Burst pipe - water cutoff valve?

[AAAA]

We recently had a burst pipe at my allotment site caused by vandalism which cost about £350 in lost water before it was noticed and the supply turned off.

Does anyone know of a valve that can be inserted into the supply pipe which will cut off the water when a pipe bursts or is broken? I guess it's got to be something that detects a sudden increase in water flow.

 

[chr15]

That wouldn't work cos turning on a tap at any time would be like a sudden increase in water flow-what is the supply pipe feeding and what is the pipe made of?

 

[ChrisR]

There certainly ARE devices about, which try to loook for extraordinary demands and turn the water off. Haven't kept details but from what I remember reading, one WOULD suit you.
I expect you'd get some false-alarm type shutoffs, but the allotment users would get used to it.

If you go to http://www.bes.ltd.uk/
and do a search on 'water shut off valves' you'll find a couple (and some very cheap hose fittings!). I've seen others which shut off after a long time without a no-flow condition

 

[Balenza]

Their is one called " Pipeguard".
http://www.mavespace.com/viewpage.php?page=13


This company below supplies this particular one for £52 though you can purchase online via the links given in the above link.

http://www.hpsmerchant.co.uk/products.htm

 

[AAAA]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Looking at the details of the products has made me think about how any item would work (or not). At the moment protection for each outlet seems to be the most probable way.

To answer chr15 - we have two supply lines each running to about 10 tanks (as for normal loft tanks with a ball float and valve controlling the filling - we keep fit by lugging around watering cans!). I'm not sure what's running under the ground but the risers are 15mm copper pipes.

I think the biggest technical problem is that during heavy watering periods (early mornings and evenings) many people are taking water from the tanks and the supplies are working at full rate to refill them. So obviously a detector just based on flow rate would probably not work. Ideally the solution would be something that could be set to shutoff after a maximum flow rate of x time but the only solutions I've found require mains electrics which we don't have.

Once again - thanks for the suggestions. Any other options welcome.

 

[Balenza]

AAAA wrote

So obviously a detector just based on flow rate would probably not work

Have you went through pipeguards FAQ section ?

What if I want to use an unlimited amount of water?

No problem, just turn the control knob to ‘Hose-Mode’ for hours of continuous water use

Their are a number of different seettings on pipeguard for different scenarios including closed off.
It also uses battery's.
Maybe a simple shut off valve is all that is needed in a locked enclosure. So just turn it off when everyone leaves the allotment.

 

[Henry]

Came across a flyer for this recently, but having no joy finding it on the web. Does anyone know if it is still available, or an alternative please?

 

[BrightonFlats]

I fitted a Floodcheck automatic stopcock. it knows if the water is running too much or for too long. It's indoors but can't see why it would not work for you guys.

 

[HERTS P&D]

5 years old thread!

Andy