alright alright, you convinced me! Before I order, where do you place yours? Maybe there is a spot I didn't think of, and I can get more than one.From the US Plastics Link:
"Features a 316 stainless steel ball & stem, with stainless steel hardware"
So... if one's gonna rust, so will the other.
But, in truth, no, I'm not. Don't run salt water through them... no telling what that'd do, but tap water? My house uses iron pipe, for crying out loud. A stainless valve?
Now... after the RO/DI unit? That's a bit more questionable. Some debate on it. Me? I've been using one of these after my DI unit to limit risk of flooding in my sump room for years. No problems... and I regularly do ICP/OES testing of both the tank water and the source water. If there's anything leaching, ATI's ICP analysis can't detect it.
I've never used that valve. The specs do say continuous use, where nearly all that I have experience with in the hobby do not.
I've got a single electric ball valve on the RO/DI line coming into my sump closet. From there, the water is split 3 ways, running to the sump (ATO), a small reservoir for my Kalkwasser reactor, and to my mixing station refill. Each of those outlets has both a mechanical float valve, and a high level sensor that connects to an Apex input. Any of the three high level sensors closing will kill voltage to the electric ball valve, shutting off ALL incoming RO/DI water into the sump closet, and sending me an email letting me know something is wrong.
We use a motorized ball valve in place of a solenoid for boiler surface blowdowns.Back to the original question... I'm an industrial software engineer. We use solenoids all the time. I must say, the cheap solenoids available and commonly used within this hobby, are junk. Every, single, one. Never seen one that you can rely on long term.
I quit using them.
Try this:
U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve- 1/4” Stainless Steel Electrical Ball Valve with Full Port, 9-24 V AC/DC, 2 Wire Auto Return
Simple 2 wire Motorized ball valve 9V, 12V to 24V, Auto Return Model is ideal for those that need Normally Closed valves. Easily wired to a simple on off switch, with fail safe auto-return. Great for home water systems.ussolid.com
A two wire electric ball valve. When it's powered, it's open. Drawing very little power, it stays open. Doesn't get hot, etc. Drop power, it closes. Even if it's due to a power failure, no power, it returns to it's closed position.
IMHO, Perfect for most RO system usage... relatively inexpensive, and DEAD RELIABLE.
I was wondering if it was worth doubling up, one between the tap and the RO/DI system and one after just in case. I previously had 2 solenoids in a row, but not sure if it's needed with the motorized oneI've never used that valve. The specs do say continuous use, where nearly all that I have experience with in the hobby do not.
The industrial solenoids that I use, usually MAC branded, are slightly more expensive, about $80 each. If you've found an inexpensive unit that is reliable long term, Awesome!
The Tunze branded and others that I've used in the past all failed, in an unexpectedly short amount of time. That's why I started using the electric ball valve.
I've got a single electric ball valve on the RO/DI line coming into my sump closet. From there, the water is split 3 ways, running to the sump (ATO), a small reservoir for my Kalkwasser reactor, and to my mixing station refill. Each of those outlets has both a mechanical float valve, and a high level sensor that connects to an Apex input. Any of the three high level sensors closing will kill voltage to the electric ball valve, shutting off ALL incoming RO/DI water into the sump closet, and sending me an email letting me know something is wrong.
Makes it easy to test, as well... when I'm in my sump closet, I grab one of the high level sensors and manually close it. You can hear the electric ball valve close
I also have one on a hard plumbed line to my dog watering station, and one at my chicken watering station. Yeah, I'm a bit of a geek
Until one day you have some gallons of water on the floor. They get insanely hot. Plastic brittle over time. Plenty of horror stories on this forum. Just FYI.
Thanks for that. I'll probably grab a couple, one for my ATO and one for my salt mix bin.Back to the original question... I'm an industrial software engineer. We use solenoids all the time. I must say, the cheap solenoids available and commonly used within this hobby, are junk. Every, single, one. Never seen one that you can rely on long term.
I quit using them.
Try this:
U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve- 1/4” Stainless Steel Electrical Ball Valve with Full Port, 9-24 V AC/DC, 2 Wire Auto Return
Simple 2 wire Motorized ball valve 9V, 12V to 24V, Auto Return Model is ideal for those that need Normally Closed valves. Easily wired to a simple on off switch, with fail safe auto-return. Great for home water systems.
A two wire electric ball valve. When it's powered, it's open. Drawing very little power, it stays open. Doesn't get hot, etc. Drop power, it closes. Even if it's due to a power failure, no power, it returns to it's closed position.
IMHO, Perfect for most RO system usage... relatively inexpensive, and DEAD RELIABLE.
This is what I'm using as well, mainly because because I wanted to stay away from a valve that would be held open by an energized relay or solenoid. In fact, I first thought about getting a commercial refrigeration solenoid valve, the ones the control the liquid side of a freon line. But I also didn't want to deal with any water hammer issues when it snaps shut.
www.buckeyehydro.com
Just be aware, there is not sufficient information provided in that product description to determine if that valve is safe for contact with low conductivity water.Back to the original question... I'm an industrial software engineer. We use solenoids all the time. I must say, the cheap solenoids available and commonly used within this hobby, are junk. Every, single, one. Never seen one that you can rely on long term.
I quit using them.
Try this:
U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve- 1/4” Stainless Steel Electrical Ball Valve with Full Port, 9-24 V AC/DC, 2 Wire Auto Return
Simple 2 wire Motorized ball valve 9V, 12V to 24V, Auto Return Model is ideal for those that need Normally Closed valves. Easily wired to a simple on off switch, with fail safe auto-return. Great for home water systems.
A two wire electric ball valve. When it's powered, it's open. Drawing very little power, it stays open. Doesn't get hot, etc. Drop power, it closes. Even if it's due to a power failure, no power, it returns to it's closed position.
IMHO, Perfect for most RO system usage... relatively inexpensive, and DEAD RELIABLE.
It's stainless steel. Yes, some folks worry about leaching something from stainless with RO/DI water. I don't... but that's my call, my tank. You'll have to make your own decisions.
That's essentially, sorta kinda, what mine is doing. Except for the relay. When you power it up, it moves the valve to the open position. It's not *holding* it open, it just moves it open. While doing that, it charges a capacitor. When the power is cut, the capacitor drives the motor in the opposite direction. So there's just enough current going through the system to tell the circuit it's still powered up. I assume it's little more than a transistor that, when it loses power, dumps the capacitor charge through the motor [backwards].
same here. the ones i get from them last a pretty long time.
The body is stainless, which should be ok... but there are other wetted parts.
