I'm not on municipal water. I'm on a well, but when my 2HP pressure pump
kicks in, it does build pressure rapidly. I had to replace all the
sprinklers early on, due to a recall, so that probably eliminated any
air pockets... until this latest total drain. I'm beginning to believe
the only solution will be to buy a VSR-ST. I was hoping to be able to
just get a VSR-S but was told I couldn't take it apart to screw it on,
and as you can see there is no room to rotate it on the fitting without
a union. Is the VSR-ST the most cost effective solution?
On 10/12/2016 6:59 AM, Mike Henke wrote:
Barry,
The unwanted waterflow alarms are caused by the fact that the VS-SP does not
have a retard and you are getting water surges because you are connected to a
municipal water supply and have some air pockets in the sprinkler system.
They are called unwanted alarms, not false alarms. The device is doing what it
is supposed to do, activate on a flow of water. The problem is there is
supposed to be a retard to prevent the alarms caused by water surges.
The solution is to replace the VS-SP with a flowswitch that has a retard. This
would be much less expensive and much easier than trying to vent all air out
through saddle valves.
It is possible that if there is a check valve or BFP that can hold pressure in
the system that the unwanted alarms will eventually stop after there are enough
surges to build system pressure up higher than the supply pressure.
However, when you test the system, you will relieve all built up pressure and
you'll be back into the unwanted alarm issue.
I'm guessing you never had unwanted alarms before because it was either never
tested or somehow there was no trapped air pockets in it to allow for surges.
The data sheet for the VS-SP specifically says that it does not have a retard so it
should not be used on systems with variable pressure water supplies except in cases
of elevator recall. The VS-SP was designed specifically for elevator recall and
sprinkler systems supplied by a pump & tank.
Flushing the system or letting it flow through the test valve will not
eliminate ALL the air pockets, even if the test valve is at the most remote
location.
Change the flowswitch to the correct one.
Kind Regards,
mike
Mike Henke CET
Sprinkler Product Manager
___________________________________________________
Potter Electric Signal Company, LLC
1609 Park 370 Place, St. Louis, MO 63042
phone: 800-325-3936 | direct: 314-595-6740
[email protected] | www.pottersignal.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Sprinklerforum [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Barry Levine
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2016 12:01 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Seeking false water flow alarm suggestions
I drained all the water from my pipes when I installed a new water filter/softener system
in my home. After installing the new system, which replaced some 3/4" pipe with
1" pipe in my home water system, I have been getting false alarms from my Potter
Electric Signal Co VS-SP flow sensor. I flushed my sprinkler system using the drain and
the test valve, yet I believe some air pockets may still remain in my two areas of
coffered ceilings, where the sprinklers sit 1 foot above the rest of the system. Potter
recommends replacing the VS-SP with a VSR-ST. I'd prefer not spending the money to
replace the sensor, but I'd like to hear from the professionals before I make that
decision. I'm thinking there may be other solutions, especially since I never had any
false alarms during the previous 20+ years. Possibly I could attach saddle valves between
each of the two sprinklers in the two coffered ceilings and bleed the air out.
Unfortunately, I've never had any long-term luck with sad
dle valves, as they have all become inoperative over time. I've attached a
photo of my water system in case that might be helpful. Feel free to ask any
questions or offer any solutions. Thank you.
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