Water shut off

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tom baker

tom baker

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Bremerton, Washington
Need a recommendation on a remote control actuator for a 3/4” ball valve. There are many to choose from on Amazon, but unsure of quality. Most of these are wi fi for home automation.
Another option is an Asco solenoid valve connected to a switch.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
What is the application?

Most your electrically operated valves for hydronic heat or other HVAC applications are powered on when you want the valve open and typically are 24VAC powered. So if this is an emergency shut off type of thing then it needs continuous power for the valve to be open.

On the flip side - if it were powered when valve is closed it wouldn't constantly need powered but possibly can fail to operate if it were an "emergency off" that rarely ever closes the valve. It would also close any time there is power failure which may or may not be desired.

Then there is also "valve actuators" as an option like you mentioned in OP. With those you even can have modulation type options or even pneumatic powered actuators.

If you want to build your own actuator could also use a linear actuator and attach one end to an existing ball valve handle
 
tom baker

tom baker

First Chief Moderator
Staff member
Location
Bremerton, Washington
Application is remotely shut off water with out crawling under house. Later possibly automate with leak detection
With a normal closed power open there would need to be a bypass for power fail
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
tom baker said:
Application is remotely shut off water with out crawling under house. Later possibly automate with leak detection
With a normal closed power open there would need to be a bypass for power fail
Click to expand...
Cheap might be an extension rod attached to the valve handle to outside, through the floor, etc. and push pull to operate? Or a shaft extension for the valve shaft similar to how they de below ground "curb stop" valves?

Next cheapest maybe a HVAC valve such as a zone valve style but would need to always powered for valve to remain open. This may mean more frequent replacement though as valve motor, solenoid, etc. would be continuously energized.
 
Ponchik

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
tom baker said:
Application is remotely shut off water with out crawling under house. Later possibly automate with leak detection
With a normal closed power open there would need to be a bypass for power fail
Click to expand...
The water shut off valve is in the crawl space?
Why?
 
cadpoint

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Why not just pipe it up a floor? Or are these the Wi-Fi generation people?
I have the same problem, the shutoff is on wrong side of the garage and if sent up would be in a cabinet in
the living room...
 
R

retirede

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
I’d look at actuators designed to fit a standard 1/4 turn ball valve. They can be setup to only require power when actuating and can often be installed without disturbing existing plumbing.

A friend of mine who owns a plumbing supply house put one of these on his summer home at the lake. I don’t know the brand, but I could probably find out.
 
gadfly56

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
For my money, an ASCO solenoid set up to fail open is the way to go. Do what you want for the back end electronics.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
gadfly56 said:
Do you want to lose your water as well as power during a blackout?
Click to expand...
I have a well, I lose water anyway in a black out. ;)
I guess the answer depends on the reason for remote control of the water valve and which way you wish it to typically fail not just power failure but also with coil or other driver failure.
 
N

n1ist

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
Principal Electrical Engineer
I have used a Belimo valve with a spring-loaded shutoff to turn off feed water for a tester if the EMO was hit.
 
W

winnie

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MA, USA
Occupation
Electric motor research
I can't provide a reliable recommendation but a question: are there ball valve actuators which can be separately driven to open or close, and simply default to their last state?

The (presumably cheap import) company 'US Solid' sells 5 wire electric ball valves that work in that fashion. But I think the OP wants an actuator that attaches to a regular ball valve

ussolid.com

U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve- 3/4” Stainless Steel Electrical Ball Valve with Full Port, 9-24 V DC, 5 Wire Setup

Motorized ball valve 9V, 12V to 24V, 5 Wire setup with indicator wires. This can be used with lights or a control system to monitor the status of the valve.
ussolid.com ussolid.com
 
S

SceneryDriver

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Occupation
Electrical and Automation Designer
winnie said:
I can't provide a reliable recommendation but a question: are there ball valve actuators which can be separately driven to open or close, and simply default to their last state?

The (presumably cheap import) company 'US Solid' sells 5 wire electric ball valves that work in that fashion. But I think the OP wants an actuator that attaches to a regular ball valve

ussolid.com

U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve- 3/4” Stainless Steel Electrical Ball Valve with Full Port, 9-24 V DC, 5 Wire Setup

Motorized ball valve 9V, 12V to 24V, 5 Wire setup with indicator wires. This can be used with lights or a control system to monitor the status of the valve.
ussolid.com ussolid.com
Click to expand...
I've used these valves several times, and they're shockingly well built for the price. I have 5-wire valve (power to drive open, power to drive closed) installed at my parents' house to shut off all water if it detects a freeze, leak, or if the water flows too long. They were away for a week during the winter several years ago, and an outside hose bib froze and burst. The well pump kept up, and it coated the hill behind their house in 12" of solid ice (took until June to fully melt). They were lucky the frozen bit was outside, or the entire house would have flooded.

I have a power-to-drive-open, spring-return-to-closed valve installed on my whole-house water filter to automate the backflush cycle. Works once a day for 15 seconds, without issue.

The US Solid valves are a very good value. No complaints. Just be sure to purchase the stainless valves if you're using them for potable water. They couldn't guarentee that the brass units were lead-free, according to their email.


SceneryDriver
 
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