check valveThank you for visiting the Hessenauer Sprinkler Repair and Irrigation blog and website. We like to provide our online readers with news, tips and advice concerning sprinkler irrigation and drainage here in Orlando and the Central Florida area.

Today we would like to explore some of the technical aspects of sprinkler irrigation check valves.

Check valves are mechanical valves which allow liquids to flow in one direction, preventing the process flow from reversing. Irrigation check valves have two ports, one for water to enter and the other for water to leave. Also classified as one-way directional valves, the fluid flow in the desired direction opens the valve, while any backflow would force the valve closed.

Here are a couple terms associated with irrigation check valves. Back pressure is the differential pressure between the inlet and outlet pressures. Reseal pressure is the pressure at which there is no indication of flow. Cracking pressure is the inlet pressure at which the first indication of flow occurs, causing a steady stream of bubbles at first.

A double check valve is a backflow prevention device designed to protect water supplies from contamination and consists of two check valves assembled in series. An indexing valve requires pipe rotation for opening and closing operations.

A pressure relief valve is used to control or limit the pressure in a system which can build up for an equipment failure. The pressure is relieved by allowing fluid to flow from an auxiliary passage out of the system.

Ball check valves are often very small, simple, and cheap. A ball check valve is a check valve in which the closing member, the movable part to block the flow, is a spherical ball. In some ball check valves, the ball is spring-loaded to help keep it shut. For those designs without a spring, reverse flow is required to move the ball toward the seat and create a seal.

Some other check valves to research and explore include swing check valves, diaphragm check valves, stop-check valves, lift-check valves, in-line check valves and duckbill valves.

Thank you again for visiting the Hessenauer Sprinkler Repair and Irrigation blog and website. Bookmark us for more news, tips and advice concerning sprinkler irrigation and drainage. If you want to discuss a project to get started here in Central Florida, contact us at 407-302-2227 today!