These guys mean well. They did throw in a couple of test cocks, and even a shut off valve on their homemade double check valve backflow preventer.

This is not allowed in Washington State.

The assembly failed the first backflow test but only required a good cleaning to get it to pass the 2^nd test.

This is a .5” Watts 008PCQT SVBA backflow assembly isolating a soap dispenser in a commercial butcher shop.

My son and his best friend took me out for a nice dinner at Cellars restaurant in Seattle’s Bell town neighborhood for Father’s Day 2011. The food was great and we had a fantastic time. THANKS BOYS!

There is simply nothing better in life than being a full time father, and being surrounded by great young adults is proof of that.

This 3” Wilkins 975 Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly (RPBA) has a leaking NRS SOV #2 with flow downstream. As you can see I attached a large bypass hose from TC #1 to TC #4 because my test kit could not compensate for the leak.

This BPA did not pass the annual backflow assembly test.

A new 8” Wilkins 350DA for the fire sprinkler system at the new Big Lots in Covington.

The bypass ¾” Wilkins 950XL check valve #1 failed the 1^st backflow test. I opened it up and cleaned it out to get it to pass the 2^nd backflow test.

Close up of a Watts 009QT reduced pressure backflow assembly in the final stages of a backflow assembly Test. One clue that this little guy MAY have passed the test is, there is no water venting from the relief valve.

FYI it passed with good reading. Capitol Hill, Seattle.

This Wilkins 975 RPBA failed the annual backflow assembly test over a year ago. The backflow tester shut off the valves and the assembly was left to rust. The scale build up you see here is common in systems with high water demand. At some point someone had stripped out the relief valve clover bolts too, in an attempt to fix something that was not broke.

Regardless after extensive cleaning and new parts this backflow prevention assembly has passed the test and is back in service.

This Wilkins 975 XL RPBA failed the annual backflow assembly test. Check valve #1 leaks.

I cannot access the check valves to make repairs. A technician has incorrectly installed a control panel on top of this assembly. This backflow assembly must be relocated before it can be repaired and retested.

Before we can do a backflow assembly test on this DCDA backflow prevention assembly for the fire service of a rather large building we have to locate the fire alarm control panel first. No one at this facility knows what it is, or where to find it.

After spending an hour on an extensive search I finally located the control panel and put the fire alarm system in test. Now over an hour after showing up I can start this backflow assembly test. Some days just don’t go as smoothly as they should.

Here in Western Washington Pressure Vacuum Breaker assemblies (PVBA) are uncommon. The PVBA backflow assembly pictured here froze last winter and did not pass the annual backflow assembly test.

The body was damaged and the PVBA was not repairable. We had to replace it with a new assembly.