Help witha motorized valve

[ie2130]

Hi,
We have a rainwater harvesting system, which provides water for the toilets.
The system consists of an underground, 3,500L rainwater storage tank, and a pump. There is also a 1” motorized ball valve which connects mains water to the system (via a break tank) when the rainwater storage tank is empty. The ball valve is activated by a float switch in the rainwater tank and switches in the mains water.

There's a manual override for the ball valve on the control box, and I can't get the ball valve to operate. I've taken the motor drive off the ball valve and the valve turns easily, so that's not jammed. The motor head doesn't operate when removed from the ball valve, so the problem is likely to be in the control box. I have no information on the control box.

The ball valve and control box are about 11 years old, made in Italy and supplied through a German company and UK agent.
The UK agent say that they don’t have spares and don’t know who made the original parts. They agent won’t import spares from Germany, because of the paperwork and hight cost (Brexit).
I’m thinking that the simplest way to get this system working again is to replace the motorized valve and the control box from the same supplier, I can find plenty of motorized valves, but I’m having difficulty in finding a control box. The system is currently working on mains water, which kind of defeats the original objective.

The control box needs to provide the 24volts AC to power to close the valve when the remote switch in the bottom of the tank is closed and return the valve to the open position when the rainwater tank refills (switch opens). I’m sure there must be plenty available, I’m probably not using the correct search words!
Can anyone help?
Cheers
Ian

 

[SJB060685]

Try googling 24v normally open 2 port valve and see what you find.

 

[ie2130]

Try googling 24v normally open 2 port valve and see what you find.

Yes, I've seen valves like that, and I could just connect the float switch in series with a 24 volts supply, with a manual override switch in parallel with the float switch, but I was looking for something more integrated, with the power supply included. It needs to work off a 240v AC supply, and I don’t want to run 240volts AC in the rainwater tank.

 

[SJB060685]

Google 24v 1" normally open solenoid valve in the UK. A quick search my end shows you will find a valve suitable for your needs, although not cheap.

 

[Aquarius]

What about using a relay?

 

[ie2130]

I could build a circuit to do this, using a 240V AC to 24v AC or DC supply and then either us the remote float which directly or insert a 24v relay to switch the power to the ball valve, and add a second switch in parallel to form a manual over-ride, and it wouldn't be hard to do, then put it all in a splash proof box. I’d finish up with a one off DIY solution,
But my original question was, rather than mess about doing all that, why not just by on with all the approval and rating.
The requirement can't be that unusual, had expected, perhaps naively, to be able to buy a system off the shelf. Despite SJB060685’s suggestion to Google “24v 1" normally open solenoid valve in the UK” I can’t find anything that meets my requirements.

 

[SJB060685]

I could build a circuit to do this, using a 240V AC to 24v AC or DC supply and then either us the remote float which directly or insert a 24v relay to switch the power to the ball valve, and add a second switch in parallel to form a manual over-ride, and it wouldn't be hard to do, then put it all in a splash proof box. I’d finish up with a one off DIY solution,
But my original question was, rather than mess about doing all that, why not just by on with all the approval and rating.
The requirement can't be that unusual, had expected, perhaps naively, to be able to buy a system off the shelf. Despite SJB060685’s suggestion to Google “24v 1" normally open solenoid valve in the UK” I can’t find anything that meets my requirements.

There will be an off the shelf product for your needs, its just finding one. Perhaps contact Honeywell technical next week and go through it with them. Normally open valves are common in the plumbing and heating sector, the 24 volt switching supply might cause a bit of a headache though.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

1" Solenoid Valve 24v Normally Open - Buy Online - EC Products UK

1" Solenoid Valve 24v Normally Open: Media: Air – water – gas – light oil Pressure Range: 0.5 to 15 bar max. Media Temperature: -10˚C to +160˚C max. Ambient Temperature: -20˚C to +60˚C Media Viscosity...

www.ecproducts.co.uk

another option is to buy the body eg 1” solenoid

and buy a 24vac head with the correct shaft dia