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Valve Solenoid problem? Low Pressure.

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spooffiinder

Unregistered

1

Saturday, May 14th 2011, 9:02pm

Valve Solenoid problem? Low Pressure.

I have three automatic valves controlled by one controller. When the valve for zone three is automatically activated by the controller the water pressure is low. The sprinklers pop up about half way and shoot water about half the distance they say they should.

But, if i use the bleed screw to manually turn on the valve the sprinkler heads pop up right away and work without a hitch.

Is it normal for the valves to have greater pressure when opened manually or is it more likely that i have a voltage drop between the controller and the solenoid causing the valve to not open fully when activated with the the low voltage signal from the controller? Or some other problem i haven't thought of?

mrfixit

Moderator

Posts: 1,510

Location: USA

2

Saturday, May 14th 2011, 9:07pm

Change the diaphragm.

Sprinklermom

New Member

Posts: 2

3

Sunday, June 5th 2011, 2:23pm

We have the same problem.
Can you tell me why changing the diaphragm solves the problem?
We're trying to learn more about how our system works.

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

4

Sunday, June 5th 2011, 5:00pm

diaphragm = moving part (wears out)

Sprinklermom

New Member

Posts: 2

5

Sunday, June 5th 2011, 9:30pm

But why does bleeding the valve increase the water pressure?

Mitchgo

Supreme Member

Posts: 502

Location: Seattle

6

Sunday, June 5th 2011, 11:07pm

Bleeding the valve is a physical condition which physically pops the diaphram up vs the electric solenoid popping the diaphram up

SprinklerNoob

Unregistered

7

Sunday, July 10th 2011, 7:24pm

Loosen Solenoid

Try loosening the solenoid a little and see if that helps. I had my solenoid screwed all the way into the valve and ran into the same problem. Now that I loosened the solenoid to the point just before it starts leaking water or turning on the sprinklers it works a lot better with the timer.

Mitchgo

Supreme Member

Posts: 502

Location: Seattle

8

Monday, July 11th 2011, 12:08am

RE: Loosen Solenoid

Quoted from "SprinklerNoob"

Try loosening the solenoid a little and see if that helps. I had my solenoid screwed all the way into the valve and ran into the same problem. Now that I loosened the solenoid to the point just before it starts leaking water or turning on the sprinklers it works a lot better with the timer.
This is actually not a good idea.

These valves are fast closing acting valves. Water hammer happens in most cases when these valves close. The thumping of the hammer can joggle your solenoid loose, thus having the valve on for hours/days on end

mike1059

Active Member

Posts: 25

Location: portland or.

9

Monday, July 11th 2011, 7:58pm

low pressure = bad solenoid

I recently had the same problem on multiple job sites and the cause is a solenoid that is not fully opening. Replacing the solenoid will fix the problem.

Quickster

Unregistered

10

Tuesday, December 13th 2011, 1:17am

RE: Valve Solenoid problem? Low Pressure.

Quoted from "spooffiinder"

I have three automatic valves controlled by one controller. When the valve for zone three is automatically activated by the controller the water pressure is low. The sprinklers pop up about half way and shoot water about half the distance they say they should.

But, if i use the bleed screw to manually turn on the valve the sprinkler heads pop up right away and work without a hitch.

Is it normal for the valves to have greater pressure when opened manually or is it more likely that i have a voltage drop between the controller and the solenoid causing the valve to not open fully when activated with the the low voltage signal from the controller? Or some other problem i haven't thought of?
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