I installed an underground water supply to a hose spigot near my fire pit on my property, and I'm trying to determine where to install the vacuum breaker. I understand it needs to be installed at the highest point, and since my property slopes uphill toward the fire pit and the spigot rises out of the ground on a post, the highest point would be at the spigot itself. That's where I should install it, correct? I was initially thinking the vacuum breaker needs to be where the copper pipe exits the home where it transitions to a polyethylene pipe because I thought that water held in the poly pipe might be the kind that I wouldn't want to back-flow if a siphon were to form. However, that would mean I'd need to route the plumbing at that point so it juts out of the ground higher than the elevation of my fire pit spigot, i.e. 5 or 6 feet, which would look ridiculous.
Can someone please confirm or correct my thinking on this?
Best Answer
I have always put a vacuum breaker at the faucet. It would be silly to put it at the house, the water would drain from the line every time turned off if properly installed. The vacuum breaker prevents a hose from sucking up ground water contaminating the supply. So as long as the breaker is at the faucet or part of the faucet and it is higher than the outlet you would meet the reason for the vacuum breaker in towns I have lived That were connected to city water this met there requirements.