Is a vacuum breaker on a hose bib supposed to soak you with water?
 

Another newbie question - I attached a hose to the outdoor hose bib and when I turned off the water, I got soaked with water squirting out of the vacuum breaker. I have never had one of these before. Is it supposed to squirt water like that when turning off the hose? Or is the vacuum breaker bad (i.e. should the excess water drip out instead of squirt out)? The end of my hose has a sprayer attached which I assume caused the pressure.

Thanks,

Cindy

That is exactly what it does. I removed both of mine.

Is it hard to remove?

If the screw that locks the collar on is cut off, yes, it has to be drill out.

BTW, You need them on to sell a house per inspectors.

These should not be removed, these are a legal requirement. The easiest way to avoid getting soaked is to keep the hose ON while turning off the water. Another option is to install a simple on/off valve AFTER the vacuum breaker, you can turn off this valve, and then the main valve with little or no splashing.

You are right! They are required by law!

I had never heard of the device until I moved here.

Never had it in my parents’ house and I didn’t have them in my house up north! And I wasn’t killed from drinking contaminated water!

https://youtu.be/dnjweI8ipnI?si=ZYEMQwEjGPA9EONJ

If pressure high enough it will relieve pressure, some times mine do it and some times they don’t. I’ve replaced mine several times some do it and some don’t depending on spring tension inside. I never tighten the jam nut so tight that it twists off, make it easy to replace them. When I shut water off I sometimes step on hose that makes them squirt so I know still working.

Yeah I will leave it on. May try the on / off valve if I keep forgetting to hold the sprayer in the on position when turning off the water.

Don’t take it off if a legal requirement as the Village water Police might come by and shut your water off, LOL. Just remove it and replace if you sell the home. As an added protection, I never leave the hose connected to the water valve because you cannot tell if you left the water on (then the hose explodes) or if the valve starts to leak from the faucet you would never see it, etc. Same principle as the anti siphon without getting wet. Never had these up north and we actually survived.

If you slowly close the valve (vs. closing it quickly) you won’t get any splashing.

Very simple, just install this on the anti-siphon device and shut this off before you shut off the hose bib.

Shut off
 

Then bleed the hose line as normal.

Note that the vacuum breaker is a plumbing code requirement everywhere. It is not a Florida thing.

It’s a backflow valve and I would keep it on for safety reasons

The hose won’t explode IF you keep the device on, as that’s one of the things it’s there for. Release an overpressure if the water in the hose expands from warming up and expanding. The over pressure needs someplace to go. Without it, the hose will swell and may cause damage to your hose. But the device is designed to keep now contaminated water from flowing back into your house clean water supply.
If your water supply pressure drops, it will prevent this water from backflowing into the clean house water supply. It’s there for your health and safety.
Depending on type of backflow design, water spraying out may indicate a failed rubber gasket, or it may be normal.
All of our new builds around me do spray a lil when the water is turned off and a hose is attached.
Like others have mentioned, keeping your hose sprayer on while turning the water off should minimize this spraying.

fix
 

many neighbors buy dollar store swimming noodles and slide a six inch or so piece onto the hose and connector area to avoid being sprayed

Water sprays out all the time on mine is anything missing that ai need?

Amazon
 

Amazon sells " The Original Hose Bibb Cover for Anti-Siphon Vacuum Breaker and Leaky Hoses" looks like it will fix and still stay within code. I'm going to try a piece of bike innertube as a sleeve attached only on to to direct water down

[QUOTE=azcindy;2448182]Another newbie question - I attached a hose to the outdoor hose bib and when I turned off the water, I got soaked with water squirting out of the vacuum breaker. I have never had one of these before. Is it supposed to squirt water like that when turning off the hose? Or is the vacuum breaker bad (i.e. should the excess water drip out instead of squirt out)? The end of my hose has a sprayer attached which I assume caused the pressure.

Thanks,

Cindy
Your post made me smile. I recall my first Villages hose soaking! Others will share how to address this, but I just want to say, “welcome to TV!”

Get a replacement at Home Depot
There are videos online on how to replace

All of these workarounds are crazy. Just remove them. If and when you move, they cost less than $5 each to replace before the sale.

Mine are sitting in my toolbox - I can put them pack on at any time.

Easy Fix
 

This is a easy fix. There is a small little shield that just clips on with no tools right over the Spicket it forces all the water straight down to the ground so it don’t spray all over the place. They sell them on Amazon for just a few dollars I have one and it works great.

The back flow preventers don’t last more than a few years. Buy a new one from Ace or Amazon.

Still Alive
 

Wonder how we all stayed alive after all these years without this device.

I guess if you have your hose connected to a lawn feeding hose device and if you lose water pressure and if you left the hose valve on then you would need it.

I'll take my chances and not get sprayed every time I turn my hose off.

Easy peasy !

I have the same issue. Thanks for asking.

What is “a few?” Mine is still working at 11. Besides, what the OP describes is a properly functioning device. Replacing theirs will only cost time, money, and frustration to get back to exactly the same place.

Water should not spray out all the time. There is a piece of rubber inside the unit that should cover the holes in normal operation. If water is spraying then the rubber might be cracked or there may be sediment keeping it from closing properly.

On mine there is a little rubber tab in the opening that I could push and twist a little. I did this and it seemed to make the rubber seat better and stopped the water spraying all the time.

If that doesn’t work then it’s time to replace it.

Amazon has a shield for under $10. I am fortunate that mine is only a foot from the corner of the house. I reach over from the other side.:a20:

Backflow valve
 

I put a kitchen towel around it and made a simple knot. Now only the towel gets wet.

Back flow preventer
 

Take Gator Aid size bottle with a wide neck , cut the bottle in half now take the neck and wire tie it over the back flow valve and the spray will be deflected to the ground.

What's wrong with a little spray of water after working in the hot Florida sun?

You will need to reinstall it ( or someone will) to pass inspection if you sell the house.

A towel will do the job for you, no need to buy anything or cut Gatorade containers.

Yes. That is exactly what it’s supposed to do. Your hose bib fitting is working correctly.

The purpose of the backflow preventer is to prevent hose water from backing up into the main water supplied to the house. You could end up drinking all that bacteria-infested water from the hose!

Splash Guard
 

You may want to try this Splash Guard sold on Amazon.

Amazon.com

I just noticed my new neighbor cut a piece of pool noodle and inserted it around the vacuum breaker. Looks like an easy solution.

Jus take the VB off your bib.

And remove your mattress tags too.

So, you will either die from drinking contaminated water or you will be arrested by the FBI and end up in Federal prison.

By the way, you can remove the tags as long as you eat the mattress.