Zurn

00:06 Hi, I'm Bryan.
00:07 I'm the Test Lab Lead here at the Reece Product Innovation and Testing Laboratory.
00:11 And today we've got Lawrence with us as well.
00:13 I'm Lawrence, I’m the Zurn Product Specialist,
00:15 supporting the Zurn products for the Reece Group.
00:18 Thanks, Lawrence.
00:19 So, here to talk about backflow. Can you tell me a bit more about it?
00:22 What actually is backflow?
00:23 Yeah, backflow is super important to us.
00:25 It's any time we're talking about the unwanted reverse flow of water.
00:28 So generally from a building or a site back into the drinking water supply.
00:31 So, Lawrence, how important is it to stop or prevent backflow?
00:35 Backflow prevention’s crucially important.
00:37 You know, we don't know what contaminants could be getting into the water.
00:40 And we want to make sure
00:40 we're reducing and preventing that risk of that contaminating drinking water supply.
00:44 Right, so we've got quite a few products actually out here on display.
00:47 Can you tell me a bit more about them?
00:48 What differences are we seeing here?
00:50 Yeah, absolutely.
00:51 So going back to that crucial importance
00:52 of protecting the drinking water supply, we do have different models.
00:54 So we have in the Australian standards low, medium and high hazard ratings for sites.
00:58 And we have devices that suit each of those.
01:00 So we have a low hazard device which is a single check,
01:03 medium hazard which is a double check valve or DCV.
01:05 And we have the high hazard device which is an RPZ.
01:08 Now they're all different in design slightly.
01:09 They all have the non-return valves,
01:11 but the high hazard rating comes about from a feature that's unique to the RPZ,
01:15 which is the relief port we see on the bottom here on our larger valves.
01:18 Still the same design, just a larger brass design.
01:20 Now, that is designed to actually expel the contaminant.
01:23 So we'll try and get rid of that to further
01:25 prevent it from going back into the drinking water supply.
01:27 And also is a visual reference to something needs to be looked at, it’s time for a service.
01:31 So if this is actually doing its job correctly, what am I going to see?
01:34 Yeah, spot on, that's a great question and something
01:35 that's a bit of a misconception in the industry.
01:37 In plumbing we don't want to see water discharging unnecessarily out of anything.
01:41 But in an RPZ we definitely want to see that where something's going wrong.
01:44 Where there's a backflow condition we need to make sure
01:47 we're protecting the drinking water supply.
01:48 So if you're seeing these leak,
01:50 you know, a leak is a drip, a pour or a discharge
01:52 from an RPZ, it's doing what it's designed to do.
01:54 It's time to have a look at what's causing the issue.
01:56 What makes a good backflow device?
01:58 Yeah, obviously the materials and the quality of those components
02:01 internally in the valve bodies themselves, we want high quality materials used.
02:05 We also want to make sure
02:06 that you've got a trusted, reliable company manufacturing these things,
02:09 and with years of experience built up in that field.
02:11 And you, we don't want to take chances with our drinking water.
02:14 It's just not something we want to risk.
02:16 So what sets Zurn apart is their history. They’ve got a longstanding history of reliability.
02:19 They've been supplying versions of backflow prevention devices as early as the 1900s
02:24 and from that date, obviously they've brought a lot of innovations to the industry.
02:27 So from our EZ swap vessels, which we have here today to our compound checks,
02:30 they're really focusing on making things much easier for the industry.
02:33 And now combining that with obviously Reece’s, you know, quality lab that we have here today.
02:39 I think we've got a great partnership.
02:40 The quality of these products is is vital to us in the lab as well.
02:43 So part of the process that we're involved with here in Australia
02:47 is once the product is approved to be sold in Australia,
02:51 so it meets all of the technical requirements, all the Australian standards.
02:55 We actually get the product over here and do a full assessment of it in our own labs.
02:58 So, what we’ll actually do is assess performance, product quality of each component.
03:03 And then once we’ve deemed that satisfactory, we'll give it the tick of approval
03:07 and it can go through for sale.
03:09 How do these devices
03:11 protect against the low, medium and high hazard ratings?
03:15 So I mentioned earlier low, medium and high hazard level,
03:18 or ratings in the Australian standard, and we've got the devices to suit.
03:20 So, here we have a single check valve.
03:23 That's a low hazard rating and the reason it gets a low hazard rating
03:25 it's only got one non-return valve in it.
03:27 So, obviously we wouldn't, there's no fail safe.
03:29 If that's a high hazard site
03:30 and once something was to go wrong, there's no other added protection in there.
03:33 Generally they’ll be used on fire services in Victoria and Queensland as well.
03:37 And sometimes you'll see a bypass
03:38 setup on there for your fire services, which is a water metering apparatus.
03:42 Then we move on to our medium hazard devices, which are double check valves or DCVs.
03:47 So these can be both with a bypass for your fire systems or fire services
03:51 and without for your normal potable water or drinking water supply.
03:54 So again the only difference with the bypass they're still medium hazard rated.
03:58 But it's just a water metering device.
03:59 So someone's not using water that they shouldn't be.
04:02 And what we have here lastly is the high hazard rated device which is an RPZ.
04:05 So in addition to the two non-return valves or check assemblies we have in there,
04:09 we also have the relief port on the bottom and that attempts to expel the contaminant,
04:13 which is an added level of protection against that contaminant
04:15 getting back into the drinking water supply.
04:17 So how do we maintain these out in the field?
04:19 Yeah, quite simply really.
04:20 Every year a backflow test has to be conducted on a backflow device
04:24 to make sure that it's doing what it should and it’s protecting our drinking water.
04:27 Now, Zurn
04:27 know that the importance of, obviously that testing,
04:29 but also the time for our plumbers to do the job.
04:32 So, they've brought innovation to the industry
04:34 to make this nice and easy, nice and quick for them. And it's just a simple vessel.
04:38 Take that out, drop it back in, redo your test and off you go.
04:41 So, Lawrence, what I'm seeing is, backflow really is important.
04:44 Crucially important.
04:45 We really don't want to take chances with our drinking water supply,
04:48 and we want every opportunity to prevent any contaminants
04:50 and backflow getting into the drinking water. We can't take those chances.
04:54 So in addition to our quality checks and our quality product,
04:57 obviously you've got your quality processes here at the testing lab at Reece.