Author Topic: Can a CSV be used instead of a PRV?  (Read 8643 times)

mshafey

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Can a CSV be used instead of a PRV?
« on: March 20, 2016, 09:53:26 AM »
Can a CSV be used instead of a PRV? I'm talking about normal water distribution operations unrelated to pumping.

If a CSV has superior self-cleaning and a better price, say for regulating pressure on 2" pipe mains, is there any reason why not use them as PRVs?

Cary Austin

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Re: Can a CSV be used instead of a PRV?
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2016, 06:10:16 PM »
A CSV works like a pressure reducing valve as long as you are using more than the built-in minimum flow of the particular CSV.  A 2" would have a minimum flow of 5 GPM.  As long as you are using more than 5 GPM, the CSV will hold a set pressure.  But if you use less than 5 GPM the downstream pressure will continue to increase until it equals the upstream pressure.

This internal bypass in the CSV is why it is self flushing.  The bypass allows the CSV to function much faster than a PRV, so screens for needle valves and small tubes are not necessary.  But we use CSV's for pressure reducing all the time like in municipal jobs where the flow never gets below 5 GPM.