, pressure on dams
and submerged devices, and hydraulic presses.
Hydrodynamics
The relative incompressibility of liquids is one of its basic principles. Hydrodynamics, the study of
liquids in motion, is concerned with such matters as friction and turbulence generated in pipes by
flowing liquids, the flow of water over weirs and through nozzles, and the use of hydraulic pressure
in machinery.
Development of Hydraulics
Although the modern development of hydraulics is comparatively recent, the ancients were
familiar with many hydraulic principles and their applications. The Egyptians and the ancient
people of Persia, India, and China conveyed water along channels for irrigation and domestic
purposes, using dams and sluice gates to control the flow. The ancient Cretans had an elaborate
plumbing system. Archimedes studied the laws of floating and submerged bodies. The Romans
constructed aqueducts to carry water to their cities.
After the breakup of the ancient world, there were few new developments for many centuries.
Then, over a comparatively short period, beginning near the end of the seventeenth century,
Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelle, French physicist Edme Mariotte and, later, Daniel Bernoulli
conducted experiments to study the elements of force in the discharge of water through small
openings in the sides of tanks and through short pipes.
During the same period, Blaise Pascal, a French scientist, discovered the fundamental law for the
science of hydraulics. Pascal’s law states that increase in pressure on the surface of a confined
fluid is transmitted undiminished throughout the confining vessel or system. For Pascal’s law to
be made effective for practical applications, it was necessary to have a piston that "fit exactly." It
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This was accomplished by the invention of machines that were used to cut and shape the
necessary closely fitted parts and, particularly, by the development of gaskets and packings.
Since that time, components such as valves, pumps, actuating cylinders, and motors have been
developed and refined to make hydraulics one of the leading methods of transmitting power.
Liquids are almost incompressible. For example, if a pressure of 100 pounds per square inch (psi)
is applied to a given volume of water that is at atmospheric pressure, the volume will decrease by
only 0.03 percent. It would take a force of approximately 32 tons to reduce its volume by 10
percent; however, when this force is removed, the water immediately returns to its original volume.
Other liquids behave in about the same manner as water.
Another characteristic of a liquid is the tendency to keep its free surface level.
If the surface is not level, liquids will flow in the direction which will tend to make the surface level.
Liquids at Rest
In studying fluids at rest, we are concerned with the transmission of force and the factors which
affect the forces in liquids. Additionally, pressure in and on liquids and factors affecting pressure
are of great importance.
The terms force and pressure are used extensively in the study of fluid power. It is essential that
we distinguish between the terms.
Force means a total push or pull. It is the push or pull exerted against the total area of a particular
surface and is expressed in pounds or grams. Pressure means the amount of push or pull (force)
applied to each unit area of the surface and is expressed in pounds per square inch (lb/in2) or
grams per square centimeter (gm/cm2 ). Pressure may be exerted in one direction, in several
directions, or in all directions.
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Pressure due to the weight of a liquid, at any level, depends on the depth of the fluid from the
surface. If the exposed face of the pressure gauges are moved closer to the surface of the liquid,
the indicated pressure will be less. When the depth is doubled, the indicated pressure is doubled.
Thus the pressure in a liquid is directly proportional to the depth.
Consider a container with vertical sides that is 1 foot long and 1 foot wide. Let it be filled with
water 1 foot deep, providing 1 cubic foot of water. 1 cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds. Using
this information and equation, P = F/A, we can calculate the pressure on the bottom of the
container.
Since there are 144 square inches in 1 square foot, this can be stated as follows: the weight of a
column of water 1 foot high, having a cross-sectional area of 1 square inch, is 0.433 pound. If the
depth of the column is tripled, the weight of the column will be 3 x 0.433, or 1.299 pounds, and
the pressure at the bottom will be 1.299 lb/in2 (psi), since pressure equals the force divided by the
area.
Thus, the pressure at any depth in a liquid is equal to the weight of the column of liquid at that
depth divided by the cross-sectional area of the column at that depth.
The volume of a liquid that produces the pressure is referred to as the fluid head of the liquid. The
pressure of a liquid due to its fluid head is also dependent on the density of the liquid.
Gravity
Gravity is one of the four forces of nature. The strength of the gravitational force between two
objects depends on their masses. The more massive the objects are, the stronger the gravitational
attraction.
When you pour water out of a container, the earth's gravity pulls the water towards the ground.
The same thing happens when you put two buckets of water, with a tube between them, at two
different heights. You must do work to start the flow of water from one bucket to the other, but
then gravity takes over and the process will continue on its own.
Gravity, applied forces, and atmospheric pressure are static factors that apply equally to fluids at
rest or in motion, while inertia and friction are dynamic factors that apply only to fluids in motion.
The mathematical sum of gravity, applied force, and atmospheric pressure is the static pressure
obtained at any one point in a fluid at any given time.
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Pascal’s law states that a pressure set up in a fluid acts equally in all directions and at right angles
to the containing surfaces.
This covers the situation only for fluids at rest or practically at rest. It is true only for the factors
making up static head. Obviously, when velocity becomes a factor it must have a direction, and
as previously explained, the force related to the velocity must also have a direction, so that
Pascal’s law alone does not apply to the dynamic factors of fluid power.
The dynamic factors of inertia and friction are related to the static factors. Velocity head and
friction head are obtained at the expense of static head. However, a portion of the velocity head
can always be reconverted to static head.
Force, which can be produced by pressure or head when dealing with fluids, is necessary to start
a body moving if it is at rest, and is present in some form when the motion of the body is arrested;
therefore, whenever a fluid is given velocity, some part of its original static head is used to impart
this velocity, which then exists as velocity head.
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The velocity of flow or velocity of the fluid is defined as the average speed at which the fluid moves
past a given point. It is usually expressed in feet per second (fps) or feet per minute (fpm). Velocity
of flow is an important consideration in sizing the hydraulic lines.
Volume and velocity of flow are often considered together. With other conditions unaltered—that
is, with volume of input unchanged—the velocity of flow increases as the cross section or size of
the pipe decreases, and the velocity of flow decreases as the cross section increases. For
example, the velocity of flow is slow at wide parts of a stream and rapid at narrow parts, yet the
volume of water passing each part of the stream is the same.
Bernoulli's Principle
Bernoulli's principle thus says that a rise (fall) in pressure in a flowing fluid must always be
accompanied by a decrease (increase) in the speed; and conversely, an increase (decrease) in
the speed of the fluid results in a decrease (increase) in the pressure.
This is at the heart of a number of everyday phenomena. As a very trivial example, Bernoulli’s
principle is responsible for the fact that a shower curtain gets ”sucked inwards'' when the water is
first turned on. What happens is that the increased water/air velocity inside the curtain (relative to
the still air on the other side) causes a pressure drop.
The pressure difference between the outside and inside causes a net force on the shower curtain
which sucks it inward. A more useful example is provided by the functioning of a perfume bottle:
squeezing the bulb over the fluid creates a low-pressure area due to the higher speed of the air,
which subsequently draws the fluid up.
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Another example of Bernoulli's principle at work is in the lift of aircraft wings and the motion of
“curve balls'' in baseball. In both cases, the design is such as to create a speed differential of the
flowing air past the object on the top and the bottom - for aircraft wings this comes from the
movement of the flaps, and for the baseball it is the presence of ridges. Such a speed differential
leads to a pressure difference between the top and bottom of the object, resulting in a net force
being exerted, either upwards or downwards.
Properties of Water
Specific gravity of water at 60°F = 1.00
Weight per gallon is based on 7.48052 gallons per cubic foot.
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Sources of pollution which may result in a danger to health are not always obvious and
such cross-connections are certainly not usually intentional. They are usually the result
of oversight or a non-professional installation. As source examples, within a business
environment the pollutant source may involve the unintentional cross-connection of
internal or external piping with chemical processes or a heating boiler. In a residential
environment the pollutant source may be an improper cross-connection with a landscape
sprinkler system or reserve tank fire protection system. Or, a situation as simple as
leaving a garden hose nozzle submerged in a bucket of liquid or attached to a chemical
sprayer.
Another buried RP assembly deep inside a vault, all we can see is a test cock. All RPs
need to be installed 12 inched above the ground. This device was buried in ground and
not tested for over 25 years. Owners are required to test their devices once a year at a
minimum.
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Cross-Connection
A cross-connection is any temporary or
permanent connection between a public water
system or consumer’s potable (i.e., drinking)
water system and any source or system
containing nonpotable water or other substances.
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Backflow is the undesirable reversal of flow of nonpotable water or other substances through a
cross-connection and into the piping of a public water system or consumer’s potable water
system. There are two types of backflow--backpressure and backsiphonage.
Backsiphonage
Backpressure
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Backsiphonage can occur when there is a stoppage of water supply due to nearby firefighting, a
break in a water main, etc.
All backflow materials are used by permission from CMB Industries, Inc
34
Backpressure (i.e., downstream pressure that is greater than the potable water supply pressure)
can result from an increase in downstream pressure, a reduction in the potable water supply
pressure, or a combination of both. Increases in downstream pressure can be created by pumps,
temperature increases in boilers, etc.
Reductions in potable water supply pressure occur whenever the amount of water being used
exceeds the amount of water being supplied, such as during water line flushing, firefighting, or
breaks in water mains.
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36
The type of device selected for a particular installation depends on several factors. First,
the degree of hazard must be assessed. A high hazard facility is one in which a cross
connection could be hazardous to health, such as a chrome plating shop or a sewage
treatment plant. A low hazard situation is one in which a cross connection would cause
only an aesthetic problem such as a foul taste or odor.
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Air Gap
An air gap is a physical disconnection between the free flowing discharge end of a
potable water pipeline and the top of an open receiving vessel. The air gap must be at
least two times the diameter of the supply
pipe and not less than one inch. This type of
protection is acceptable for high hazard
installations and is theoretically the most
effective protection.
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The Double Check Valve Assembly consists of two internally loaded check valves, either
spring loaded or internally weighted, two resilient seated full ported shutoff valves, and
four properly located resilient seated test cocks. This assembly shall be installed as a unit
as shipped by the manufacturer. The double check valve assembly is designed to prevent
backflow caused by backpressure and backsiphonage from low health hazards or
pollutional concerns only. The double check valve should be installed in an accessible
location and protected from freezing. The DC needs to be installed 12 inches above the
ground for testing purposes only.
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During normal operation, the pressure between the two check valves, referred to as the
zone of reduced pressure, is maintained at a lower pressure than the supply pressure. If
either check valve leaks, the differential pressure relief valve maintains a differential
pressure of at least two (2) psi between the supply pressure and the zone between the
two check valves by discharging water to atmosphere.
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The reduced pressure device can be used for high hazard situations under both
backpressure and backsiphonage conditions. Under normal conditions, the second
check valve should prevent backflow.
However, if the second check valve fails or becomes fouled and backflow into the
reduced pressure zone occurs, the relief port vents the backflow to atmosphere.
The reduced pressure zone port opens anytime pressure in the zone comes within 2
psi of the supply pressure.
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The water purveyor (or supplier) is held responsible for compliance to the provisions of the
Safe Drinking Water Act, to provide a warranty that water quality by their operation is in
conformance with the EPA standards at the source, and is delivered to the customer without
the quality being compromised as its delivery through the distribution system.
Code of Federal Regulations (Volume 40, Para. 141.2 Section c)”: Maximum contaminant
level means the permissible level of a contaminant in water which is delivered to the free
flowing outlet of the ultimate user of a public water system, except in the case of turbidity
where the maximum permissible level is measured at the point of entry (POE) to the
distribution system.
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Furthermore, consumers generally have absolute faith that water delivered to them through
a public water system is always safe to drink. For these reasons, each water supplier must
take reasonable precautions to protect its public water system against backflow.
What should water suppliers do to control cross-connections and protect their public
water systems against backflow?
Water suppliers usually do not have the authority or capability to repeatedly inspect every
consumer’s premises for cross-connections and backflow protection. Alternatively, each
water supplier should ensure that a proper backflow preventer is installed and maintained at
the water service connection to each system or premises that poses a significant hazard to
the public water system.
Generally, this would include the water service connection to each dedicated fire protection
system or irrigation piping system and the water service connection to each of the following
types of premises:
(1) premises with an auxiliary or reclaimed water system;
(2) industrial, medical, laboratory, marine or other facilities where objectionable substances
are handled in a way that could cause pollution or contamination of the public water system;
(3) premises exempt from the State Plumbing Code and premises where an internal
backflow preventer required under the State Plumbing Code is not properly installed or
maintained;
(4) classified or restricted facilities; and
(5) tall buildings.
Each water supplier should also ensure that a proper backflow preventer is installed and
maintained at each water loading station owned or operated by the water supplier.
The principal types of mechanical backflow preventer are the reduced-pressure principle
assembly, the pressure vacuum breaker assembly, and the double check valve assembly. A
secondary type of mechanical backflow preventer is the residential dual check valve.
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Low, or Pollutional
Containment protection does not protect the customer within his own building, but it does
effectively remove him from the possibility of public water supply contamination.
This type of backflow protection is excellent for water purveyors and is the least expense to
the water customer, but does not protect the occupants of the building.
This type of protection entails extensive cross-connection survey work usually performed by
a plumbing inspector or a Cross-Connection Specialist.
In a large water supply system, internal protection in itself is virtually impossible to achieve
and police due to the quantity of systems involved, the complexity of the plumbing systems
inherent in many industrial sites, and the fact that many plumbing changes are made within
commercial establishments that do not get the plumbing department’s approval or require
that the water department inspects when the work is completed.
Internal protection is the most expensive and best type of backflow protection for both the
water purveyor and the customer alike, but is very difficult to maintain.
In order for the purveyor to provide maximum protection of the water distribution system,
consideration should be given to requiring the owner of the premises to provide, at his own
expense, adequate proof that his internal water supply system complies with the local or state
plumbing code(s). In addition, he may be required to install, test, and/or maintain all backflow
protection assemblies.
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An rdc is effective against backpressure backflow and backsiphonage but should be used to
isolate only non-health hazards and is intended for use only in water service connections to
single-family homes.
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Backflow prevention devices must be tested annually to ensure that they work properly. It is
usually the responsibility of the property owner to have this test done and to make sure that
a copy of the test report is sent to the Public Works Department or Water Purveyor.
If a device is not tested annually, Public Works or the Water Purveyor will notify the property
owner, asking them to comply. If the property owner does not voluntarily test their device, the
City may be forced to turn off water service to that property. State law requires the City to
discontinue water service until testing is complete.
Leaky RP, probably has some debris in the pressure differential area or in the
hydraulic relief valve area.
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Pathogens may get into water and spread when infected humans or animals pass the
bacteria, viruses and protozoa in their stool. For another person to become infected, he or
she must take that pathogen in through the mouth.
Waterborne pathogens are different from other types of pathogens such as the viruses that
cause influenza (the flu) or the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. Influenza virus and
tuberculosis bacteria are spread by secretions that are coughed or sneezed into the air by
an infected person.
Human or animal wastes in watersheds, failing septic systems, failing sewage treatment
plants or cross-connections of water lines with sewage lines provide the potential for
contaminating water with pathogens. The water may not appear to be contaminated because
feces has been broken up, dispersed and diluted into microscopic particles. These particles,
containing pathogens, may remain in the water and be passed to humans or animals unless
adequately treated.
Only proper treatment will ensure eliminating the spread of disease. In addition to water,
other methods exist for spreading pathogens by the fecal-oral route. The foodborne route is
one of the more common methods. A frequent source is a food handler who does not wash
his hands after a bowel movement and then handles food with “unclean” hands. The
individual who eats feces-contaminated food may become infected and ill. It is interesting to
note the majority of foodborne diseases occur in the home, not restaurants.
Day care centers are another common source for spreading pathogens by the fecal-oral
route. Here, infected children in diapers may get feces on their fingers, then put their fingers
in a friend’s mouth or handle toys that other children put into their mouths.
The general public and some of the medical community usually refer to diarrhea symptoms
as “stomach flu.” Technically, influenza is an upper respiratory illness and rarely has diarrhea
associated with it; therefore, stomach flu is a misleading description for foodborne or
waterborne illnesses, yet is accepted by the general public.
So the next time you get the stomach flu, you may want to think twice about what you’ve
digested within the past few days.
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The pathogens must survive in the water. This depends on the temperature of the water and
the length of time the pathogens are in the water. Some pathogens will survive for only a
short time in water, others, such as Giardia or Cryptosporidium, may survive for months.
The pathogens in the water must enter the water system’s intake and in numbers sufficient
to infect people. The water is either not treated or inadequately treated for the pathogens
present.
A susceptible person must drink the water that contains the pathogen. Illness (disease) will
occur. This chain lists the events that must occur for the transmission of disease via drinking
water. By breaking the chain at any point, the transmission of disease will be prevented.
Bacterial Diseases
Campylobacteriosis is the most common diarrheal illness caused by bacteria. Symptoms
include abdominal pain, malaise, fever, nausea and vomiting; and usually begin three to five
days after exposure. The illness is frequently over within two to five days and usually lasts
no more than 10 days. Campylobacteriosis outbreaks have most often been associated with
food, especially chicken and unpasteurized milk as well as unchlorinated water. These
organisms are also an important cause of “travelers’ diarrhea.” Medical treatment generally
is not prescribed for campylobacteriosis because recovery is usually rapid.
Waterborne Diseases
The first epidemic of a waterborne disease probably was caused by an infected caveman
relieving himself in waters upstream of his neighbors. Perhaps the entire clan was decimated,
or maybe the panicky survivors packed up their gourds and fled from the "evil spirits"
inhabiting their camp to some other place.
As long as people lived in small groups, isolated from each other, such incidents were
sporadic. But as civilization progressed, people began clustering into cities. They shared
communal water, handled unwashed food, stepped in excrement from casual discharge or
spread as manure, used urine for dyes, bleaches, and even as an antiseptic.
As cities became crowded, they also became the nesting places of waterborne, insect borne
and skin-to-skin infectious diseases that spurted out unchecked and seemingly at will. Typhus
was most common, reported Thomas Sydenham, England's first great physician, who lived
in the 17th century and studied early history. Next came typhoid and relapsing fever, plague
and other pestilential fever, smallpox and dysentery’s-the latter a generic class of disease
that includes what's known as dysentery, as well as cholera.
The ancients had no inkling as to the true cause of their misery. People believed divine
retribution caused plagues and epidemics, or else bad air, or conjunction of the planets and
stars, any and all of these things.
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Cleaning Up
From archeology we learn that various ancient civilizations began to develop rudimentary
plumbing. Evidence has turned up of a positive flushing water closet used by the fabled King
Minus of Crete back around 1700 B.C.
The Sea Kings of Crete were renowned for their extravagant bathrooms, running hot and cold
water systems, and fountains constructed with fabulous jewels and workings of gold and
silver.
Just a few months ago, a colorful public latrine dating to the 4th century B.C. was unearthed
on the Aegean island of Amorgos.
The 7'x 5' structure resembles a little Greek temple. Topped with a stone roof, the interior
walls decorated in red, yellow and green plaster, it served a gymnasium a short distance
away. The building accommodated four people seated on two marble benches.
Running water flushed the wastes away, probably along an open ditch at the users' feet.
Ancient water supply and sewerage systems - along with various kinds of luxury plumbing for
the nobility - also have been discovered in early centers of civilization such as Cartage,
Athens and Jerusalem. But it was the Roman Empire of biblical times that reigns supreme,
by historical standards, in cleanliness, sanitation and water supply.
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The Romans built huge aqueducts conveying millions of gallons of water daily, magnificent
public baths and remarkable sewer systems-one of which, the Cloaca Maxmia, is still in use.
Rome spread its plumbing technology throughout
many of its far-flung territories as well.
The water supply of Rome was obtained from ground water and rain water, and in many
cases these mixed together. The lowlands of the countryside were swampy marshes which
developed into malarial wastelands.
The Romans developed underground channels to drain the natural swamps and secure water
for irrigation and drinking. Nonetheless, a particular region known as the Pontine Marshes
were all but inhabitable during the summertime, until drained during the regime of Benito
Mussolini. (Some 40,000 Italians died in a 16th century malaria epidemic.)
A luxury toilet in the private houses of the well-to-do was a small, oblong hole in the floor,
without a seat - similar to toilets that prevailed in the Far East and other sections of the world
even today. A vertical drain connected the toilet to a cesspool below.
The great Roman spas accommodated hundreds and even thousands of bathers at a time.
But without filtration or circulation systems, the bathers basked in germ-ridden water and the
huge pools had to be emptied and refilled daily.
In public latrines, a communal bucket of salt water stood close by in which rested a long stick
with a sponge tied to one end. The user would cleanse his person with the spongy end and
return the stick to the water for the next one to use.
The stick later evolved into the shape of a hockey stick, and the source for the expression
"getting hold of the wrong end of the stick." It also provided an excellent medium for
passing along bacteria and the assorted diseases they engendered.
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Examples of Roman water pipe and Latrine and below is a hand washing station.
Running water for the latrine either was supplied by stone water tanks or else by an
aqueduct patterned after the graceful, curved arches made famous by the Roman
engineers. Those water experts knew that covering water keeps it cool from the sun
and helps prevent the spread of algae.
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Rome employed administrators known as aediles to oversee various public works, including
coliseum games and the police. They also were in charge of seeing that streets got swept of
garbage and streams cleared of visible pollution and debris.
Lead pipes that carried both hot and cold water under pressure were in use in Rome
over 4,000 years ago and can be clearly seen in the ancient city of Pompeii. Below
is a steam vent that was used in a bath house over 5,000 years ago.
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Plumberi
So prized was the craftsmanship of these plumberi that, in lieu of present-day status symbols
like a Rolls Royce or Porsche, our Roman ancestors boasted of lead pipes in their houses,
especially those imprinted with the plumber's name (usually female, by the way), and that of
the building owner.
Lead Poisoning
Lead poisoning is at least a plausible explanation for the dementia of Roman emperors such
as Caligula and Nero, and for a general weakening and demoralization of the populace at
large. However, the case for massive lead poisoning is far from proven, and water piping was
hardly the only source of lead contamination. The widespread use of lead cooking utensils
and goblets probably was more harmful than its use in plumbing.
Whatever the causes, over time there was a noticeable deterioration in the moral values,
dignity and physical character of Roman society. Symbolic of this general decline, by the time
of Augustus Caesar in 14 A.D., the once authoritative aediles collected the waste only at
state-sponsored events.
During the final century of Roman domination, there was a succession of earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions and disease epidemics. Soon afterwards, rampaging Vandals and other
barbaric tribes completed the breakdown of Western civilization, as they systematically
leveled and defiled the great Roman cities and their water systems.
Medieval Squalor
Then came a thousand years of medieval squalor. A thousand years of sicknesses and
plague of unbridled virulence, fanned by fleas and mosquitoes, excrement and filth, stagnant
and contaminated water of every description.
Age Of Disease
The typical peasant family of the aptly-named Dark Ages lived in a one-room, dirt-floor hovel,
with a hole in the thatched roof to let out the smoke of the central fire.
The floor was strewn with hay or rushes, easy havens for lice and vermin. Garbage
accumulated within. If they were lucky, the family had a chamber pot, though it was more
likely they relieved themselves in the corner of the hovel or in the mire and muck outside.
Water was too precious to use for anything except drinking and cooking, so people rarely
bathed. Heck, they barely changed clothes from one season to another, wearing the same
set every day, perhaps piling on more rags for warmth.
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These are the conditions which spawned the infamous Black Plague, killing an estimated one
third of the European population. Although not directly related to bad plumbing, the plague
serves as the most striking example of misery caused by poor sanitation in general, and the
ignorance of people in controlling the outbreak.
The first of several waves hit England in 1348, caused by flea bites spread by lice that dwelt
on host black rats. They, in turn, fed on the garbage and excrement of the masses. London
became largely deserted. The King and Queen and other rich people fled to the countryside.
The poor were the greatest sufferers.
Panic, death and despair followed the abandonment of farms and towns. Wrote William of
Dene, a monk of Rochester in Kent, England, “Men and women carried their own children on
their shoulders to the church and threw them into a common pit. From these pits such an
appalling stench was given off that scarcely anyone dared to walk beside the cemeteries, so
marked a deficiency of labors and workmen that more than a third of the land in the whole
realm was left to."
So bad was the "Black Death," the Great Fire of London in I666 can be viewed as a blessing
in disguise. Though it killed thousands of people, the holocaust also consumed garbage,
muck and black rats, effectively ending the plague.
Dysentery
Bad plumbing was merely one of many sanitation factors that gave rise to the Black Death.
Other scourges are more directly related to human waste. Dysentery is one that has left an
indelible mark on history.
Characterized by painful diarrhea, dysentery is often called an army’s "fifth column." Identified
as far back as the time of Hippocrates and before, it comes in various forms of infectious
disorders and is said to have contributed to the defeat of the Crusaders. Wrote the eminent
English historian, Charles Creighton: "The Crusaders of the IIth - I3th centuries were not
defeated so much by the scimitars of the Saracens as by the hostile bacteria of dysentery
and other epidemics.”
The summer of the first Crusade in 1090 was extraordinarily hot as the ill-prepared and rag-
tag "army" of men and camp followers went to war with little more than the clothes on their
backs-confident that the Lord would provide for their needs in such a holy cause. They
denuded the land of trees and bushes in the quest for nourishment.
Hampered by lack of fresh water and contaminated containers, they trudged along to their
destiny, relieving themselves along the wayside or in the fields.
Dysentery hit the women and children first, and then the troops. More than 100,000 died plus
almost 2,500 German reinforcements whose bodies remained unburied.
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French ships were notorious for their filthy and fever-ridden sailors. One
such French squadron left its soiled clothing and blankets behind near
Halifax, Nova Scotia, when they returned to Europe in 1746, thinking
they could dispel their own plague. Their infected blankets wiped out a
nation of Indians.
Typhoid fever, a slightly different ailment than typhus, involves a Salmonella bacillus that is
found in the feces and urine of man. The symptoms are so similar to typhus that the two were
not differentiated until 1837. Prince Albert died from typhoid in 1861.
His wife, Queen Victoria, had built-in in-immunity because of a previous siege. Good thing,
because she is said to have prostrated herself in grief across the dead body of her beloved
husband.
Ten years later, Victoria's son, Edward, almost died from the disease. A plumber traced the
contamination to the lines of a newly-installed water closet and fixed the problem. Edward,
the Prince of Wales, was very grateful to the plumber. Word spread of this episode and is
thought to have hastened the acceptance of the indoor water closet in England.
By the time of the Boer War in 1899-1901, anti-typhoid inoculation was available. By then,
typhoid fever was recognized as a waterborne disease, and that the germ could be killed by
filtering and boiling water. Far from home in South Africa, the undisciplined British troops
succumbed to the hot climate and drank straight from the rivers.
Of 400,000 troops, 43,000 contracted typhoid.
Typhoid Mary
Mary Maflon was a cook for the moneyed set of New York State;
her specialty was homemade ice cream. Officially, she infected
53 people - with three deaths - before she was tracked down.
Unofficially, she is blamed for some 1,400 cases that occurred in
1903 in Ithaca, where she worked for several families. Never sick
herself, it took a lot of persuasion by authorities to convince her
that she was a carrier of the disease. Health authorities quarantined her once, let her go, and
then quarantined her for the rest of her life when another outbreak occurred.
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With 20th - century smugness, we know cholera is caused by ingesting water, food or any
other material contaminated by the feces of a cholera victim. Casual contact with a
contaminated chamber pot, soiled clothing or bedding, etc., might be all that's required.
The disease is stunning in its rapidity. The onset of extreme diarrhea, sharp muscular cramps,
vomiting and fever, and then death - all can transpire within 12-48 hours.
In the 19th century cholera became the world's first truly global disease in a series of
epidemics that proved to be a watershed for the history of plumbing.
Festering along the Ganges River in India for centuries, the disease broke out in Calcutta in
1817 with grand - scale results.
India's traditional, great Kumbh festival at Hardwar in the Upper Ganges triggered the
outbreak. The festival lasts three months, drawing pilgrims from all over the country. Those
from the Lower Bengal brought the disease with them as they shared the polluted water of
the Ganges and the open, crowded camps on its banks.
When the festival was over, they carried cholera back to their homes in other parts of India.
There is no reliable evidence of how many Indians perished during that epidemic, but the
British army counted 10,000 fatalities among its imperial troops. Based on those numbers,
it's almost certain that at least hundreds of thousands of natives must have fallen victim
across that vast land.
When the festival ended, cholera raged along the trade routes to Iran, Baku and Astrakhan
and up the Volga into Russia, where merchants gathered for the great autumn fair in Nijni-
Novgorod. When the merchants went back to their homes in inner Russia and Europe, the
disease went along with them.
Cholera sailed from port to port, the germ making headway in contaminated kegs of water or
in the excrement of infected victims, and transmitted by travelers. The world was getting
smaller thanks to steam-powered trains and ships, but living conditions were slow to improve.
By 1827 cholera had become the most feared disease of the century.
It struck so suddenly a man could be in good health at daybreak and be buried at nightfall. A
New Yorker in 1832 described himself pitching forward in the street "as if knocked down with
an ax. I had no premonition at all." The ailment seemed capable of penetrating any quarantine
of harbor or city. It chose its victims erratically, with terrifying suddenness, and with gross and
grotesque results. Acute dehydration turns victims into wizened caricatures their former
selves. The skin becomes black and blue, the hands and feet drawn and puckered.
The German poet Heinrich Heine described an outbreak in Paris in a letter to a friend: "A
masked ball in progress ... suddenly the gayest of the harlequins collapsed, cold in the limbs,
and underneath his mask, violet blue in the face.
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Industrial Revolution
The worldwide cholera epidemic was aided by the Industrial Revolution and the
accompanying growth of urban tenements and slums. There was little or no provision at all
for cesspools or fresh water supplies.
Tenements rose several stories high, but cesspools were only on the ground floor with no
clear access to sewers or indoor running water. It didn't make much difference, because until
the 1840s a sewer was simply an elongated cesspool with an overflow at one end.
"Night men" had to climb into the morass and shovel the filth and mire out by hand. In most
cases, barrels filled with excrement were discharged outside, or contents of chamber pots
flung from open windows - if there were any - to the streets below.
Water hydrants or street pumps provided the only source of water, but they opened
infrequently and not always as scheduled. They ran only a few minutes a day in some of the
poor districts. A near riot ensued in Westminster one Sunday when a water pipe that supplied
16 packed houses was turned on for only five minutes that week.
Cholera
Cholera first hit England through the town of Sunderland, on October 26, 1831. One William
Sproat died that day from the disease, though nobody wanted to admit it. Merchants and
officials found plenty of reasons to rationalize away a prospective 40 day maritime quarantine
of the ports.
England was reaping the profits of the Industrial Revolution. and a quarantine of ships would
be catastrophic for the textile industry. At any rate, the medical profession held that cholera
wasn't contagious.
Public health administration was in its infancy, and so disorganized that the leading doctor
didn't know there were two infected houses only a short distance away from each other. He
learned of the "coincidence" three months later.
North America
American hygiene and sanitation were not much better. Cholera spread through immigrants
from the infected countries, Ireland in particular, whose masses were fleeing the poverty and
despair of the potato famine. Those who could scrape together three pounds for passage left
for North America. Life aboard an immigrant ship was appalling, as ship owners crowded 500
passengers in space intended for 150. Infected passengers shared slop buckets and rancid
water.
The contagion spread as soon as the immigrants landed. In one month, 1,220 new arrivals
were dead in Montreal. Another 2,200 died in Quebec over the summer of 1832.
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Cholera entered New York through infected ships. City people started clogging the roads in
an exit to the countryside. On June 29, 1832, the governor ordered a day of fasting and
prayers - the traditional response by government to treating the disease. After July 4, there
was a daily cholera report.
Epidemic
Quarantine regulations which sought to contain towns and cities in upper New York, Vermont
and along the Erie Canal met with little success. Immigrants leaped from halted canal boats
and passed through locks on foot, despite the efforts by contingents of armed militia to stop
them.
Some doctors flatly declared that cholera was indeed epidemic in New York, but more people
sided with banker John Pintard that this "officious report” was an "impertinent interference"
with the Board of Health.
The banker incredulously asked if the physicians had any idea what such an announcement
would do to the city's business.
Visitors were struck by the silence of New York's streets, with their unaccustomed cleanliness
and the fact they were strewn with chloride of lime (the usual remedy for foul-smelling
garbage). Even on Broadway, passersby were so few that a man on horseback was a
curiosity. One young woman recalled seeing tufts of grass growing in the little-used
thoroughfares. Big news was unfolding in England then, but no one realized the significance.
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But Snow's original work received little attention from the medical profession. He was
attacked at the weakest point - that he could not identify the nature of the "poison" in the
water.
By the end of the first cholera epidemic, the relationship between disease
and dirty, ill-drained parts of town was rather well established. This
should have spurred sanitary reform. But little action followed.
When the second cholera epidemic hit England in 1854, Snow described it as "the most
terrible outbreak of cholera which ever occurred in this kingdom." At least it provided him with
an opportunity to test his theory.
By charting the incidence of the disease, he showed that over 500 cases occurred within 10
days over a radius of some 250 yards centered on London's Broad Street. He looked for
some poison which he believed came from the excreta of cholera patients and was swallowed
by the new victims. A common factor was their use of water that had been polluted with
sewage. Snow had traced the pipelines of various water companies and showed that one
was infected by cholera.
By the methodical process of elimination, he proved his point: A workhouse in that area had
its own private well, and there were only 5 deaths among its 535 inmates. A brewery on Broad
Street likewise never used the water from the Broad Street pump, and it had no cases among
its 70 workers.
Discovery
The actual discovery of the comma-shaped bacillus of cholera was made by the German Dr.
Robert Koch in 1876. Through microscopic examination, “he ascertained that excrement may
contain cholera bacteria a good while after the actual attack of the disease."
Final Obstacles
Cholera was always the worst where poor drainage and human contact came together. This,
of course, was apt to be in crowded slums.
So at first, those on top of the social heap could reassure themselves that pestilence attacked
only the filthy, the hungry and the ignorant. When the cholera epidemic first hit Paris, there
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In Milwaukee, efforts to apply basic health measures were thwarted by rag-pickers and "swill
children" who saw the removal of offal and garbage from the streets as a threat to their
livelihood. As one newspaper editorialized, "It is a great pity if our stomachs must suffer to
save the noses of the rich."
The immunity enjoyed by the wealthy was short-lived, however. The open sewers of the poor
sections eventually leached into the ground and seeped into wells, or ran along channels into
the rivers that supplied drinking water for whole towns and cities. Once the rich and the
movers and shakers of society began to get sick, government reform began.
Thus it happened that most municipal water mains and sewer systems were built in the late
19th century in America. Public health agencies were formed and funded. Building codes and
ordinances were passed and enforced.
The superstitions of the ages had finally run their course. Mankind began to understand that
the evil spirits causing its woes were microscopic creatures that could be defeated by
plumbers and sanitary engineers.
Plumbers finally got to show their stuff in a way that had not been seen since the days of the
Roman Empire.
Here is a public water fountain in downtown Rome still in operation from the time of
Caesar. Something to think about, He revolutionized government.
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The incubation period is 15-50 days and averages 28-30 days. Hepatitis A outbreaks have
been related to fecally contaminated water; food contaminated by infected food handlers,
including sandwiches and salads that are not cooked or are handled after cooking; and raw
or undercooked mollusks harvested from contaminated waters. Aseptic meningitis, polio and
viral gastroenteritis (Norwalk agent) are other viral diseases that can be transmitted through
water. Most viruses in drinking water can be inactivated by chlorine or other disinfectants.
Giardiasis
Giardiasis is a commonly reported protozoan-caused disease. It has also been referred to as
“backpackers disease” and “beaver fever” because of the many cases reported among hikers
and others who consume untreated surface water. Symptoms include chronic diarrhea,
abdominal cramps, bloating, frequent loose and pale greasy stools, fatigue and weight loss.
The incubation period is 5-25 days or longer, with an average of 7-10 days.
Giardia lamblia
Many infections are asymptomatic (no symptoms). Giardiasis occurs worldwide. Waterborne
outbreaks in the United States occur most often in communities receiving their drinking water
from streams or rivers without adequate disinfection or a filtration system.
The organism, Giardia lamblia, has been responsible for more community-wide outbreaks of
disease in the U.S. than any other pathogen. Drugs are available for treatment but are not
100% effective.
Symptoms usually come and go, and end in fewer than 30 days in most cases. The incubation
period is 1-12 days, with an average of about seven days.
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Diarrhea
All of these diseases, with the exception of hepatitis A, have one symptom in common:
diarrhea. They also have the same mode of transmission, fecal-oral, whether through person-
to-person or animal-to-person contact, and the same routes of transmission, being either
foodborne or waterborne. Although most pathogens cause mild, self-limiting disease, on
occasion, they can cause serious, even life threatening illness.
Particularly vulnerable are persons with weak immune systems such as those with HIV
infections or cancer.
For those who operate water systems with inadequate source protection or treatment
facilities, the potential risk of a waterborne disease outbreak is real. For those operating
systems that currently provide adequate source protection and treatment, operating and
maintaining the system at a high level on a continuing basis is critical to prevent disease.
Cryptosporidium
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Norwalk-like viruses: Human feces; also, shellfish; lives in polluted waters; Diarrhea and
vomiting
Typhoid Salmonella typhi (bacterium): Human feces, urine; Inflamed intestine, enlarged
spleen, high temperature— sometimes fatal.
Cholera Vibrio choleras (bacterium) Human feces; also, shellfish; lives in many coastal
waters; Vomiting, severe diarrhea, rapid dehydration, mineral loss —high mortality.
Hepatitis A virus Human feces; shellfish grown in polluted waters; Yellowed skin, enlarged
liver, fever, vomiting, weight loss, abdominal pain — low mortality, lasts up to four months.
Giardiasis Giardia lamblia (protozoan): Animal or human feces. Diarrhea, cramps, nausea,
and general weakness — lasts one week to months.
Entamoeba histolytica
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However, copper is expensive and may cost up to three times more than plastic CPVC
(chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) pipe.
Soldering pipe, there are several types of copper pipe. Soft and rigid, K-Green, L-
Blue, M-Red, and DWV-yellow. You can no longer use lead solder for potable water.
Copper lines fit together with lead-free, solid-core solder. The soldering process
involves heating the pipe and is commonly called "sweating."
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Various copper fittings. I predict that we will no longer see copper fittings utilized in
plumbing by the year 2020. The price of copper is going sky high.
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Considering that the majority of piping installation failures are the result of improper
cementing techniques, an understanding of the proper techniques required for joining saves
both time and money. A quality solvent cement joint furnishes strength to the entire system.
Likewise, no system is fully effective when even a single joint is poorly cemented. Obviously,
a fair amount of time devoted to preparation will pay off upon completion.
The first step in solvent cementing consists of inspecting the pipe and fittings for overall
appearance and compatibility. Obvious defects such as cracks, burrs and incompatible
materials must be addressed as required. The joining surfaces must be clean and dry. In
addition, the proper cement for the type and size of pipe and fittings should be determined.
Also, remember both temperature and humidity may be issues to consider. Another detail
that is often overlooked is the need to have the correct size applicator for the size of pipe.
The general rule is to have an applicator about half the size of the pipe diameter in order to
assure proper and timely solvent cement coverage.
Next, proper technique requires that the pipe be cut square with a fine-toothed saw or tube
cutters. The use of ratcheting cutters, which grip and shear pipe like strong scissors, can
generate cracks in the ends of pipe. A square cut promotes proper beveling and full contact
between the pipe and the pipe stop in a fitting.
Following the cutting of the pipe, beveling should be accomplished by using a file or a
chamfering tool. A slight beveling of 1/16th inch removes burrs and debris and promotes the
formation of a bead of cement at the base of the socket. While beveling the pipe, one should
also clear any debris from the waterway of the pipe and clean the area to be primered. A
“dry fit” of the pipe and fittings is recommended in order to check for proper fit, depth and
alignment.
Moving on to the actual assembly of the components, the first order of business is to apply
the appropriate primer. Primer is used to clean, dissolve and penetrate the surfaces of the
pipe and fittings. It is important to consider the use of a properly sized applicator, preferably
a brush at least one-half the size of the pipe being primed.
The primer should be liberally applied to the fitting socket and to that portion of the pipe,
which will fit into the socket. Repeated applications of primer may be required.
Immediately after the application of the primer, the solvent cement should be freely applied
to both the fitting and the pipe. Again, not only may repeated applications be required but an
appropriately sized applicator should be used. With the surfaces still wet, the pipe should be
inserted into the fitting socket with a quarter turn twisting motion, bottoming out the pipe.
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If the preceding steps are followed, the confidence in the level of durability and strength of
the solvent-cemented joints should be very high.
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3. Apply a heavy, even coat of CPVC primer (if necessary) to the fitting. Remember, Ladies
first. Use the right applicator for the size of pipe or fittings being joined. The applicator size
should be equal to 1/2 the pipe diameter. It is important that a satisfactory size applicator
be used to help ensure that sufficient layers of cement are applied.
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Proper penetration has been made if you can scratch or scrape a few thousandths of the
primed surfaces away. Because weather conditions do affect priming and cementing action,
repeated applications to either or both surfaces may be necessary. In cold weather, more
time is required for proper penetration.
5. Apply a heavy, even coat of CPVC cement (if necessary) to the fitting. Remember, Ladies
first; then apply to the pipe end. Stir the cement or shake can before using. Using the proper
size applicator for the pipe size, aggressively work a full even layer of cement onto the pipe
end equal to the depth of the fitting socket -do not brush it out to a thin paint type layer, as
this will dry within a few seconds.
6. Insert the pipe into the fitting socket, rotating ¼ to ½ turn. Hold the pipe for 10 seconds,
allowing the joint to set-up. A nice thing about plastic pipe is that if you make a mistake, you
can cut the section out and re-do it.
7. The joining is finished. Cure time depends on pipe size, temperature and relative humidity.
If local codes permit, successful joints can be made without a primer using
cement alone, but extra care must be given to the installation. It is important that a good
interference fit exists between the pipe and fittings. It is for this reason we recommend that
joints being made without a primer be limited to systems 2" and smaller for pressure
applications (water systems only) or 6" and smaller for DWV or non-pressure applications.
Extra care must also be given in applying the cements to make sure proper penetration and
softening of the pipe and fitting surfaces is achieved.
8. Joint strength develops as the cement dries. In the tight part of the joint the surfaces will
tend to fuse together; in the loose part, the cement will bond to both surfaces. These areas
must be softened and penetrated. Penetration and softening can be achieved by the cement
itself, by using a suitable primer or by the use of both primer and cement. For certain materials
and in certain situations, it is necessary to use a primer. A suitable primer will usually
penetrate and soften the surfaces more quickly than cement alone.
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The best modern fittings are all chrome plated brass and will last a lifetime under everyday
use. They clean easily with soap and warm water.
Caution: The metal chromium is easily dissolved in hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid.
Muriatic acid has for years been considered a good tile cleaner, but only where there are
nickel plated plumbing fittings. Where chrome plating is present, clean bathroom tile with
warm oxalic acid, never with Muriatic or sulfuric acids. Even covering the chromium surfaces
with cloths will not prevent the acid fumes from inflicting permanent damage.
Gaining in popularity are polished brass fittings and trim. These will hold up well, as long as
certain precautions are observed. NEVER use any abrasive cleaner on polished brass. This
can scratch the protective coating on the brass finish resulting in a deterioration or pitting of
the brass plating. Also avoid use of solvent based cleaners because they can be deleterious
to the polished brass finish.
New technologies have brought about the development of improved finishes that can
withstand more wear, but check the manufacturer's warranty to determine whether or not you
have the "new and improved" lifetime warranty finish.
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"Sweating" pipes and plumbing fixtures in summer-time or during seasonal changes are not
a sign of faulty plumbing. Due to condensation of water vapor in the air, beads of moisture
will form in warm weather on any pipes and fixtures containing cold water.
Normally, when not in use, the water and fixtures will worm rapidly to room temperature and
the condensation will stop. When a closet tank or other fixture continues to sweat for hours
after it has been used, it is a sign that cold water is continuing to flow through it, possibly due
to an improper adjustment of the tank valve or a leak.
Sweating pipes can be wrapped with an insulation material which prevents the condensation
and formation of moisture.
A fitting that's glued crooked can sometimes throw off the whole run and/or won't fit properly
with the next piece. Discover these problems during the dry fit rather than after the pipe is
glued.
To glue ABS pipe, check that any cut ends are fairly straight. Remove any burrs with a knife
or emery cloth and clean both pieces with a rag. Apply ABS glue to both the pipe and fitting.
Push the joints together with a twisting motion to spread the glue. Hold the joints together for
a few seconds so they won't push apart while the fast-drying glue sets.
Gluing PVC pipe is a similar process, but a cleaning chemical (primer) that prepares the
plastic goes on before the glue. CPVC pipe also has its own type of glue so be sure to
purchase the glue that matches the plastic you're working with. Once the joint is primed, apply
the glue to the joints, push and twist the pipe or fitting and hold them in place for a few
minutes.
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Repairing Faucets
There are a few different types and
combinations of faucets: single-handle or
two-handled shut-offs that are
compression or washerless (cartridge, ball
or disc mechanism).
A washerless faucet uses a rotating mechanism -- like a ball or valve -- to open and shut
water flow.
A compression faucet usually has threaded brass stems that open/close firmly. A cartridge
faucet has brass or plastic valves with holes in them and operate more easily.
After locating the leak, shut off both water supplies before removing any parts.
Buy a repair kit that includes a special adjusting ring wrench, seals, springs and O-
rings rather than one or two pieces. Washer assortment kits may also be better than
more expensive single washer packaging.
If the faucet still leaks after installing a kit, the outer housing is probably cracked and
buying a new faucet is probably the only way to fix the leak.
Washerless Faucets
Washerless faucets can be either single handle or the two handle type. In washerless faucets,
the control of the water flow is done by a replaceable cartridge or arrangement of seals that
allow water flow when the holes or ports are lined up in the proper configuration.
Giving the handle an extra hard twist to stop water flow will be ineffective. This type of faucet
does not use compression strength to stop water flow.
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A washer-less faucet does not mean it will never leak, but rather because of the way it is
designed, the parts will last much longer, as their design minimizes friction and wear.
When repairing this type of faucet or requesting service on one, it is vital that you know the
brand name, or have a sample of the part you require, as there are hundreds of faucet
cartridges and parts kits on the market today.
Compression Faucets
Like sink and lavatory faucets, wall mounted faucets fall into two categories: compression
and non-compression types. Two-handle compression types feature O-rings and washers
that you can replace. The non-compression version usually has a single handle pull-on, push
off configuration, with a cartridge assembly beneath, when it leaks, the whole cartridge
assembly usually requires replacement.
In a compression type faucet, you will find the conventional setup - a faucet washer on the
end of the stern. Replacing the washer usually will correct a dripping faucet.
However, when removing the stem, always check the seat inside the faucet body - the brass
ring that the washer grinds against. The faucet seat can be worn or grooved, making the
washer replacement ineffective within days. The washer and seat are the two parts of a
compression type faucet that receive the greatest amount of wear. It is not difficult to replace
a washer. First, shut off the water supply.
Usually, the shut-off valve is under the sink in the kitchen, or in the bathroom, under the
lavatory basin. If there is none, shut off the branch-line valve in the basement or the main
valve where the water supply enters the house.
Pad a smooth jawed wrench with a cloth, then, using the padded wrench, unscrew the large
packing nut and turn out the faucet stem. Then, with a screw driver that fits the screw slot
closely, remove the screw from the bottom of the stem and pry out the worn washer. If the
screw is tight or stubborn, tap its head lightly or apply penetrating oil (WD-40).
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Some of the newer, soft neoprene washers are for both hot and cold water and have a long
life. The washer should fit snugly without having to be forced into position. After inserting,
replace the screw and tighten.
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With cloth over finger, clean the valve seat inside the faucet. The edge should be smooth and
free from deep nicks. If you find it badly worn, you will probably need to replace the seat or
have the entire faucet replaced by the plumber. Otherwise, it will leak again.
Next, replace the faucet stem and turn it in. Tighten the packing nut. Be careful not to tighten
the nut more than necessary to stop seepage around the faucet stem.
A faucet leaking 60 drops a minute (not unusual) will waste 2,299 gallons of water every year.
Homeowners should repair leaky faucets at once. You pay twice - once for the water going
through the meter, and then again on your sewer bill, which is based on water usage.
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Pry off the handle's decorative cap to access the knob screw. Unscrew and remove the knob
to expose the stem. Make sure the water is turned off. For a compression handle, loosen the
"packing" nut holding the stem. Remove the stem, flip it over and check the condition of the
washer and O-ring. Replace the washer and O-ring if they show any wear or fraying.
A cartridge handle is repaired about the same way. Lift out the cartridge, check the O-rings
and replace them as needed. As a last resort, replace the cartridge if the leak persists. Re-
install the assembly, turn on the water and check for drips. If a compression faucet still leaks,
the seat where the valve seals may need to be cleaned, or re-cut with a seat cutter tool.
To stop a leak around the handle, add a packing washer over the stem. If an old compression
type handle still leaks, remove the packing nut and wind packing (a string gauze) around the
nut to seal the assembly.
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Locate the leak and shut off the water. Remove the set screw holding the handle. Using the
kit's wrench, snug down the adjusting ring if it's loose and slowly turn the water back on to
see if the leak has stopped.
If the ring is already tight or the leak persists, turn off the water and remove the adjusting
ring.
Take off the plastic or ceramic cam piece and its seal that sets on the ball valve. Replace the
seal if needed. Make a note of how the ball valve slot lines up with its small alignment pin
then remove the ball.
Most models have two rubber seals and springs that set under the ball. Remove them, clean
out any deposits and replace with new seals and springs.
On the outside of the housing, cut off the rubber O-rings and roll on new ones and re-install
the faucet.
Remove the lock nut and retaining clip holding the cartridge in place. Lift out the cartridge
and inspect its seals. In most cases, the cartridge piece doesn't need replacing, but any worn
or frayed seals should be replaced.
While the cartridge is out, inspect and replace the O-rings on the outside of the housing. Just
cut them off and roll on new ones.
Re-insert the cartridge, align it as removed, and pop on the retaining clip. Fit the faucet back
on and tighten down the lock nut. Re-position the handle, screw it down and put the cap back
on.
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Bowls are available in Corian, Moenstone, Swanstone, Surrell, and others. The important
thing to remember is to follow the manufacturer's instructions pertaining to the material of
which your bowl is constructed. With some of the solid surface materials, scratches can be
removed when lightly sanded because the color goes throughout the thickness of the
material.
To prolong the life and appearance of enameled cast iron sinks, clean the bowl immediately
after use. Use a non-abrasive cleaner. Constant use of abrasive cleaners can eventually
wear the finish down, making it much more porous and susceptible to stains. This can also
happen with enameled, cast iron tubs over a long period.
Don't allow fruit or vegetable juices or cleaning acids to stand on surface. An acid-resisting
sink will safely resist lemon, orange, and other citrus fruit juices, tomato juice, mayonnaise,
and other vinegar preparations if these are not permitted to remain more than a few hours. A
regular enamel finish is not impervious to acids.
Teas and coffee grounds will also stain enameled surfaces, if allowed to remain very long.
Photographic solutions are even more harmful to enamel, and the amateur photographer
should not be allowed to use the sink, because a fixture once damaged in this way can never
be corrected. When cleaning the sink, use hot water and soap. Water and soap are not as
hard on the enameled finish as strong cleaning solutions like washing soda or a gritty
abrasive. If a cleaner is used, it should be one that specifically states that it is non- abrasive.
Lavatories
The same precautions mentioned above for kitchen sink care pertain to lavatory bowls. Clean
them often with hot water and soap. If a cleaner or cleanser is necessary, use one that is
non-abrasive. Today, it is easy to eliminate the use of glass bottles and jars from the
bathroom. This prevents the possibility of chipping the lavatory bowl if dropped. If acids or
medicine spill on the surface, wash the spills immediately.
Bathtubs
Modern bathtubs and showers can be made from a myriad of materials ranging from the
conventional enameled, cast iron and steel, to fiberglass, acrylic, and man-made materials
such as cultured marble. Many one piece tub or tub and shower combination units are made
from gel coated fiberglass or acrylic plastic.
Never use abrasives on any of these materials. They can cause scratches to the surface.
Usually they will clean with hot water and soap.
If that is not sufficient, a cleaning product recommended by the manufacturer of the fixture,
or your plumber, can be used to handle heavier cleaning tasks.
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Water Heaters
You can't get along without hot water. Therefore, take care of the source--the water heater.
If you have a gas or electric water heater, keep the temperature dial setting at or below the
suggested Factory Energy Savings Settings listed on the water heater. Above that mark
means excessive wear on the water heater and the potential for scalding.
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Most plumbers however, have found that the "blue water" continuous bowl cleaners tend to
accelerate the deterioration of the rubber and neoprene parts in the tank, due to the
chemicals they contain.
Seat bumpers should be replaced if worn. Defective bumpers may cause breakage of the
seat or hinges.
Stains
Stains or moisture at the base of the closet bowl indicate that the joint or seal between the
closet and its outlet have failed and should be reset immediately to prevent rotting of the floor,
damage to the plaster of the ceiling below, and possible leakage of sewer gas into the home.
Types of Toilets
Water Closet Tanks
If water continues to run into the closet bowl after the toilet is flushed, it is obvious that some
part of the mechanism is out of order.
When the tank has refilled, if water continues to seep into the bowl or if there is a low humming
noise, this indicates leakage from the tank. This leakage can occur from either the supply
valve or the improper seating of the rubber tank ball or (flapper) on the discharge opening.
A small amount of food coloring added to the tank water will help you determine whether the
tank ball in the bottom of the tank is leaking. Add it to the water after the tank is filled. Watch
for the coloring to seep into the toilet bowl, and if it does, the ball or flapper over the discharge
opening is not water tight If the rubber tank ball does not fit tightly over the discharge opening,
a defective ball, irregular seat or bent lift wires may be responsible. If the ball is worn out,
miss-shapen or has lost its elasticity and fails to drop tightly into the hollowed seat, it should
be replaced with a new one. Sometimes the ball is covered with a slimy coating which can
easily be wiped off.
To replace the ball, shut off the water supply (a stop is installed underneath the tank where
the water may be conveniently shut off at this point) and empty the tank or place a stick under
the ball float lever-arm to hold it up, thereby shutting off the intake cock and preventing the
tank from refilling. Then unscrew the ball from the lower lift wire and attach a new ball of the
same diameter as the old one. (Note: some old tank balls swell from age and absorption of
water.)
If the collar or seat of the discharge opening is corroded or grit-covered, it should be scraped
and sand-papered until it is smooth and forms a uniform bearing for the stopper.
Straighten or replace bent lift wires so that the ball drops squarely into the hollowed seat.
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Sometimes the tank will not fill sufficiently or will fill to overflowing. These difficulties may be
corrected without disturbing the supply valve by bending the rod attached to the tank float
upward or downward. If the rod is bent upward, the water will rise higher in the tank, and if
downward, the water level will be lowered.
An overflow tube or pipe is provided in the closet tank to take care of the water in case it
should rise above its accustomed level which should be at least 3/4 of an inch below the top
of the overflow. While there is not much danger of its becoming stopped up, it might be well
to examine it occasionally to see that it is in working order.
If water rises to the top of the overflow pipe an adjustment or new fill-valve assembly is
necessary.
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The siphoning continues until the water level in the bowl falls below the lip at the bottom of
the bowl.
When this happens air enters the drain path and
"breaks" the siphon and the flush stops. But since
the siphon created such momentum in the moving
water the new level in the bowl is considerably
lower than before the flush.
If for some reason the tank float valve (not shown here) fails to shut off the water filling the
tank, the water will continue to rise until it reaches the top of the standpipe which will drain
the overflow from the tank into the bowl of the toilet.
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Common and worn out kitchen Grease Trap. The grease contains lots of acid and
this acid will eat metal as with this grease trap.
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The Town has installed 17 of these completely waterless urinals in public facilities throughout the
Town. These urinals are expected to save 750,000 gallons per year. This type of urinal replacement
program is successful in 30 cities throughout Arizona.
The Water Department will closely analyze and test these and other water
conservation devices and hopefully install more devices throughout public
facilities. Water saving devices, along with water conservation awareness are
major components of the Town’s Water Conservation Program.
Bill Fields, Water Resource Specialist, "After a balanced consideration the Waterless urinal seems
to be a water conservation fixture whose time has come. It clearly reduces maintenance costs,
and may do so dramatically and immediately for some installations.”
The best part is an automatic savings of 1 - 3 gallons of water per usage, depending on the model of
flush urinal you're replacing." "In any new construction, or whenever you plan to replace a flush
urinal, Waterless urinals should be given serious consideration and possibly be required in the
near future."
You can come and see this new technology in action and get a “free” water saving kit at the Water
Department.
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There is more potential for the scalding of a person showering if the pressure fluctuates. Most
people aren't aware that young children and older persons can be scalded much sooner than
adults. Lowering the water temperature at the water heater will minimize the potential danger
at the tub spout or shower head and is the best preventive action which can be taken to
prevent scalding. A small child doesn't have to soak in overly hot tap water to get scalded.
Tragically, injury can happen literally in the blink of an eye. 150 degree water can scald in
just 1/2 second, 140 degrees scalds in just 1 second, but it takes four minutes for water at
120 degrees to scald.
POINT OF CAUTION - - Never let a child bathe unattended, because of the danger of
scalding and injury. In addition, always turn cold water on first, followed by the hot water until
the desired temperature is achieved. That way, no one is exposed to straight hot water.
You need not rush to buy another shower head if the one you have suddenly gives off an
uneven spray. It's probably clogged with mineral deposits which build up in the shower head
and distort the shower stream. If the shower head holes are clogged, remove the face of the
shower head, clean the back surface and free holes with a coarse needle. The latest shower
heads on the market are all self-cleaning and need no such attention. The only positive
preventive measure is investing in a water softener. When changing shower heads, wrap
adhesive tape around the packing nut or pad the wrench jaws with a cloth so you won't mar
the finish.
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Salt air or other corrosive atmospheres have a destructive effect on chrome. Where
chromium-plated fittings are exposed to these agents, it is important to wash them frequently.
After they are washed and dried, it is advisable to apply a protective coating such as ordinary
furniture wax.
Green spots may appear on chromium plating. If this happens, prevent the rust from
spreading by scouring the spots with the same kind of powder which manufacturers
recommend for enameled, cast iron fixtures. When the spots have been removed, apply a
finish of wax.
Another danger from the use of a torch arises when both ends of a pipe are clogged with ice
and when the heat is applied in the center. The application of the heat of the torch at the
center of the pipe is likely to cause the water to flash into steam, potentially causing an
explosion with disastrous results for the user of the torch.
It is far better to adopt the slower and more conservative procedure of melting ice by the use
of a blow dryer, or heat gun.
This is especially important with anti-freeze hydrants. The hose must be disconnected to
make the faucet freeze-proof. Failure to do so will trap water in the faucet body, which then
can freeze. If the hose is disconnected, the anti-freeze faucet can properly drain, and this will
prevent freezing.
Water pipes which are exposed to freezing temperatures or drafts should be covered with
insulation. Whenever possible it is best to drain systems not being used in severely cold
weather. Small water pipes will freeze quicker than will waste or sewer pipes.
Never leave a garage door open in severely cold weather if there is plumbing in the garage.
The cold and draft can freeze water lines in minutes. Pipes located in unheated basements
or garages should be insulated with a commercial covering. When pipes are laid underground
they should be below the frost line to prevent freezing.
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In designing the plumbing system for a new house, a plumbing contractor will endeavor to
make it as noiseless as possible. Manufacturers of plumbing fixings are making every effort
to reduce the noise connected with the operation of their equipment, and contractors have
been very successful in eliminating much of the noise formerly associated with plumbing
systems.
Because so much of the noise is due to water traveling at a high velocity, it follows that
whatever can be done to reduce the velocity of the water will correspondingly reduce the
noise in the system. It is for this reason that it is so important not to skimp on the size of the
water supply piping. Larger pipe will not only provide a more adequate supply of water but
will reduce noise.
There are three general types of noises found in some of the older plumbing systems. These
are water hammer, whistling and chattering.
Water Hammer
Water hammer is the thump in the piping heard when faucets or valves are turned off abruptly.
There is no excuse for water hammer. It can usually be eliminated by the installation of an
air chamber or short length of pipe in the wall where each supply pipe enters a plumbing
fixture.
In some cases, however, the ordinary type of air chamber will not prevent water hammer. In
such cases, special devices known as shock arrestors should be installed on the main line
near the meter or as close as possible to the cause of the noise.
Sometimes water hammer is due not to the plumbing in the house in which it is heard but to
a condition outside of the house, either along the water main or in a neighboring house. In
such cases, skillful detective work by an experienced master plumber is necessary to ferret
out the source of the trouble and to plan corrective methods.
Water hammer should not be permitted to go on indefinitely. The noise is only an audible
symptom of what is going on in the piping. The piping is being subjected to the wear and tear
of a multitude of shock waves. The result will be leaks in piping, tanks or fixtures unless the
condition is corrected.
Chattering in the piping may be caused by loose pipes, by pipes rubbing against a metal
projection, by worn faucet washers or looseness of other inside parts.
Whistling is caused by the speed of water flowing through piping which is usually too small.
A pressure reducing valve will help as will a general straightening out of the plumbing system.
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Shut off the water supply at the main shut-off valve at the street. Then beginning with those
on the top floor, open all faucets and leave them open. When water stops running from these
faucets, open the cap on the main shut off valve in the basement and drain the remaining
water into a pail or tub. Remember that this cap must be closed after the faucets have run
dry or the house water supply will flow from this valve and flood the basement.
Remove all water in the traps under sinks, water closets, bathtubs, and lavatories by opening
the clean out plugs at the bottom of traps and draining them into a pail. If no plugs are
provided, use a force pump or other method to siphon the water out. Sponge all the water
out of the water closet bowl. Clean out all water in the flush tank.
Fill all traps with a non-freezing solution such as mineral oil, windshield washing fluid or RV
type anti-freeze.
Drain all hot water tanks. Most water tanks are equipped
with a vented tube at the top which lets air in and allows the
water to drain out the faucet at the bottom. Make sure all
horizontal pipes drain properly.
Air pressure will get rid of trapped water in these pipes, but
occasionally the piping may have to be disconnected and
drained. To be safe, have your plumber check your entire
plumbing system.
Every radiator valve must be opened on a one inch pipe system to release condensation.
Note: When you return home, refill all the systems BEFORE lighting the hot water heater or
boilers.
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Unusual odors should never be ignored. Such odors are often an indication that sewer gas
is present. Sewer gas, while not always deadly, is noxious and capable of causing headaches
and other minor illnesses. Sewer gas is foul smelling air and should be prevented from
entering the house.
If it is suspected that sewer gas is entering through a leak in the piping, a plumber will subject
the system to a test either by means of smoke, water or oil of peppermint. The test will indicate
the location of the leak.
In order to explain how the sewer gas may enter a house through a plumbing fixture, it is
necessary to clarify the function of traps and vents. Every plumbing fixture is the terminus of
the city water supply system and the beginning of the city sewerage system. The faucets
control the water supply. The traps and vents control the sewer air. They do so by a very
simple method.
Sewer air will not penetrate a water barrier. Therefore, a device is employed which keeps
several inches of water between the house air and the sewer air. This is the trap, which is
plainly visible under such plumbing fixtures as sinks and lavatories. It is built into water
closets. In the case of bathtubs and shower cabinets, it is usually concealed in the floor or
basement.
A trap, however, would lose its water seal by siphonic action every time a fixture is used
unless the air on the sewer side is balanced with the air on the house side. This is the function
of the vents. Occasionally, due to changes in atmospheric conditions, a compactly vented
trap will lose its seal.
Usually, however, when a trap loses its seal it is due either to incorrect design of the vents,
absence of vents or to evaporation of the water in the trap. Traps under fixtures that are used
infrequently should be filled with water from time to time to insure an adequate trap seal.
Drains
Plumbers get more calls to open clogged drains than for any other service. Many such calls
could be prevented by greater care in the use of drains. The most-used drain is the one in
the kitchen sink and that is the drain most often clogged.
Preventing this situation can be done by carefully watching what is emptied into the sink drain
and by the regular use of a safe biodegradable waste digester. Your plumber can give you
more information on these products.
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Pour excess grease into a tin can and throw it out with the garbage, not down the sink drain.
When using a food disposer, always let sufficient cold water run to carry the particles down
and into the main line to prevent buildup in the smaller waste lines.
In the event of a stoppage, you should have a "plumber's friend," or plunger - a large rubber
suction cup with a wooden handle. Cup it tightly over the drain and plunge it vigorously
several times. If it is a double drain sink, make sure you seal the other drain, so water will not
splash out into the other bowl or on you. Drain piping can also be cleaned by removing the
J-bend on the trap below the fixture. First place adhesive tape around the packing nut or wrap
the wrench jaws with cloth to prevent scratching the metal surface. If plastic piping is in place,
do not grip the nuts too tightly with the wrench, as they can crack easily.
Place a bucket directly under the pipe to catch any dripping from the open pipe. Pull out the
clogging material with a piece of wire or small hand-turned cable. If you take the trap off, have
some new gaskets ready to slip into the joints.
There are two basic snakes: 1) a closet auger with bent tip made to fit in a toilet's built in trap,
2) a drain auger which is a coiled rod or flattened metal strip.
With both augers, when the rod meets an obstruction in the line, tighten the handle and ram
the snake into the clog -- sometimes that's all it takes to clear the line. Otherwise, crank the
rod clockwise so the hook (or ball) snags the clog.
Back the snake off slightly, then steadily push inward again while turning the handle clockwise
until the debris is solidly hooked.
Firmly push the snake back and forth until the obstruction is freed. The clog may have moved
a bit further down the line just to get stuck again.
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Once the clog is gone, reconnect the sink's trap and flush the line with water. Check the
connections for leaks. Run more water down the drain and monitor it a few minutes to ensure
the clog is gone. If the blockage still remains (like tree roots), you may need to rent a
commercial "power" auger with a rotor or blade bit that chops up whatever is in the line.
Toilets
A clogged trap way in a water closet is a ticklish problem, so be careful with whatever method
you use for cleaning the drain. Most water closets are made of vitreous china which might
crack if exposed to extremely hot water.
A plunger will normally handle simple toilet clogs. Another method of cleaning a water closet
trap or toilet is the use of an auger with an adjustable, crank-type handle. Known to plumbers
as a "snake," the spring-steel coil is easily worked past the trap and down the pipe. A three
foot auger is inexpensive and will quickly drill through most clogs. Use the auger carefully.
Careless handling may crack the toilet.
Tubs
When trying to clear a plugged bathtub drain, place a heavy cloth in the bottom of the bathtub
so your shoe soles won't scratch the bath's enameled surface. Hold your hand or rag over
the waste and overflow plate, cup the plunger over the drain and plunge it vigorously several
times. If it doesn't open easily, the drain may require cabling to open it.
Heavy steel spring coils should not be used to clean traps under lavatories, sinks, or bathtubs.
A more flexible type of wire or spring should be used -- one which is easy to work through
the bend of the trap.
Floor Drains
To clean out a floor drain, remove the strainer or grating which covers the drain box. The dirt
and grease can then be dug out with a spoon or a stick. After that, a hooked wire or coil
spring-steel auger will clean out the bend or trap. Check to find out whether a removable
clean-out plug has been provided to make this job easier.
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Unclogging Sinks
Hair can often clog a bathroom sink and potato peels and other food waste will plug up kitchen
sinks. Regardless of the obstruction, unclogging both sinks is done the same way.
Place a plunger over the clogged drain. Add enough water to cover the plunger lip and form
a seal.
Plunge straight up and down several times and "pop" the plunger away. Repeat this method
a few times to free the clog.
If the clog remains, position a bucket underneath the sink's trap. Unscrew each end of the
trap and drain the water into the bucket.
Clean out any debris in the trap and if a kitchen sink has a disposer, disconnect and drain its
waste line and clean out any debris.
If no significant debris is found in the sink lines, the clog is located in the sink's drain line or
main waste line.
A clog in the main line will also plug other drains above it, and that needs to be cleared with
a sewer snake.
Unclogging A Toilet
Use a "fluted" or funnel plunger designed to seal inside a toilet bowl. Extend the fluted flap
of the plunger; fit it tightly inside bowl drain to form a good seal.
Plunge up and down several times; to quickly break the seal. Repeat this a few times to work
the clog back and forth and eventually free it.
If the clog remains, insert a closet auger into the bowl. Position the bent end of the auger into
the bowl's trap and fish the rod through until it hits the clog.
Crank the auger's handle clockwise and push it into the clog a bit more. Once the clog is
"hooked" with the spiral tip (or ball) pull the auger back and forth. Repeat these steps until
the clog is freed.
Avoid flushing the toilet. It may still be clogged and backup. Instead, fill the bowl with a bucket.
If the water level doesn't go down, the clog is still in the line.
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A plugged vent can trap dangerous gases and inhibits drainage; similar to plugging a drinking
straw with your thumb to hold liquid.
Make sure the vent doesn't terminate in the attic. Trapped sewer gases can be dangerous,
stink and cause serious structural problems. And a system without a vent may actually suck
water out a sink's trap, or do the reverse and fill the sink with water when another fixture
drains. A trap blocks sewer/septic gases. Without one, sewer gases can flow up the stack,
drain pipes and come out wherever there's a drain.
A trap looks like a "U" and is installed below the drain. When water drains, the trap's shape
causes a small amount of water to remain in the bend. That water blocks any gases from
moving up the pipe and entering the room.
NOTE: Traps are needed on all drains. That is, sinks, tubs, showers, washers, and floor
drains all need to have a trap in their drain lines. In most cases, a toilet has a built-in trap and
doesn't require a trap in the drain line.
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A house with a private well utilizes a pump to push water up into a pressure tank where it is
stored for use. When the tank empties, the pump is reactivated to fill the tank,
A house with city water has a "live" water supply line that's connected to a water main and a
water meter. The meter is usually the dividing point between the city-owned lines and the
homeowner's lines.
Both systems usually have a 1/2" or larger copper pipe that enters through the basement
floor or wall. The line has a shut-off valve located near the beginning of the incoming line so
the water supply can be stopped in case of repairs or an emergency.
Water supply lines are made of copper, CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) plastic, or in
older homes possibly galvanized steel. Cold water lines branch out from the main pipe, while
hot water lines originate from the hot water heater.
System design depends on the area that you live. You may be a flatlander, like in Texas, and
the services could be spread out for miles. You may live in the Rocky Mountain area and
have many fluctuating elevations. Some areas may only serve residents on a part-time basis
and water will sit for long periods of time, while other areas may have a combination of peaks
and valleys with short and long distances of service. Before you design the system you need
to ask yourself some basic questions.
System Elements
The elements of a water distribution system include distribution mains, arterial mains, storage
reservoirs, and system accessories. These elements and accessories are described as
follows:
DISTRIBUTION MAINS Distribution mains are the pipelines that make up the
distribution system. Their function is to carry water from the water source or treatment
works to users.
ARTERIAL MAINS Arterial mains are distribution mains of large size. They are
interconnected with smaller distribution mains to form a complete gridiron system.
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BOOSTER STATIONS Booster stations are used to increase water pressure from storage
tanks for low-pressure mains.
VALVES Valves control the flow of water in the distribution system by isolating areas for repair
or by regulating system flow or pressure.
Gate valves should be used in the distribution system for main line isolation.
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A. Tree systems
B. Loop or Grid systems
C. Dead-end systems. Taste and odor problems.
Tree System
Older water systems frequently were expanded without planning and developed into a treelike
system. This consists of a single main that decreases in size as it leaves the source and
progresses through the area originally served. Smaller pipelines branch off the main and divide
again, much like the trunk and branches of a tree.
A treelike system is not desirable because the size of the old main limits the expansion of the
system needed to meet increasing demands. In addition, there are many dead ends in the
system where water remains for long periods, causing undesirable tastes and odors in nearby
service lines.
The most reliable means to provide water for firefighting is by designing redundancy into the
system. There are several advantages gained by laying out water mains in a loop or grid, with
feeder and distributor mains interconnecting at roadway intersections and other regular
intervals.
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At intersections of distribution mains, the number of valves required is normally one less than
the number of radiating mains. The valve omitted from the line is usually the one that principally
supplies flow to the intersection. Shutoff valves should be installed in standardized locations
(that is, the northeast comer of intersections or a certain distance from the center line of
streets), so they can be easily found in emergencies. All buried small- and medium-sized
valves should be installed in valve boxes. For large shutoff valves (about 30 inches in diameter
and larger), it may be necessary to surround the valve operator or entire valve within a vault
or manhole to allow repair or replacement.
Classification of Valves
There are two major classifications of water valves: Rotary and Linear. Linear is a fancy
word for up and down or blade movement.
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Air and Vacuum relief valve: Both of these functions are in one valve. These valves
can combine three functions; they can allow large amounts of air to escape during the
filling of a pipeline, permits air to enter a pipeline that is being drained and allow
entrained air to escape while a line is operating under pressure. Distribution system
water quality can be adversely affected by improperly constructed or poorly located
blowoffs of vacuum/air relief valves. Air relief valves in the distribution system lines
must be placed in locations that cannot be flooded. This is to prevent water
contamination. The common customer complaint of Milky Water is sometimes solved
by the installation of these air relief valves.
Altitude valve: Are often used on supply lines to elevated tanks or standpipes. These
close automatically when the tank is full and open when the pressure on the inlet side
is less than that on the tank side of the valve. These valves control the high water level
and prevent overflow. Altitude-Control Valve is designed to, 1. Prevent overflows from
the storage tank or reservoir, or 2. Maintain a constant water level as long as water
pressure in the distribution system is adequate.
Butterfly valve: Has a movable disc as large as the full bore opening of the valve.
Check valve: Are often used on the discharge side of pumps to prevent backflow.
Gate valve: Is a linear valve used to isolate sections of the water main, to permit
emergency repairs without interruption of water service to customers.
Pressure regulating valve: A valve that controls water pressure by restricting flows.
The pressure downstream of the valve regulates the amount of flow. Usually these
valves are of the globe valve design. Pressure Regulation Valves control water
pressure and operate by restricting flows. They are used to deliver water from a high
pressure to a low-pressure system. The pressure downstream from the valve
regulates the amount of flow. Usually, these valves are of the globe design and have
a spring-loaded diaphragm that sets the size of the opening.
Pressure relief: The simplest type of surge pressure relief is a pressure relief valve.
These valves respond to pressure variations at their inlets.
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Problems
Valve Jammed Open
Dr. Rusty recommends that opened valves should not be jammed-tight on the backseat.
Always back the valve-off a quarter turn from the fully opened position.
Note that motor operated valves coast inevitably to the backseat by tripping on a limit switch.
Valves should not be back seated on torque.
Thermal binding can occur in high temperature situations depending on the seat and wedge
material, length of exposure and closing torque applied. Thermal binding can cause galling
on the valve sealing surfaces as well as on the guides.
A valve can lock in the closed position when high pressure enters the cavity and has no way
to escape. This is known as over-pressurization.
Thermal binding can occur in high temperature situations depending on the seat and wedge
material, length of exposure and closing torque applied. Thermal binding can cause galling on
the valve sealing surfaces as well as on the guides.
A valve can lock in the closed position when high pressure enters the cavity and has no way
to escape. This is known as over-pressurization. We will cover this in a later section.
Single direction sealing gate valves have a nameplate on the side of the valve that has a relief
hole or pressure equalizer. This should be the high pressure side when the valve is closed.
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This type of corrosion will decrease the C-Factor and the carrying capacity in a pipe.
Crenothrix bacteria or Red-Iron bacteria will live in the bioslime in this type of
tuberculation. Now for dealing with this nasty bacteria—there are two methods: the
fast method, super chlorinate and flush forever. Or, replace the line with a nice plastic
water main.
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Common distribution fittings: Single check, Poly Pig, 1 inch repair clamp, 4 inch full
circle clamp, T- Bolt and a corp. and saddle. Note from Dr. Rusty, Single checks are
not a backflow assembly and will probably stick open over time. I know that most
systems will pay for these but unless you replace or test these checks, they will not
hold up. Most fitting salesmen will not tell you this little tidbit. Notice the Corp, it is a
ball type valve.
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Valve System Design Course © 1/13/2006 (866) 557-1746 www.ABCTLC.com
Here is a four-way pipe cutting tool used for iron pipe. Be careful not to break the
wheels by over-tightening. I personally like 4-Ways because of the nice cut. You
will learn to recognize the distinct snap of cut pipe. The only drawback to these
cutters is cutting a small section out of the main. You may need to make two or
three more cuts and break the section out with a cocking hammer. It will easily cut
ductile, galvanized, and even plastic. Plastic pipe cutters utilize sharper cutting
wheels. Rookies like to thread the pipe rather than cut the pipe. It is fun to watch
and good to tease these rookies about it. Especially if they have just finished
jumping a stop with the valve closed or no ball. Good times for sure in the crazy
Distribution field.
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Globe valves should usually be installed with the inlet below the valve seat. For severe
throttling service, the valve may be installed so that the flow enters over the top of the seat and
goes down through it. Note that in this arrangement, the packings will be constantly
pressurized. If the valve is to be installed near throttling service, verify with an outside
contractor or a skilled valve technician. Globe valves, per se, are not suitable for throttling
service.
The valve should be welded onto the line with the disc in the fully closed position. Leaving it
even partially open can cause distortion and leaking. Allow time for the weld to cool before
operating the valve the first time in the pipeline. The preferred orientation of a globe valve is
upright. The valve may be installed in other orientations, but any deviation from vertical is a
compromise. Installation upside down is not recommended because it can cause dirt to
accumulate in the bonnet.
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If the valve packing compression is too tight--Verify the packing bolt torque and adjust if
necessary.
Always inspect threads and packing area for particle obstructions; even seemingly small
amounts of sand trapped on the drive can completely stop large valves from cycling. The valve
may stop abruptly when a cycle is attempted. With the line pressure removed from the valve,
disconnect the actuator, gear operator or handwheel and inspect the drive nut, stem, bearings
and yoke bushing. Contaminated parts should be cleaned with a lint-free cloth using alcohol,
varsol or equivalent. All parts should be re-lubricated before being re-assembled. If the valves
are installed outdoors in a sandy area, it may be desirable to cover the valves with jackets.
If the valve’s handwheel is too small--Increasing the size of the handwheel will reduce the
amount of torque required to operate the valve. If a larger handwheel is installed, the person
operating the valve must be careful not to over-torque the valve when closing it.
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Bellows seal valves provide a complete hermetic seal of the working fluid. They are used in
applications where zero leakage of the working fluid into the environment is permitted.
Bellows seal valves are specially modified versions of the standard valves. The installation
information that applies to gate and globe valves will apply to bellows seal valves.
A packing leak signifies that the bellows has ruptured or the bellows-assembly weld has a
crack. Dr. Rusty does not recommend repairing or reusing a damaged bellows. Instead, Dr.
Rusty suggests replacing the entire bonnet assembly including bellows and stem.
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Most commonly found on customer or water meters. All small backflow assemblies will have
two Ball valves. It is the valve that is either fully on or fully off; and the one that you use to test
the abilities of a water service rookie. The best trick is to remove the ball from the Ball valve
and have a rookie Jump a Stop. The Corp is usually found at the water main on a saddle.
Some people say that the purpose of the Corp is to regulate the service. I don’t like that
explanation. No one likes to dig up the street to regulate the service, and Ball valves are only
to be used fully on or fully off.
Most ball valves are the quick-acting type. They require only a 90-degree turn to either
completely open or close the valve. However, many are operated by planetary gears. This
type of gearing allows the use of a relatively small handwheel and operating force to operate
a fairly large valve. Always follow standard safety procedures when working on a valve.
Flush the pipeline before installing the valve. Debris allowed to remain in the pipeline (such
as weld spatters, welding rods, bricks, tools, etc.) can damage the valve. After installation,
cycle the valve a minimum of three times and re-torque bolts as required. Ensure that the
valve is in the open position and the inside of the body bore of the valve body/body end is
coated with a suitable spatter guard.
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Removing the ball is very difficult. I think they use a robot to tighten the rear nut to
keep you from removing it. I recommend that you always use pipe dope or Teflon
tape when installing a Stop. I know a lot of you think that brass or bronze will make
up the slack, but pipe dope, or Teflon dope or tape makes a nicer job and makes for
an easier removal.
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These are rotary type of valves usually found on large transmission lines. They may also have
an additional valve beside it known as a “bypass valve” to prevent a water hammer.
Some of these valves can require 300-600 turns to open or close. Most Valvemen (or the
politically correct term “Valve Operators”) will
use a machine to open or close a Butterfly Valve.
The machine will count the turns required to
open or close the valve.
If the pipe is lined, make sure that the valve disc does not contact the pipe lining during the
opening stroke. Contact with lining can damage the valve disc.
54 inch Butterfly valve on a huge transmission line. Nice job but no shoring, no
ladder or valve blocking.
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If the packing is too tight--Loosen the packing torque until it is only hand tight. Tighten to the
required level and then cycle the valve. Re-tighten, if required. CAUTION: Always follow safety
instructions when operating on valve.
If the shaft seals are dirty or worn out--Clean or replace components, as per assembly-
disassembly procedure. CAUTION: Always follow safety instructions when operating on a
valve.
If the shaft is bent or warped--The shaft must be replaced. Remove valve from service and
contact an outside contractor or your expert fix-it person.
If the valve has a pneumatic actuator, the air supply may be inadequate--Increase the air
supply pressure to standard operating level. Any combination of the following may prevent the
valve shaft from rotating:
If the actuator is not working--Replace or repair the actuator as required. Please contact
specialized services or an outside contractor for assistance.
If the valve is packed with debris--Cycle the valve and then flush to remove debris. A full
cleaning may be required if flushing the valve does not improve valve shaft rotation. Flush or
clean valve to remove the debris.
A broken 54 inch Butterfly and a worker inside the water main preparing the interior
surface. Notice, this is a Permit Required Confined Space. Hot work permit is also
required. Side note, there is a plastic version of the 54 and 60 inch Butterfly valve.
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The spool has a central (neutral) position maintained with springs; in this position the supply
fluid is blocked, or returned to tank. Sliding the spool to one side routes the hydraulic fluid to
an actuator and provides a return path from the actuator to the tank. When the spool is moved
to the opposite direction, the supply and return paths are switched. When the spool is allowed
to return to the neutral (center) position the actuator fluid paths are blocked, locking it in
position.
Directional control valves are usually designed to be stackable, with one valve for each
hydraulic cylinder, and one fluid input supplying all the valves in the stack.
Tolerances are very tight in order to handle the high pressure and avoid leaking; spools
typically have a clearance with the housing of less than a thousandth of an inch. The valve
block will be mounted to the machine's frame with a three point pattern to avoid distorting the
valve block and jamming the valve's sensitive components.
The spool position may be actuated by mechanical levers, hydraulic pilot pressure, or
solenoids which push the spool left or right. A seal allows part of the spool to protrude outside
the housing, where it is accessible to the actuator.
The main valve block is usually a stack of off the shelf directional control valves chosen by flow
capacity and performance. Some valves are designed to be proportional (flow rate proportional
to valve position), while others may be simply on-off. The control valve is one of the most
expensive and sensitive parts of a hydraulic circuit.
Pressure relief valves are used in several places in hydraulic machinery: on the return circuit
to maintain a small amount of pressure for brakes, pilot lines, etc.; on hydraulic cylinders, to
prevent overloading and hydraulic line/seal rupture; on the hydraulic reservoir, to maintain a
small positive pressure which excludes moisture and contamination.
Pressure reducing valves reduce the supply pressure as needed for various circuits.
Sequence valves control the sequence of hydraulic circuits; to insure that one hydraulic
cylinder is fully extended before another starts its stroke, for example.
Check valves are one way valves, allowing an accumulator to charge and maintain its pressure
after the machine is turned off, for example.
Pilot controlled Check valves are one way valves that can be opened (for both directions) by a
foreign pressure signal. For instance, if the load should not be held by the check valve
anymore. Often the foreign pressure comes from the other pipe that is connected to the motor
or cylinder.
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Cartridge valves are, in fact, the inner part of a check valve; they are off the shelf components
with a standardized envelope, making them easy to populate a proprietary valve block. They
are available in many configurations: on/off, proportional, pressure relief, etc. They generally
screw into a valve block and are electrically controlled to provide logic and automated
functions. Hydraulic fuses are in-line safety devices designed to automatically seal off a
hydraulic line if pressure becomes too low, or safely vent fluid if pressure becomes too high.
Auxiliary valves. Complex hydraulic systems will usually have auxiliary valve blocks to handle
various duties unseen to the operator, such as accumulator charging, cooling fan operation,
air conditioning power, etc... They are usually custom valves designed for a particular machine,
and may consist of a metal block with drilled ports and channels. Cartridge valves are threaded
into the ports and may be electrically controlled by switches or a microprocessor to route fluid
power as needed.
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Water supplied to fire hydrants will feed from multiple directions. Thus during periods of peak
fire flow demand, there will be less impact from "friction loss" in water mains as the velocity
within any given section of main will be less since several mains will be sharing the supply.
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PRVs assist in a variety of functions, from keeping system pressures safely below a desired
upper limit to maintaining a set pressure in part of a circuit. Types include relief, reducing,
sequence, counterbalance, and unloading. All of these are normally closed valves, except for
reducing valves, which are normally open. For most of these valves, a restriction is necessary
to produce the required pressure control. One exception is the externally piloted unloading
valve, which depends on an external signal for its actuation.
The most practical components for maintaining secondary, lower pressure in a hydraulic
system are pressure-reducing valves. Pressure-reducing valves are normally open, 2-way
valves that close when subjected to sufficient downstream pressure. There are two types:
direct acting and pilot operated.
Direct acting - A pressure-reducing valve limits the maximum pressure available in the
secondary circuit regardless of pressure changes in the main circuit, as long as the work load
generates no back flow into the reducing valve port, in which case the valve will close.
The pressure-sensing signal comes from the downstream side (secondary circuit). This valve,
in effect, operates in reverse fashion from a relief valve (which senses pressure from the inlet
and is normally closed). As pressure rises in the secondary circuit, hydraulic force acts on area
A of the valve, closing it partly. Spring force opposes the hydraulic force, so that only enough
oil flows past the valve to supply the secondary circuit at the desired pressure. The spring
setting is adjustable.
When outlet pressure reaches that of the valve setting, the valve closes, except for a small
quantity of oil that bleeds from the low-pressure side of the valve, usually through an orifice in
the spool, through the spring chamber, to the reservoir. Should the valve close fully, leakage
past the spool could cause pressure build-up in the secondary circuit. To avoid this, a bleed
passage to the reservoir keeps it slightly open, preventing a rise in downstream pressure above
the valve setting. The drain passage returns leakage flow to reservoir. (Valves with built-in
relieving capability also are available to eliminate the need for this orifice.)
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When no pressure is in the valve, the spring and the weight of the diaphragm assembly hold
the valve closed.
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A beautiful swing check valve. Swing checks need to be maintained. I hate finding a
swing check that is either buried and/or forgotten, rusted in place or, my favorite, the
check was removed. Yes, folks, you too will find these three conditions. Send me a
photograph if you do. I love stories and photographs from the field.
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Wastewater valves are widely used in different industries like dairy, food, pharmaceutical,
medical and chemical industries to name a few.
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Hydrants are designed to allow water from the distribution system to be used for fire-fighting
purposes.
Bottom of a dry barrel fire hydrant--there is a drainage hole on the back of this hydrant,
sometimes referred to as a “weep hole”. Below is an “Airport Runway” type of hydrant.
These are difficult to find.
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Valve packing compression is too tight--Verify the packing bolt torque and adjust if
necessary.
Contaminated parts should be cleaned with a lint-free cloth using alcohol, varsol or the
equivalent. All parts should be re-lubricated before re-assembly. If the valves are installed
outdoors in a sandy area, it may be desirable to cover the valves with jackets.
Valve components are faulty or damaged-- contact the supply house or warehouse. Most
valve salesmen will try to keep your business and do whatever is possible to do so. In the last
ten years only one manufacturer did not replace a faulty valve. It is one of the largest makers
of water valves and blew me off. It was clearly a bad valve to begin with. Sad part of this story
is that the large American valve companies have to deal with aggressive Chinese valve
companies that will make things right to keep your business. Most of these valves that I have
seen are great for most water and wastewater work. They have nice finishes and even come
in stainless steel--Probably made from recycled American cars. I just hate to switch over to
anything other than American but I guess we are living in a Global market.
The handwheel is too small--Increasing the size of the handwheel will reduce the amount of
torque required to operate the valve. If a larger handwheel is installed, the person operating
the valve must be careful not to over-torque the valve when closing it. Most Valve operators
will have a set of special keys for the operation of most valves but a small wheel can present
problems as well as no hand wheel.
Dr. Rusty’s commentary, Over the years and at most systems, it seems that the institutional
knowledge that most of the old timers have is priceless and under appreciated by most
management. The reason I say this is most experienced Valvemen or Valve Operators know
their system better than any map or GIS system. Don’t throw these people under the bus!
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Water hammer (or, more generally, fluid hammer) is a pressure surge or wave caused by the
kinetic energy of a fluid in motion when it is forced to stop or change direction suddenly. It
depends on the fluid compressibility where there are sudden changes in pressure. For
example, if a valve is closed suddenly at the end of a pipeline system, a water hammer wave
propagates in the pipe. Moving water in a pipe has kinetic energy proportional to the mass of
the water in a given volume times the square of the velocity of the water.
Liquid, for all practical purposes, is not compressible: any energy that is applied to it is
instantly transmitted. This energy becomes dynamic in nature when a force such as a quick
closing valve or a pump applies velocity to the fluid.
For this reason, most pipe-sizing charts recommend keeping the flow velocity at or below 5
ft/s (1.5 m/s). If the pipe is suddenly closed at the outlet (downstream), the mass of water
before the closure is still moving forward with some velocity, building up a high pressure and
shock waves. In domestic plumbing this is experienced as a loud bang resembling a
hammering noise. Water hammer can cause pipelines to break or even explode if the
pressure is high enough. Air traps or stand pipes (open at the top) are sometimes added as
dampers to water systems to provide a cushion to absorb the force of moving water in order
to prevent damage to the system. (At some hydroelectric generating stations, what appears
to be a water tower is actually one of these devices.) The water hammer principle can be
used to create a simple water pump called a hydraulic ram.
On the other hand, when a valve in a pipe is closed, the water downstream of the valve will
attempt to continue flowing, creating a vacuum that may cause the pipe to collapse or
implode. This problem can be particularly acute if the pipe is on a downhill slope. To prevent
this, air and vacuum relief valves, or air vents, are installed just downstream of the valve to
allow air to enter the line and prevent this vacuum from occurring.
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Here's an example of pressure hammer when closing an EASMT solenoid valve, with a 50 ft
long upstream pipe connection:
L = 50 ft
V = 5.0 ft / sec( recommended velocity for PVC piping design)
t = 40 ms(solenoid valve closing time is approx. 40-50 ms)
P1 = 50 psi inlet pressure
Pulsation
Pulsation generally occurs when a liquid’s motive force is generated by reciprocating or
peristaltic positive displacement pumps. It is most commonly caused by the acceleration and
deceleration of the pumped fluid. This uncontrolled energy appears as pressure spikes.
Vibration is the visible example of pulsation and is the culprit that usually leads the way to
component failure.
Damage to seals gauges, diaphragms, valves and joints in piping result from the pressure
spikes created by the pulsating flow.
Remedy
Suggest that you install a pulsation dampener or surge tank. Dampeners provide the most
cost efficient and effective choice to prevent the damaging effects of pulsation. A surge
suppressor is in design essentially the same as pulsation dampener.
The difference primarily lies in sizing and pressurizing. The most current pulsation dampener
design is the hydro-pneumatic dampener, consisting of a pressure vessel containing a
compressed gas, generally air or Nitrogen separated from the process liquid by a bladder or
diaphragm.
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One of the most versatile plastic and polyvinyl resin pipes is the polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
PVC pipes are made of tough, strong thermoplastic material that has an excellent
combination of physical and chemical properties. Its chemical resistance and design strength
make it an excellent material for application in various mechanical systems.
Sometimes polyvinyl chloride is further chlorinated to obtain a stiffer design, a higher level of
impact resistance, and a greater resistance to extremes of temperature. A CPVC pipe (a
chlorinated blend of PVC) can be used not only in cold-water systems, but also in hot-water
systems with temperatures up to 210°F. Economy and ease of installation make plastic pipe
popular for use in either water distribution and supply systems or sewer drainage systems.
Various types and sizes of coupons or tap cut-outs. You will want to date and collect
these cut-outs to determine the condition of the pipe or measure the corrosion.
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The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) currently lists most brands of PVC pipe as being
acceptable for potable water use. This information should be stamped on the outside of the
pipe, along with working pressure and temperature, diameter and pipe manufacturer.
PVC pipe will have the highest C Factor of all the above pipes. The higher the C factor the
smoother the pipe.
It is sometimes protected from highly corrosive soils by wrapping the pipe in plastic sheeting
prior to installation. This practice can greatly extend the life of this type of pipe.
Steel Pipe
This pipe is often used in water treatment plants and pump stations. It is available in various
diameters and in 20' or 21' lengths. Its main advantage is the ability to form it into a variety of
shapes.
It also exhibits good yielding and shock resistance. It has a smooth interior surface and can
withstand pressures up to 250 psi. A disadvantage is that it is easily corroded by both soil
and water.
To reduce corrosion problems, steel pipe is usually galvanized or dipped in coal-tar enamel
and wrapped with coal-tar impregnated felt.
At present, however, coal-tar products are undergoing scrutiny from a health standpoint and
it is recommended that the appropriate regulatory agencies be contacted prior to use of this
material.
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A major disadvantage is that it is brittle and is easily broken during construction or by shock
loading. There is some concern regarding the possible release of asbestos fibers in corrosive
water and there has been much debate over the health effects of ingested asbestos. Of greater
concern, however, is the danger posed by inhalation of asbestos fibers.
Galvanized Pipe
Galvanized pipe is commonly used for the water distributing pipes inside a building to supply hot
and cold water to the fixtures. This type of pipe is manufactured in 21-ft lengths. It is
GALVANIZED (coated with zinc) both inside and outside at the factory to resist corrosion. Pipe
sizes are based on nominal INSIDE diameters. Inside diameters vary with the thickness of the
pipe. Outside diameters remain constant so that pipe can be threaded for standard fittings.
Copper
Copper is one of the most widely used materials for tubing. This is because it does not rust and
is highly resistant to any accumulation of scale particles in the pipe. This tubing is available in
three different types: K, L, and M.
K has the thickest walls, and M, the thinnest walls, with L’s thickness in between the other two.
The thin walls of copper tubing are soldered to copper fittings. Soldering allows all the tubing and
fittings to be set in place before the joints are finished. Generally, faster installation will be the
result.
Type K copper tubing is available in either rigid (hard temper) or flexible (soft temper) and is
primarily used for underground service in the water distribution systems.
Soft temper tubing is available in 40- or 60-ft coils, while hard temper tubing comes in 12- and
20-ft straight lengths.
Type L copper tubing is also available in either hard or soft temper and either in coils or in straight
lengths. The soft temper tubing is often used as replacement plumbing because of the tube’s
flexibility, which allows easier installation.
Type M copper tubing is made in hard temper only and is available in straight lengths of 12 and
20 ft. It has a thin wall and is used for branch supplies where water pressure is low, but it is NOT
used for mains and risers. It is also used for chilled water systems, for exposed lines in hot-water
heating systems, and for drainage piping.
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180
First, we are start with proper safety equipment. This includes long-sleeved shirts, work
boots, eye protection and leather gloves. Copper tubing has sharp edges and will cut you.
Be careful handling the tubing. There is the chance that you will be burned also. Be careful
of the torch and the pipe. Do not hand your project to another person unless they are wearing
gloves. More advice, do not or try not to solder directly on top of finished cement.
Sometimes, water can be in the pores of the cement. It is difficult to see, and the cement
may look completely dry, but your torch will find the smallest drop of water and make the
water into steam and create a small explosion. This usually will happen in the morning
causing small particles of concrete to spray in to your eyes.
Here is a new type of copper cutter in the top left side picture. Just simply snap the tool on
the pipe and twist.
Next we are going to ream the tubing of its sharp edges. This is necessary to prevent
turbulence in the pipe which can create a pinhole leak. This is a common occurrence at
90s.
Now we are going to remove the oxidation from the pipe with a battery terminal type of
cleaner. Just a wire brush inside a round plastic holder. You can see this in the top right
hand side picture. You could also use sandpaper or steel wool to accomplish this
necessary procedure. Next we are going to use flux. You need to use a little brush and
apply a light coat of flux to the end of your tubing. The flux is needed so that the hot solder
can be sucked into the joint and create a full seal.
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Propane gas will work fine for half inch tubing, but it doesn’t work well with the larger pipe
sizes. Propane seems to take just a minute longer than map gas.
Place the flame nozzle just about one inch from the 90, focusing the heat right in the middle
of the fitting. Take a piece of solder about twelve inches or so, and test the area. If the fitting
is hot enough, it will draw the solder and equally distribute it around the joint. This should
take about one second or so.
MAP gas is a hotter gas made of oxygen and acetylene. MAP gas works fast and the
soldering is done quickly. Remember that your project is hot and be prepared to be burned if
you are not careful.
Another Problem
Another common problem with soldering is water. If you have one drop of water in the line,
you will not be able to get a good seal. There are a couple of tricks to help you solder when
there is water in the line. One method is plain old white bread. Just cram the water line with
bread until the water has stopped.
You can proceed to solder your fitting at that time and then simply flush the line when you
are finished. There are also small balls filled with oil that you can cram inside the pipe, or
you can even freeze the pipe to sweat your fittings on. You can also purchase a special tool
from most plumbing stores that works like a compression fitting or a boat drain plug and will
stop the leak.
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Tapping Sleeve
Gate Valves are used to isolate sections of water mains. Not to be used to throttle or
regulate the flow.
A Globe valve should be used to regulate the flow. Be sure to chlorinate or disinfect all
distribution parts such as valves.
Caps
A pipe cap is a fitting with a female (inside) thread. It is used like a plug, except that the pipe
cap screws on the male thread of a pipe or nipple.
Couplings
The three common types of couplings are straight coupling, reducer, and eccentric reducer.
The STRAIGHT COUPLING is for joining two lengths of pipe in a straight run that does not
require additional fittings. A run is that portion of a pipe or fitting continuing in a straight line
in the direction of flow.
A REDUCER is used to join two pipes of different sizes. The ECCENTRIC REDUCER (also
called a BELL REDUCER) has two female (inside) threads of different sizes with centers so
designed that when they are joined, the two pieces of pipe will not be in line with each other,
but they can be installed to provide optimum drainage of the line.
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Nipples
A nipple is a short length of pipe (12 in. or less) with a male thread on each end. It is used
for extension from a fitting. At times, you may use the DIELECTRIC or INSULATING TYPE
of fittings. These fittings connect underground tanks or hot-water tanks. They are also used
when pipes of dissimilar metals are combined. These help slow down corrosion that starts
inside the pipe and works to the outside of the pipe.
Do not heat or solder dielectric fittings. You may melt the plastic coating from them.
Zinc is a coating on the outside and inside of pipes to slow corrosion. This is called
“galvanization”.
Tees
A tee is used for connecting pipes of different diameters or for changing the direction of pipe
runs. A common type of pipe tee is the STRAIGHT tee, which has a straight-through portion
and a 90-degree takeoff on one side.
All three openings of the straight tee are of the same size. Another common type is the
REDUCING tee, similar to the straight tee just described, except that one of the threaded
openings is of a different size than the other.
Unions
There are two types of pipe unions. The GROUND JOINT UNION consists of three pieces,
and the FLANGE UNION is made in two parts. Both types are used for joining two pipes
together and are designed so that they can be disconnected easily joined, the two pieces of
pipe will not be in line with each other, but they can be installed to provide optimum drainage
of the line.
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Enough gate valves should be placed throughout the system to enable problem areas
(leaks, etc.) to be isolated and repaired with minimal service disruption.
Flushing should always be done from the source to the ends of the system. Affected
customers should be notified of this process in advance. To do an adequate job of flushing,
the flow should reach a velocity of at least 2.5 feet per second, known as the “minimum
cleansing velocity” of the system (at hydrant locations).
These tests are important to determine the adequacy of the distribution system in transmitting
water, particularly during days of peak demand. Also, these tests can help determine if pipe
capacity is decreasing over time due to internal corrosion or deposits.
Pressure tests should be done at various locations in the distribution system several times
per year. This helps to monitor the performance of the system and alert the operator to
problems such as leaks or internal deposits. It is sometimes advantageous to have certain
points in the system continuously monitored to provide a constant evaluation of the system.
185
186
The wall of the reservoir is connected to the negative side of the power supply. This tends to
reverse the flow of electrons, from the anode (hence the term sacrificial), through the water
and back to the reservoir wall.
This essentially turns the steel wall of the reservoir into a cathode, or negative terminal, with
respect to its surroundings, and the migration of metallic ions from the steel is retarded.
Repair crew replacing three tapping valves that blew out during a leak.
187
Sump Pump
Backwater Valve
The function of this valve is to prevent the sewer from backing up into the house during heavy
rains. Most backwater valves operate automatically. A valve with a butterfly action closes against
the sewer on the house side. Sometimes however, debris lodges against the seat of the valve
so that it cannot close tightly. There are also manually operated valves that have a wheel handle
to shut them down.
Sometimes, debris (mop strings, etc.) can accumulate or collect near the valve seat, which
prevents it from closing tightly. With automatic backwater valves, removing the lid, cleaning the
seat, and greasing the hinge pin on the valve gate annually will guarantee that the valve will
operate as expected when it is called upon to prevent the water from coming into your basement.
With the manual type of valve it is best to operate this valve every six months in order that (1)
all members of the family may be familiar with the location of the valve with its function, and
where the wheel for manual operation is stored; and (2) in order that the manual operation may
keep the valve free from corrosion and lessen the chances for debris interfering with the valve
closing.
Flammable Vapors
Vapors from flammable liquids can explode and catch fire, causing death or severe burns. That
is why it's vitally important, that you should NEVER use flammable liquids such as gasoline,
adhesive solvents, lighter fluid, mineral spirits, paint thinner and kerosene around water heaters,
furnaces, or any appliance with the potential for flame or sparks. Keep flammable products far
away from the water heater or furnace, stored in an approved container, tightly closed and out
of children’s' reach. Flammable products, improperly stored or used near an open flame, give
off invisible vapors that can travel the length of a house and be ignited by any of a dozen or
more household sources of flame or spark. A few precautionary measures can prevent a tragedy
from taking place.
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ACCESS PANEL: An opening in the wall or ceiling near the fixture that allows access for servicing the
plumbing/electrical system.
ADAPTOR: A fitting that unites different types of pipe together, e.g. ABS to cast iron pipe.
AIR BREAK: An air break is a physical separation which may be a low inlet into the indirect waste
receptor from the fixture, or device that is indirectly connected. You will most likely find an air break on
waste fixtures or on non-potable lines. You should never allow an air break on an ice machine.
AIR GAP SEPARATION: A physical separation space that is present between the discharge vessel and
the receiving vessel, for an example, a kitchen faucet.
AMMONIA: A chemical made with Nitrogen and Hydrogen and used with chlorine to disinfect water.
BACKFLOW PREVENTION: To stop or prevent the occurrence of the unnatural act of reversing the
normal direction of the flow of liquids, gases, or solid substances back into the public potable (drinking)
water supply. See Cross-connection control.
BACKFLOW: To reverse the natural and normal directional flow of liquids, gases, or solid substances
back in to the public potable (drinking) water supply. This is normally an undesirable effect.
BACKSIPHONAGE: A liquid substance that is carried over a higher point. It is the method by which the
liquid substance may be forced by excess pressure over or into a higher point.
BENCHING: A method of protecting employees from cave-ins by excavating the sides of an excavation
to form one or a series of horizontal levels or steps, usually with vertical or near vertical surfaces
between levels.
BREAK POINT CHLORINATION: The process of chlorinating the water with significant quantities of
chlorine to oxidize all contaminants and organic wastes and leave all remaining chlorine as free
chlorine.
CAUSTIC SODA: Also known as sodium hydroxide and is used to raise pH.
CAVE-IN: The separation of a mass of soil or rock material from the side of an excavation, or the loss of
soil from under a trench shield or support system, and its sudden movement into the excavation, either
by failing or sliding, in sufficient quantity so that it could entrap, bury, or otherwise injure and immobilize
a person.
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CHLORAMINATION: Treating drinking water by applying chlorine before or after ammonia. This creates
a persistent disinfectant residual.
CHLORINATION: The process in water treatment of adding chlorine (gas or solid hypochlorite) for
purposes of disinfection.
CHLORAMINES: A group of chlorine ammonia compounds formed when chlorine combines with
organic wastes in the water. Chloramines are not effective as disinfectants and are responsible for eye
and skin irritation as well as strong chlorine odors (also known as Combined Chlorine).
CHLORINE: A chemical which destroys small organisms in water. Chemical disinfectant that kills
bacteria and algae.
CHLORINE DEMAND: Amount of chlorine required to react on various water impurities before a
residual is obtained. Also, means the amount of chlorine required to produce a free chlorine residual of
0.1 mg/l after a contact time of fifteen minutes as measured by iodmetic method of a sample at a
temperature of twenty degrees in conformance with Standard methods.
CHLORINE, FREE: Chlorine available to kill bacteria or algae. The amount of chlorine available for
sanitization after the chlorine demand has been met. Also known as chlorine residual.
CLEANOUT: A plug in a trap or drain pipe that provides access for the purpose of clearing an
obstruction.
CLOSET AUGER: A flexible rod with a curved end used to access the toilet's built-in trap and remove
clogs.
CLOSET BEND: A curved fitting that connects the closet flange to the toilet drain.
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COLIFORM: A group of bacteria commonly found in the environment. They are an indicator of potential
contamination of water. Adequate and appropriate disinfection effectively destroys coliform bacteria.
COMBINED CHLORINE: The reaction product of chlorine with ammonia or other pollutants, also known
as chloramines.
COMPETENT PERSON: One who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the
surroundings or working conditions, which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and
who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
CONTAMINATION: To make something bad. To pollute or infect something. To reduce the quality of
the potable (drinking) water and create an actual hazard to the water supply by poisoning or through
spread of diseases.
CORROSION: The removal of metal from copper, other metal surfaces and concrete surfaces in a
destructive manner. Corrosion is caused by improperly balanced water or excessive water velocity
through piping or heat exchangers.
CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride): Rigid plastic pipe used in water supply systems, where code
permits.
CROSS-CONTAMINATION: The mixing of two unlike qualities of water. For example, the mixing of
good water with a polluting substance like a chemical.
DISINFECT: To kill and inhibit growth of harmful bacterial and viruses in drinking water.
DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS (DBPs): The products created due to the reaction of chlorine with
organic materials (e.g. leaves, soil) present in raw water during the water treatment process. The EPA
has determined that these DBPs can cause cancer.
DISINFECTION: The treatment of water to inactivate, destroy, and/or remove pathogenic bacteria,
viruses, protozoa, and other parasites.
E. COLI, Escherichia coli: is a bacterium commonly found in the human intestine. For water quality
analyses purposes, it is considered an indicator organism. These are considered evidence of water
contamination. Indicator organisms may be accompanied by pathogens, but do not necessarily cause
disease themselves.
ELBOW: A pipe fitting with two openings that changes the direction of the line. Also called an ell. It
comes in a variety of angles, from 22 1/2° to 90°.
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ENERGY: The ability to do work. Energy can exist in one of several forms, such as heat, light,
mechanical, electrical, or chemical. Energy can be transferred to different forms. It also can exist in one
of two states, either potential or kinetic.
ENHANCED COAGULATION: The process of joining together particles in water to help remove organic
matter.
ENTEROVIRUS: A virus whose presence may indicate contaminated water; a virus which may infect
the gastrointestinal tract of humans.
FECAL COLIFORM: A group of bacteria that may indicate the presence of human or animal fecal
matter in water.
FINISHED WATER: Treated drinking water that meets state and federal drinking water regulations.
FIXTURE: In plumbing, the devices that provide a supply of water and/or its disposal, e.g. sinks, tubs,
toilets.
FLOCCULATION: The process of bringing together destabilized or coagulated particles to form larger
masses which can be settled and/or filtered out of the water being treated.
FLOOD RIM: The point of an object where the water would run over the edge of something and begin to
cause a flood. See Air Break.
FLUX: The paste that is used in soldering metal joints. Flux aids the process by preventing oxidation of
the joint.
HEAD: The measure of the pressure of water, expressed in feet, of height of water. 1 psi = 2.41 feet of
water. There are various types of heads of water depending upon what is being measured; for example,
Static (water at rest) and Residual (water at flow conditions).
HEADWORKS: The facility at the "head" of the water source where water is first treated and routed into
the distribution system.
I.D.: Abbreviation for inside diameter. All pipes are sized according to their inside diameter.
192
IRRIGATION: Water that is especially furnished to help provide and sustain the life of growing plants. It
comes from ditches, and it is sometimes treated with herbicides and pesticides to prevent the growth of
weeds and the development of bugs in a lawn or garden.
KINETIC ENERGY: The ability of an object to do work by virtue of its motion. The energy terms that are
used to describe the operation of a pump are pressure and head.
LANGELIER INDEX: A mathematically derived factor obtained from the values of calcium hardness,
total alkalinity, and pH at a given temperature. A Langelier index of zero indicates perfect water balance
(i.e., neither corroding nor scaling).
MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVELS (MCLs): The maximum allowable level of a contaminant that
federal or state regulations allow in a public water system. If the MCL is exceeded, the water system
must treat the water so that it meets the MCL. Or provide adequate backflow protection.
MECHANICAL SEAL: A mechanical device used to control leakage from the stuffing box of a pump.
Usually made of two flat surfaces, one of which rotates on the shaft. The two flat surfaces are of such
tolerances as to prevent the passage of water between them.
MICROBE, MICROBIAL: Any minute, simple, single-celled form of life, especially one that causes
disease.
MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS: Microscopic organisms present in untreated water that can cause
waterborne diseases.
mL: milliliter.
NON-CHLORINE SHOCK: Oxygen based shocking compound. Non Chlorine shock is fast dissolving so
it allows swimming just 15 minutes after use.
OXIDIZING: The process of breaking down organic wastes into simpler elemental forms or by products.
Also used to separate combined chlorine and convert it into free chlorine.
pCi/L: picocuries per liter. A curie is the amount of radiation released by a set amount of a certain
compound. A picocurie is one quadrillionth of a curie.
PIPELINE APPURTENANCE: Pressure reducers, bends, valves, regulators (which are a type of valve),
etc.
POTABLE: Good water which is safe for drinking or cooking purposes. Non-Potable: A liquid or water
that is not approved for drinking.
193
pH: A measure of the acidity of water. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14 with 7 being the mid-point or
neutral. A pH of less than 7 is on the acid side of the scale with 0 as the point of greatest acid activity. A
pH of more than 7 is on the basic (alkaline) side of the scale with 14 as the point of greatest basic
activity. pH (Power of Hydroxyl Ion Activity).
pH OF SATURATION: The ideal pH for perfect water balance in relation to a particular total alkalinity
level and a particular calcium hardness level, at a particular temperature. The pH where the Langelier
Index equals zero.
PHENOL RED: Chemical reagent used for testing pH in the range of 6.8 - 8.4.
PLUMBER’S PUTTY: A pliable, popular putty used to seal joints between drain pieces and fixture
surfaces.
POLLUTION: To make something unclean or impure. Some states will have a definition of pollution that
relates to non-health related water problems, like taste and odors. See Contaminated.
POTENTIAL ENERGY: The energy that a body has by virtue of its position or state enabling it to do
work.
PRE-CHLORINATION: The addition of chlorine to the water prior to any other plant treatment
processes.
PRESSURE HEAD: The height to which liquid can be raised by a given pressure.
PROGRAMMATIC CONSERVATION: Conservation that results from public education efforts that
influence consumer behavior. Examples include turning off the water when brushing your teeth, washing
only full loads of laundry, fixing leaks, etc.
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride): A rigid white or cream colored plastic pipe used in non-pressure systems,
such as waste and vent systems.
RAW WATER: Water that has not been treated in any way; it is generally considered to be unsafe to
drink. Sometimes referred to as Auxiliary Water.
RISER: A vertical assembly of fittings and pipes that distributes water upward.
ROUGH-IN: The portion of a plumbing installation that includes running the water supply lines and
drain, waste & vent lines to the proposed location of each fixture.
RUN: A complete or secondary section(s) of pipe that extends from supply to fixture or drain to stack.
194
SANITIZER: A chemical which disinfects (kills bacteria), kills algae and oxidizes organic matter.
SCALE: Crust of calcium carbonate, the result of unbalanced pool water. Hard, insoluble mineral
deposits (usually calcium bicarbonate) which form on pool and spa surfaces and clog filters, heaters
and pumps. Scale is caused by high calcium hardness and/or high pH. You will often find major scale
deposits inside a backflow prevention assembly.
SEDIMENTATION: The process of suspended solid particles settling out (going to the bottom of the
vessel) in water. The use of a strainer before the backflow assembly can help remove some of the
course sedimentation.
SLOPING: A method of protecting workers from cave-ins by excavating to form sides of an excavation
that are inclined away from the excavation to prevent cave-ins. The angle of incline required to prevent
a cave-in varies with differences such as soil type, length of exposure, and application of surcharge
loads.
SOIL STACK: Largest vertical drain line to which all branch waste lines connect; carries waste to the
sewer line.
SOLDER: A fusible alloy used to join metallic parts. Solder for potable water pipes shall be lead-free.
SHOCK: Also known as superchlorination or break-point chlorination. Ridding a pool of organic waste
through oxidization by the addition of significant quantities of a halogen.
SOLDER: A metal alloy that is melted to join or mend metal surfaces; also, the act of melting solder into
the joint.
STOP VALVE: A valve that controls the flow of water to an individual fixture, allowing water supply to be
stopped to one fixture without affecting the water supply to other fixtures.
STUFFING BOX: That portion of the pump which houses the packing or mechanical seal.
SURFACE WATER: Water which is open to the atmosphere and subject to surface runoff; generally,
lakes, streams, rivers.
TCE, trichloroethylene: A solvent and degreaser used for many purposes; for example, dry cleaning is
a common groundwater contaminant.
TITRATION: method of testing by adding a reagent of known strength to a water sample until a specific
color change indicates the completion of the reaction.
TEE: A T-shaped fitting with three openings used to create branch lines.
195
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS) : The accumulated total of all solids that might be dissolved in
water.
TRAP: Curved section of a fixture drain line; designed to hold water, thus preventing sewer gases from
entering the house.
TREATED WATER: Disinfected and/or filtered water served to water system customers. It must meet or
surpass all drinking water standards to be considered safe to drink.
TRENCH: A narrow excavation below the surface of the ground, less than 15 feet wide, with a depth no
greater than the width.
UNDERMINING: Undermining can be caused by such things as leaking, leaching, caving or over-
digging. Undermined walls can be very dangerous.
UNION: Three-piece fitting that joins two sections of pipe, but allows them to be disconnected without
cutting the pipe. Used primarily with steel pipes, but never in a DWV system.
VALVE: A device that opens and closes to regulate the flow of liquids. Faucet, hose bib, and Ball are
examples of valves.
VANE: That portion of an impeller which throws the water toward the volute.
VELOCITY HEAD: The vertical distance a liquid must fall to acquire the velocity with which it flows
through the piping system. For a given quantity of flow, the velocity head will vary indirectly as the pipe
diameter varies.
VENT STACK: The upper portion of the soil stack above the topmost fixture through which gases and
odors escape.
VENTURI: If water flows through a pipeline at a high velocity, the pressure in the pipeline is reduced.
Velocities can be increased to a point that a partial vacuum is created.
VIBRATION: A force that is present on construction sites and must be considered. The vibrations
caused by backhoes, dump trucks, compactors and traffic on job sites can be substantial.
VOLUTE: The spiral-shaped casing surrounding a pump impeller that collects the liquid discharge by
the impeller.
WATER WORKS: All of the pipes, pumps, reservoirs, dams and buildings that make up a water system.
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CLA-VAL
P.O. Box 1325
Newport Beach, CA 92659-0325
Phone: (949) 722-4800 • 1-800-942-6326
Fax: (949) 548-5441
www.cla-val.com
E-mail: claval@cla-val.com
US Regional Offices
WESTERN REGION:
Phone: (951) 687-9145
1-800-247-9090
Fax: (951) 687-9954
E-mail: lvanderk@cla-val.com
SOUTHERN REGION:
Phone: (281) 759-9590
1-800-336-7171
Fax: (281) 759-8938
E-mail: blindsey@cla-val.com
NORTHERN REGION:
Phone: (847) 697-1413
1-800-238-7070
Fax: (847) 697-5549
E-mail: djurs@cla-val.com
EASTERN REGION:
Phone: (703) 721-1923
1-800-451-3030
Fax: (703) 721-1927
E-mail: bmoore@cla-val.com
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Dimensions
SQUARE: Area (sq.ft.) = Length X Width
Volume (cu.ft.) = Length (ft) X Width (ft) X Height (ft)
CYLINDER: Volume (Cu. ft) = 3.14 X Radius (ft) X Radius (ft) X Depth (ft)
General Conversions
Flowrate
Multiply —> to get
to get <— Divide
cc/min 1 mL/min
cfm (ft3/min) 28.31 L/min
3
cfm (ft /min) 1.699 m3/hr
cfh (ft3/hr) 472 mL/min
3
cfh (ft /hr) 0.125 GPM
GPH 63.1 mL/min
GPH 0.134 cfh
GPM 0.227 m3/hr
GPM 3.785 L/min
oz/min 29.57 mL/min
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FLOW RATE (gpm): Flow Rate (gpm) = 2.83 (Diameter, in)2 (Distance, in)
Height, in
% SLOPE = Rise (feet) X 100
Run (feet)
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MANNING’S EQUATION
Q = Allowable time for decrease in pressure from 3.5 PSI to 2.5 PSI
q = As below
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Once complete, just simply fax or e-mail the answer key along with the
registration page to us and allow two weeks for grading.
Call us if you need any help. If you need your certificate back within 48
hours, you may be asked to pay a rush service fee of $50.00.
You can download the assignment in Microsoft Word from TLC’s website
under the Assignment Page. www.abctlc.com
If you need any assistance, please contact TLC’s Student Services. Once
you are finished, please mail, e-mail or fax your answer sheet along with
your registration form.
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