Quick anti-siphon valve question

10 years ago

Hi valve specialists out there :-)

Quick question. After restarting irrigation system that I had turned off due to freezing temperatures, I decided to try the valves by hand first.

Slowly turning on a valve by rotating the solenoid produced some weird vibrations/shaking which increased if I opened the valve more. After closing and opening the valve slowly enough the vibrations disappeared and everything ran smoothly.

I am guessing the vibrations are due to the presence of air in the system and the anti-siphon?

Would the same vibrations not happen if I turn on the valve using the controller to activate the solenoid?

I have seen the same kind of vibrations with a toilet tank after I connected a new anti-siphon float, and they disappeared after turning on the water very slowly for a few minutes.

Thanks,
CG

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Comments (2)

lehua49
10 years ago
BT,

How did you go about turning off the system during the freezing weather? Were the pipes still full of water? Did the temperatures go above freezing for days before you tried to turn on the system? Why did you need to try to turn the irrigation on before March or April? Curious. Aloha
BugTerminator
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Lehua13,

I am in northern CA and did some repair on PVC pipe right before the valves which broke after unusual cold spell. I needed to test my repair (freezing temperatures are gone for now).

After the valve there is pressure regulator and 1/2" poly hose going downhill. I have drained the system at the bottom of the hill. Poly hose had frozen too but this did not cause any damage.

My question was just about the shaking of the valve when turning on slowly by hand... everything else is fine.

And I think it is the same situation as initially turning on a valve on a new watering zone. At first, all the poly hoses after the valve are full of air...

Cheers,
CG