Is there a quick and easy way to switch from indexing valve to individual valves that doesn’t involve digging up everywhere? Not overly possible in the space I have, I could potentially do the manifold above ground, but that is still a lot of plumbing.
Not really, because you need to have a valve plumbed to each and every leg of that indexing valve. You could do above ground with anti-siphon valves, but it is still going to require a bunch of plumbing to tie everything together.
so if its above ground why do I need anti siphon valves? I already have an anti siphon valve before the indexer. I could just cut the indexer off and just individual valve each pipe and then tie them together back to the anti siphon valve I guess.
Well, considering that I know nothing about your setup, how was I to know that you already had a backflow device in the system?
If that is the case, then yes, I guess you can install a standard valve above ground, but there aren’t any 90 degree standard style valves that I’m aware of, so they will all have to be plumbed straight in line. Not hard to do, just a tad more plumbing involved. Typically you would create a manifold system off the backflow device and then plumb everything back into the pipes coming out of the ground from the old indexing valve setup.
Thank you very helpful. This looks sort of simple enough to do below. Do I need the anti siphon valve if I do this?
Interesting setup, but nothing saying that wouldn’t work…
But yes, some sort of isolation backflow or anti-siphon needs to be there. Standard valves do not isolate the irrigation system from your potable water supply (assuming you don’t have a dedicated irrigation meter from the city) and will not pass code in most areas, so you either need to keep your existing anti-siphon valve in place (will need to be set up as a master valve in Rachio), or replace with a true backflow device.
Okay, so what they did there just cutting out the indexer and the antisiphon is wrong, that is exactly what I have BTW. The rest is okay but the anti siphon or backflow device should have been left.
Not knowing what their system consists of, I can’t say for sure one way or the other. They could be pumping from a lake or could have a dedicated non-potable water service for irrigation from the city, which wouldn’t need the protection.
But for most homes across the country that tie the irrigation into their water line to the house, code says you need it. For the small number of areas that DON’T have that in the code, it is still a good idea. Some nasty stuff can live in water lines that aren’t used frequently, and you don’t want that getting sucked back into your drinking water.
Thanks, guy says the valves have backflow built in but from my reading clearly they don’t., but I can just switch to a manual always on anti siphon valve because the rachio will be controlling from the individual valves correct?