Air congestion in the water supply lines leads to a violation of the uniformity of the water flow, which causes water hammer and leads to early wear of pipes and fittings. To avoid deformation of the water supply system, you need to know what methods can eliminate the accumulation of air in the cavity of the pipeline.
The main causes of air congestion
The appearance of bubbles in the water supply lines is associated with an internal physical and chemical reaction or penetration from the outside. In the first case, gas escapes from the water stream itself, because about 30 grams of air are dissolved in 1000 liters of water. The release of gaseous substance occurs faster if the fluid flows slowly and if it is heated. For this reason, voids and caverns occur much more often in pipes of hot water supply. In the second case, air from the external environment seeps into the main networks.
The main reasons for the appearance of air from outside in the water supply system of a private house:
- when the liquid level decreases, air can suck in through a non-return valve;
- fitting elements with rubber sealing parts are poorly fitted, depressurization occurs at the joints;
- air in water supply lines is not removed from the first start-up of the system.
In vertically directed pipes, air rises up or dissolves throughout the cavity. In horizontal - it accumulates in the highest places, which is unfavorable for the entire system.
The destruction of air bubbles occurs at a flow velocity of a quarter meter per second. If it is smaller, plugs may remain in one place for a long time.
Danger of air bubbles in the pipeline
Bubbles, especially large ones, can destroy even the strong elements of the trunk. The main troubles that they bring to the owners of private houses:
- Accumulate in the same areas, leading to breakage of pipe sections and adapters. They also constitute a danger to turning and twisting pipe sections where air is trapped.
- Break the water stream, which is inconvenient for the user. Faucets all the time “spit out” water, vibrate.
- Provoke water hammer.
Water hammering leads to the formation of longitudinal cracks, due to which the pipes are gradually destroyed. As time passes, the pipe breaks at the cracking point and the system ceases to function. Therefore, it is important to equip additional elements that allow you to quickly get rid of dangerous bubbles.
How to get rid of air in the water supply
If air bubbles interfere with the operation of the pipeline, but the bleed elements are not yet installed, turn off the pumping station pumping water from the well. Then open all the drain taps and discharge the water along with the bubbles from the network. After that, connect the pressure equipment and let the water flow.
Devices for bleeding and lowering will help to get rid of air traffic jams in the water supply of a private house forever:
- mechanical valves, such as a Maevsky device;
- ball valves and gates;
- automatic air vents.
It is necessary to manually bleed air using shutoff valves, which is rather laborious. Therefore, it is better to choose alternative options.
Mechanical valve
The device is not difficult, but the device is able to quickly and efficiently rid the line of bubbles. The principle of operation of a mechanical valve is as follows:
- A hollow cylinder with a cover in which a threaded plug is mounted is connected to the water supply by a threaded connection.
- A plastic ball float is suspended inside a cylindrical box. When there is only water in the pipeline, the float rises to the plug hole, and, thanks to the pressure of the water stream, closes it tightly.
- As soon as air leaks into the device, the ball goes down and bleeds the air plug.
Devices that can remove air are mounted in the highest, turning and curved places of the highway - where there is a high risk of air congestion.
Automatic air vent
There are three types of automatic machines for removing air from water supply networks:
- float valves;
- launching devices;
- combined type devices.
When choosing a diverter, they look at the volume of potential traffic jams, working pressure in the network and quality indicators of water. These data can be found in the technical manual of the device. Do not take the machine with maximum power. When working at a minimum, it is more likely to wear out.
Homemade Air Storage
Automatic devices do not always cope with the air in country houses. Usually in such highways there are a lot of air bubbles, water gushes out from the valve device.
Instead of an automatic air vent, a drive is installed, which is a tank with a tube and a faucet.
The device can be built by yourself. For efficient operation, the cross-section of the air accumulator should be five times larger than the corresponding indicator of the pipeline. The drive is mounted at the highest point of aquifer communication.
When installing water supply networks in a country cottage, it is important to provide for the installation of devices for eliminating air. They protect the operating system from water hammer and rapid destruction.
