Can Water Quality Affect Solenoids?

Posted on 29th April 2012 in bore, solenoids

I have a friend who lives in Quinns Rocks and is on a shared bore. In the last year we have replaced 3 solenoid coils on the same valve because they have corroded and become stuck open.

I haven’t seen this happen before, but it seems that the minerals in the water (or perhaps the salt) may be corroding the solenoid piston and causing it to fail.

At the moment I don’t have a suitable solution, but it may be that we need to find a solenoid that does not have any metallic parts. You obviously can’t change coils every few months so there must be a better way to hit the problem.

If you have had any similar problems then I’d love to hear about it

 

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Why Can’t I Turn My Retic Off?

Posted on 14th March 2012 in General, solenoids

I went to a house today with this problem. Fortunately they were able to locate the ball valve to isolate the retic and didn’t have to keep turning their water meter on and off as some people have had to.

If your retic keeps running even when the control box is off then its as simple as a faulty solenoid. If you have a master solenoid and you still have this problem then its as simple as two faulty solenoids!

At the place I went to today station one was stuck on and there as a master valve to supposedly prevent this occurring. It turned out that the master valve had been left ‘on’ manually, so a simple turn of the coil solved that issue. Then I located the station valve and discovered a piece of gluey limestone stuck in it holding the diaprhagm open.

Once this was resolved everything was back to normal.

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Orbit Controllers ‘Off Power’ symbol

Posted on 15th January 2012 in Controllers, solenoids, wiring

 

I got a call to look at this retic system where the control box was displaying the ‘off power’ water droplet symbol. (see the left side of the display)

I wasn’t sure what it meant or how it got there and the manual didn’t mention it. A brief google search suggested it may be the  box blowing a fuse and protecting itself against a faulty solenoid coil.

I called Scott at Total Eden and then he put me on to the tech heads at HR who weren’t totally sure either.

So I began to test it and discovered there was no voltage coming from any of the terminals. The fuse was intact and the battery was ok but the box just would not operate.

I attached a new control box as a test and it worked first time. The problem was in the box and whatever the source of the problem was, it had fried the whole box.

When the new one was installed I ran it thru the stations and it worked well on 1 & 2 but blew the fuse on station 3. Obviously this was the source of the previous problems and the coil needed replacing. As it turned out the whole solenoid was cactus and had to be replaced.

I repowered the Orbit box to see if the symbol might disappear but it was definitely a throwaway. So if you happen to see that symbol and your retic won’t work then chances are you will be looking for a new control box

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Yanchep Capricorn Estate Reticulation

Posted on 23rd November 2011 in Installations, Installing, Never Seen That One Before, solenoids, What's Going on There?

I don’t know how many people have checked their water pressure in the Capricorn estate in Yanchep, but after working on a job today I was shocked at how poor the water pressure is.

In a backyard of 5m x 11m we would normally use one station of MP Rotators evenly spaced and have heaps of water pressure to spare, but today we needed 3 separate stations of Toro precision nozzles for that one small area. That’s the only option when the pressure is lousy and the flow rate is 10l/min. We tried putting 3 MP 2000′s on a line but there wasn’t enough grunt to make then get up.

The bigger drama was that the solenoids refused to seal because of the ultra-low pressure. We tried about 15 different Richdels and none of them would seal and ended up having to head down to the shop and grab some Hunters. Solenoids need a certain amount of water pressure to create the seal and this was so low that we couldn’t get that seal. It was almost a give up and call it a day scenario.

Persistence and a very gracious client made a hot, windy, difficult day a much better experience than it could have been. So if you live in Capricorn I’d be interested to hear if you have also had water pressure problems. I was due to do another backyard install in Capricorn tomorrow, but I have postponed it until we can find a way around these nasty water pressure issues.

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Problems With a Shared Bore

Posted on 30th October 2011 in bore, Never Seen That One Before, solenoids

Shared bores are a great idea in that only one whole gets drilled and can serve two or three properties. But shared bores can also raise some interesting challenges – and can be similar to the dreaded ‘neighbourhood fence’.

The question of who is responsible when it breaks down can be tricky. The question of what happens if my neighbour can’t afford his share of the repairs is also a grey area.

This week I have encountered two problems with shared bores and the solutions are interesting and worth knowing.

On Friday a friend rang and told me that his sprinklers kept coming on even though it wasn’t his watering days. He is on a shared bore and the obvious solution is that he has a solenoid stuck open. So everyone on the 3 properties is then inconvenienced until he fixes his solenoid. That sounded like the solution but then it got weird…

He went home to replace the solenoid yesterday but after turning the pump on to test the system he couldn’t stop the water flow. He unplugged his control box and still the water kept flowing. Eventually he had to go next door to his neighbour’s place and turn the pump off at the mains to stop the water. When he turned it back on the same problem occurred. A chat with an electrician suggests this is a faulty relay switch on his line and that when activated it is unable to shut down.

Thankfully he was able to access the main switch otherwise it would have been a lot of water down the drain.

He is getting the relay switch looked at this week so we will see what develops

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Why Does My Solenoid Stay Open?

Posted on 22nd October 2011 in solenoids

If you have a solenoid that stays on with all of the other stations then 9 times out of 10 it is your diaphragm that is playing up. First check that you haven’t accidentally placed it in the ‘on’ position, then check that the small screw for flushing is done up tight. If these are all ok and there are no visible leaks then its usually the diaphragm.

This is the rubber piece in the middle of the solenoid and allows water to flow or blocks its flow. For some solenoids eg Richdel you can probably head down to your local retic shop, grab a new diaphragm and change it over. Other solenoids aren’t quite so easy and you may need to replace the whole unit.

If you are buying a solenoid then I recommend the jar top variety which you can screw on and off rather than the solenoids where stainless screws are used to join the two halves together. In my experience the solenoids that are screwed together are harder to separate and rejoin. Bits of dirt can get in between the surfaces, the gasket can break and it can just be  messier getting it all to line up again.

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Locating Solenoids in Reticulation Systems

Posted on 21st October 2011 in Installations, solenoids

This can be one of the most time consuming and frustrating parts of the retic work.

But, assuming the person installing has been thinking logically you should be able to track them down.

Master Solenoid – this is invariably next to the water meter and usually within a meter of it. If is isn’t there then look near the control box as sometimes plumbers cut into the mains further up the line, especially if the driveway has been concreted and space is at a premium.

 

 

Station Valves Front – usually these will be near the master solenoid. Poke around with a screwdriver or sharp object to try and find them. Older properties had them dotted all around the place but in the last 10 years or so most retic blokes make a ‘manifold’ of 3 or 4 valves and locate them together for ease of location and repair. Above you can see the dual check valve going into the master valve and then the two station valves.

 

Station Valves Rear – The big tip here is that these should be on the same side of the house as the water meter on most properties. Simply go to the end of the paving down the side of the house and look in the garden bed or lawn. This is the most likely location. Hopefully they haven’t been paved over.

It may take some hunting around, but most valves can be found fairly easily. If that fails then call us and we can bring out the valve locator and find them for you.

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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My Retic Doesn’t make Sense

Posted on 21st October 2011 in solenoids

Occasionally retic does weird stuff.

The good news is that being a ‘closed system’ there are only so many variables that can go wrong. If you have an analytical mind then you can solve most problems by a process of deduction.

Yesterday I went to see a client whose retic had come on and wouldn’t go off. They had been on holidays when this happened so they came home to huge water bill.

The logical answer is that both the master valve and the station valve had failed and stuck open simultaneously allowing water thru. But what are the chances of that? I’d be guessing one in a million so I started by testing the control box to see if there were any issues there.

Nope.

By turning the valves on and off manually I was able to detect that all 3 of the clients solenoids were faulty. The fault was intermitent, but it was there. The end result was 3 new solenoids and no more problems.

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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Fixing a Leaky Solenoid

Posted on 18th June 2011 in Repairs, solenoids

If you have a station that stays running then you have a leaky solenoid. Simple as that.

You can fix it by removing the whole solenoid and replacing it, or if you are lucky you may just be able to unscrew the top, take out the ‘guts’ (diaphragm, spring etc) and replace them.

If that’s the case then its a much simpler operation even if it isn’t a whole lot cheaper.

For that reason I try to use ‘jartop’ valves rather than the ‘screwed’ valves as they are much easier to service. With lots of dirt all around its a pain trying to unscrew the screws, not lose them and then get the gasket back in place.

But if you can do a ‘guts exchange’ then its a five minute operation and a whole heap easier.

Just make sure you clear enough space around the valve to minimise the dirt factor and then cut the wires, change the parts over, rejoin the wires and you should be all good

 

 

This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
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