Is a vacuum breaker suppose to leak?

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Johnnyh55

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The plumbing was redone at my house last year and it was all converted from copper to PEX. We installed a new frost proof wall hydrant from home depot and I think it worked fine last year. I stored the garden hose for winter and this past weekend I went to use it and water pours out of the built-in vacuum breaker. I went to home depot in canada and couldn't buy just a vacuum repair kit so I bought a new unit the same as what I have now. I swapped the vacuum breaker internal parts(plastic breaker with new o-rings and new plastic float) and turned the faucet on and it still leaked. So I tightened down the breaker with channels locks and tried it again, this time no leaks. Now I connected my garden hose with a nozzle in the off position and turned the water on and it's leaking from the breaker again. Is this common behavior? Are you suppose to not let any pressure in the hose with vacuum breaker? I never had one before so I don't know how they work. Maybe it's the hydrant that's cheap?

The hydrant I have is just like this one:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wall-hydrant-with-vacuum-breaker-12-inch/429281
 

hj

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If your hose is soft and can "expand" when it is under pressure, (which is a common occurrance), the backflow preventer WILL leak when it is turned off until the hose shrinks back to its original size.​
 
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