Balast Valve Upgrade

A while back I posted the thought of upgrading my old small sprinkler valves to a newer style by irritrol. First I needed to build a way to flow test them since the boat is still in the garage. I ended up pulling everything out of the boat and re-assembling it on two saw horses. I made a fitting on the side of a 5 gallon bucket and screwed my 2000 gph Rule pump to it. I then hooked the manifold to the side of one of the saw horses. I also wired the pump and solenoids to a set of switches and then to the battery. I did five different tests timing how long it took to transfer five gallons of water from one bucket to another. Here are the results:
Note: I have 3bags @ 450lbs bags and a rule 2000 gph pump and the timings will reflect this.

I will post actual lake timings in about 3 weeks.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q.../flowrates.jpg

http://www.irritrol.com/valves/valves_700s.html
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...alvedesign.jpg


http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...lowtest005.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...lowtest002.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...lowtest004.jpg

Nice Jesse. I still need to water test mine. I have everything wired and ready to go. I hope to hit the water this weekend. The weather is getting better here in
vegas.
Tazz

Jesse, that's awesome, that could have been dangerous at Keg parties in College

That is great. Love the on off switch. could be an issue if water starts splashing around. That is a great setup.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jester

That is great. Love the on off switch. could be an issue if water starts splashing around. That is a great setup.

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Well, I figured it's only twelve volts, how bad bad could that hurt??? When I first turned it on, I was standing barfoot in the driveway and my finger touched the side of the light switch, nice little shock for sure. I wasn't really planning on testing it out in the driveway, but I got board and cabin fever set in so I started looking around the house for random things I could use to test out the setup. I only had one household light switch and one accessory switch, but I figured, it should work. Worked well enough for my tests and timings.

Great Info JesseC. Can you confirm if the new valves you tested were 3/4" like the factory valves?

Did you happen to do any testing of the old factory valves with the springs removed (per Newty's find a couple months ago)?

That is some great quantitative data on the difference between quarter turn and diaphragm valves. Thanks for posting!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jon J

Great Info JesseC. Can you confirm if the new valves you tested were 3/4" like the factory valves?

Did you happen to do any testing of the old factory valves with the springs removed (per Newty's find a couple months ago)?

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My valves did not have the "spring" they were an older style that were way worse than the newer ones that you guys have. I can not wait to get out on the water and give the new ones a try.

Man Jesse you sure do your homework, Impressive!