I'm going to install a shallow well jet pump and looking for a check valve the spring presser on most are very light maybe 1 pound. The plumbing store sells a 5lb check valve that is PVC instead of brass for much higher cost are these the way to go?
I like my footvalves/check valves to be brass. I have never had much luck with platic valves.
I think the Flowmatic brand is #1 with Simmons #2. Both are made in the USA to my knowledge. Also you can get them in stainless now for some applications.
You don't need a high spring pressure, the PSI of the water is all the pressure you need.
Pressure closes the check valve. The spring has little to do with making a good check valve. You certainly don’t want a check with a heavy spring on the suction side of the pump (too much restriction). You could get away with it in the discharge side, but it is not needed.
Repeatedly slamming a check valve closed, caused by cycling the pump on and off, can destroy even the best check valve. Reducing or eliminating pump cycling can even make a cheap check valve last a long time.
Even a kid can look inside a typical spring loaded check valve and see a flat - usually plastic disc, with a spring behind it, and wonder, gee, how does water churn its way around that blockage. A ball cone check valve is like an airplane wing, and is a solid ball cone that takes a big beating without fail.
Even a kid can look inside a typical spring loaded check valve and see a flat - usually plastic disc, with a spring behind it, and wonder, gee, how does water churn its way around that blockage. A ball cone check valve is like an airplane wing, and is a solid ball cone that takes a big beating without fail.