I think it goes back to its normal state. The taco valves can be bought as either normally closed or open. I will test it out in the next couple of days and post my results.
water shut off valve
- Thread starter dBeau
- Start date
I think it goes back to its normal state. The taco valves can be bought as either normally closed or open. I will test it out in the next couple of days and post my results.
dBeau
Active Member
The manual valves will still be outside the house. It's a standard pressure balanced shower valve...
dont shower without one! So yes, the whole point is make sure the shower cant be used when
we are away.
The heating zone valves sound like a great idea. Ideally, they would be rated for drinking water too,
but I cant find a reference for that. The Taco valves mentioned above will close when power is removed.
That's fine by me. However, I am also curious about the current draw when opened. Since it's a gear
driven motor that has reached it's stop point, I'd expect the only current draw is from keeping it's
capacitor charged... shouldnt be much. The next concern is leaving the N/O relay that powers the
valve on for days at a time. I dont have much experience in that area either.
The valves on my pool (2" PVC ball valves) have an actuator that operates via three wires, one
common, one to open and one to close. I was really hoping to find something like that for 1/2" copper
and in the $50/valve range. At $100/valve the heating zone valves are my current first choice.
dont shower without one! So yes, the whole point is make sure the shower cant be used when
we are away.
The heating zone valves sound like a great idea. Ideally, they would be rated for drinking water too,
but I cant find a reference for that. The Taco valves mentioned above will close when power is removed.
That's fine by me. However, I am also curious about the current draw when opened. Since it's a gear
driven motor that has reached it's stop point, I'd expect the only current draw is from keeping it's
capacitor charged... shouldnt be much. The next concern is leaving the N/O relay that powers the
valve on for days at a time. I dont have much experience in that area either.
The valves on my pool (2" PVC ball valves) have an actuator that operates via three wires, one
common, one to open and one to close. I was really hoping to find something like that for 1/2" copper
and in the $50/valve range. At $100/valve the heating zone valves are my current first choice.
I am looking to use the Taco EBV which can be found here for about $70. If a valve is rated for an "Open system" it means it can be used with your house plumbing. Taco makes a variety of valves for both open and closed systems. The one I was planning on using says it is for closed systems. So I am trying to find out from Taco-HVAC to see if it is ok to use for a shower. Looking at the valve it looks like a normal ball valve with a solenoid/actuator.
hult
Active Member
Asssuming that one is willing to go a bit outside the conventional home devices and into the realm of conventional industrial devices, there are other alternatives.
Air-operated valves will hold position essentially forever and only need a small reservoir/tank to toggle between positions. Control can be via small electrically-operated valves, with the power to move the valves from compressed air.
Additionally there are DC motor-driven valves, some of which have the virtue of providing variable flow (intermediate positions between ON and OFF) and are 0-10vdc controllable.
eBay is a good (at least for me) resource for these slightly oddball solutions.
Both are distinguished from the conventional DC or AC spring-activated water valve in that they require no electrical power to _maintain_ their position. One does not want a valve to revert to an unwanted state at some unexpected /unknown time after an incident because it ran out of battery.
But as Spanky writes above, that's usually better than using AC and probable instant failure ;-)
I'll see if I can post some pictures of a few that I have.
... Marc
wuench
Senior Member
Why don't you just shut off water to the whole house while vacant using the Elk or Watercop? Why just focus on the shower? It seems like a simpler solution with the added benefit of preventing other leaks while the house is vacant.
The taco valve is 24 VAC. In a power outage the valve would go to its normally closed state which doesn't need a battery backup.
I wasn't planning on using it as an emergency shut off just as a automatic shower on/off. I have a shower that has 2 sets shower head/controls. There is valve for the hot water and a valve for the cold water. My wife would like to be able to turn on her shower remotely so that it is at her exact temp is ready when she gets in the shower. And I would like to do the same for my shower/controls. I know it seems silly but, hey, I have an opportunity to automate and as an automation junkie I have to do it.