Had a plumber over yesterday because the water pressure was acting weird, and turns out the backflow device was pretty much toast. He said it was probably around 7-8 years old, which surprised me—I thought these things lasted way longer. Now I'm wondering if that's normal or if I just got unlucky. Has anyone else had theirs fail around the same timeframe, or did yours hold up better?
Mine lasted about 10 years, but honestly, I think it depends on a bunch of factors:
- **Water quality:** Hard water or lots of sediment can wear these things down quicker. If your area's water is rough, 7-8 years might actually be decent.
- **Installation quality:** If the plumber who installed it originally cut corners or didn't set it up properly, that could shorten its lifespan.
- **Maintenance:** Did you ever have it tested or serviced? Most people (myself included, lol) don't even think about these things until they fail.
I replaced mine last year after noticing weird pressure fluctuations, and the plumber said 8-12 years is pretty typical. So you're not super unlucky, just maybe a bit on the shorter end of average. If you're budget-conscious like me, you might wanna look into a rebuild kit next time—cheaper than replacing the whole thing, and usually does the trick if you catch it early enough.
"If you're budget-conscious like me, you might wanna look into a rebuild kit next time—cheaper than replacing the whole thing, and usually does the trick if you catch it early enough."
Rebuild kits can be great, but honestly, if your area's water is super harsh, sometimes it's just delaying the inevitable. Learned that one the hard way...
Yeah, rebuild kits can buy you some time, but I've seen plenty of cases where folks end up replacing the whole thing anyway after a year or two. Depends a lot on your water quality and maintenance habits...anyone here actually had a rebuild last long-term?
Mine lasted about 6 years before it started acting up. Tried the rebuild route, but honestly, after a year it was back to square one. Ended up replacing the whole thing—probably should've done that from the start.
