vacum breaker info

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sisyphus

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Hello all, I just discovered that the outside spigots should all have vacum breakers to prevent backflow into the house water supply. at Homedepot, I saw some sillcocks which were about 8" inches or more with a round cap on top behind the shut off knob. can someone explain how this thing works? thanks
 
The cap on top is a valve held closed by water pressure and springs open when the tap is turned off. So in a vacumme this would suck air not water. The length is so the actual valve is inside the building so it dosn't freeze as long as the hose is desconnected.
 
thanks, but where does the air come from? and if that's the case wouldn't the air get sucked into the pipe?
 
Yes the air gets into the pipe from that valve on top. But the water won't get sucked from the hose.
 
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