# US 5,699,859 A · Well water recirculation valve and method of manufacturing thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,699,859 A - Document ID: US5699859A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/615,334 - Filed: 1996-03-11 - Granted: 1997-12-23 - Earliest claimed: 1996-03-11 - Inventors: Blair J. Poirier - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5699859A ## CPC - F16K 15/026: {the valve member being a movable body around which the medium flows when the valve is open} - F04B 47/06: having motor-pump units situated at great depth - F04B 53/1022: {having means for guiding the closure member axially} - Y10T 29/49428: Gas and water specific plumbing component making - Y10T 137/6086: Assembling or disassembling check valve - Y10T 137/7856: Valve seat formed on or carried by a coupling element - Y10T 137/85954: Closed circulating system - F16K: VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING {(devices for emptying and evacuating the excess liquid in valves or conduits F16L55/07)} - F04B: POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS (machines for liquids, or pumps, of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type F04C; non-positive-displacement pumps F04D; pumping of fluid by direct contact of another fluid or by using inertia of fluid to be pumped F04F) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract A well water recirculation valve comprising an in-line check valve and a calibrated orifice through the body of the check valve. The orifice communicates through the body of the check valve into an unchecked end thereof. In use in a water well having a submersed pump, the recirculation valve is spliced into a well pipe at a location below the top of a well but above an average static water level in that well. The recirculation valve of the present invention recirculates a portion of the water pumped through the well pipe back into the well for preventing a stagnation of a head portion of that well. ## Claims ### Claim 1 In a well water aeration system having a submersed pump and a well water recirculator spliced into a well pipe at a location below the top of the well but above an average static water level in said well, for recirculating a portion of the water pumped through said pipe back into said well for preventing a stagnation of a head portion of said well, the improvement being that said well water recirculator comprises essentially an inn-line check valve and an orifice communicating through a body of said check valve into an unchecked portion thereof, said orifice being a calibrated opening, a dimension of which is relative to a depth of said in-line check valve in said well. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said orifice is connected to said body of said in-line check valve by means of a 90.degree. street elbow fitting, and said orifice is oriented during use towards said head portion of said well. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 2 wherein an inlet end of said elbow fitting has a screen filter for preventing an obstruction thereof during use, by water-carried particulate. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dimension of said calibrated opening is also relative to a demand of water from said well. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 4 wherein an inside diameter of said opening, when said well is a residential well, is less than one tenth of an inch. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 5 wherein said inside diameter in between 0.034" and 0.046". ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 4 wherein said portion of water recirculated through said orifice is equivalent to about between 5% and 10% of the water pumped through said pipe. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The well water recirculator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pipe is a PVC pipe and said in-line check valve is spliced into said pipe by means of two PVC pipe adaptors. ### Claim 9 A water well recirculation valve for splicing into a well pipe of a well having a submersed pump, at a location below the top of a well but above an average static water level in said well, for recirculating a portion of the water pumped through said well pipe back into said well for preventing a stagnation of a head portion of said well, said well water recirculation valve comprising an in-line check valve and an orifice communicating through a body of said in-line check valve into an unchecked portion thereof, said orifice being a calibrated opening, a dimension of which being relative to a recommended installation depth of said in-line check valve in said well. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 9 wherein said orifice is connected to said body of said in-line check valve by means of a 90.degree. street elbow fitting, and said orifice is oriented during use towards said head portion of said well. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 10 wherein an inlet end of said elbow fitting has a screen filter for preventing an obstruction thereof during use, by water-carried particulate. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 9 wherein said dimension of said calibrated opening being also relative to an estimated demand of water from said well. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 12 wherein an inside diameter of said opening, when said well is a residential well, is less than one tenth of an inch. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 13 wherein said inside diameter in between 0.034" and 0.046". ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 12 wherein said portion of water recirculated through said orifice is equivalent to about between 5% and 10% of the water pumped through said pipe. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) A well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 9 wherein said in-line check valve has on an inlet end and on an outlet end, a PVC pipe adaptor. ### Claim 17 A manufacture of a well water recirculation valve comprising the steps of: obtaining a commercially available in-line check valve; drilling and tapping a hole through a body of said in-line check valve, into an unchecked portion thereof; mounting a 90.degree. street elbow fitting in said hole, with a female thread portion of said elbow fitting oriented toward an inlet end of said check valve; machining a calibrated orifice having a shape of a threaded hollow stem; mounting in said female thread portion said calibrated orifice. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) A manufacture of a well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 17 comprising the additional step of installing on an inlet end of said elbow fitting a screen filter for preventing an obstruction thereof during use. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) A manufacture of a well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 17 comprising the additional step of calibrating said orifice according to a proposed depth of installation of said valve. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) A manufacture of a well water recirculation valve as claimed in claim 17 comprising the additional step of mounting at both ends of said in-line check valve, a PVC pipe adaptor, such that an installation instruction of said recirculation valve on a well pipe is readily understood by a homeowner having limited experience with plumbing systems.