Water to exterior buildings

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Drewsonian

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I have a home in Ohio with a private well that supplies our house and the previous owners ran water lines out to a barn about 450 feet away from the house to supply water for small livestock. It has a shutoff and three stage filter in the house before it feeds out to the barn and I've mostly left it shut off since we haven't used the water in the barn yet but we're planning on starting to use it more as we are raising chickens and plan to get goats in the coming years.

My first question is - should I make it a practice to turn the line off at the house when we're not using it? We'd probably be using it daily for a few gallons, but I didn't know if having that much more plumbing for the tank/pump to pressurize could cause any unwanted issues like major drops in pressure in the house or anything.

Another question - are there any fittings / check valves / devices / etc that should be installed when a water line is running out to another building like this? Like if the outside line breaks is there a risk of groundwater being introduced back into my house that I should have a check valve in place or something?

Thanks for your insight, I've been a long time lurker on this forum. :)

Drew
 

Terry

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An unused water line to the out building doesn't affect volume or pressure in the home.
A cross connection doesn't occur unless the main is turned off and water can siphon back in. All faucets and hoses should have air gaps or in the case of a hose, a vacuum breaker.
Basically an air gap is that one inch between the end of a spout and the overflow level of a sink or tub.
 

Drewsonian

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An unused water line to the out building doesn't affect volume or pressure in the home.
A cross connection doesn't occur unless the main is turned off and water can siphon back in. All faucets and hoses should have air gaps or in the case of a hose, a vacuum breaker.
Basically an air gap is that one inch between the end of a spout and the overflow level of a sink or tub.

Thanks! So if the water line terminates at the barn in a frost proof yard hydrant like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-ft-Bury-Depth-Frost-Proof-Yard-Hydrant-EBYH02NL/205031731 and we have a hose connected to it all the time, should I still put on a vacuum breaker?
 

shane21

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In the state of Ohio you are, by code, supposed to install an ASSE standard 1013, 1015 or 1024 backflow preventer on a line feeding an outside frost free hydrant like the one you linked. You would of course install it on that line in the house. Doesn't really matter if before or after the shutoff valve and 3-stage filters, just needs to be in there somewhere. I would recommend the ASSE 1024 dual check valve device since it is simple to install and less than $50. Just search "ASSE 1024 dual check valve" and pick the one you want, just make sure it specifically carries the ASSE 1024 certification. If your mind operates in less code compliant ways, a basic check valve on that line in the house would be better than nothing.

Not to pick a fight w/ the forum administrator or Cary, but a vacuum breaker would be a poor option for this system since the yard hydrant you linked needs to suck air back in to properly drain, especially in the winter when it may freeze and break if it doesn't properly drain. If your hydrant is in a heated barn or room a vacuum breaker would then be less of a concern and still better than nothing - just make sure that heat doesn't fail or that you remove the vacuum breaker when the cold weather sets in.
 

Drewsonian

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In the state of Ohio you are, by code, supposed to install an ASSE standard 1013, 1015 or 1024 backflow preventer on a line feeding an outside frost free hydrant like the one you linked. You would of course install it on that line in the house. Doesn't really matter if before or after the shutoff valve and 3-stage filters, just needs to be in there somewhere. I would recommend the ASSE 1024 dual check valve device since it is simple to install and less than $50. Just search "ASSE 1024 dual check valve" and pick the one you want, just make sure it specifically carries the ASSE 1024 certification. If your mind operates in less code compliant ways, a basic check valve on that line in the house would be better than nothing.

Not to pick a fight w/ the forum administrator or Cary, but a vacuum breaker would be a poor option for this system since the yard hydrant you linked needs to suck air back in to properly drain, especially in the winter when it may freeze and break if it doesn't properly drain. If your hydrant is in a heated barn or room a vacuum breaker would then be less of a concern and still better than nothing - just make sure that heat doesn't fail or that you remove the vacuum breaker when the cold weather sets in.

Thanks all for the info and advice! I read up on the Ohio code I see exactly what you're saying.
 
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