Master Valve Controll
Hi. I have a master valve in my system. I controls a line from my main box to a remote box that has 4 more valves. The line to the remote box is just regular sprinkler line so it is not designed to be always under pressure. I would like to set the master valve to shut-off before shutting off the last zone to depressurize the other side of the master valve. (seems like a good idea in general).
You have controls on master valve timing, but today you can turn the master valve on early or keep it on extra long. Rather than keep in on extra long, I want it to shut off early - this could easily be done by allowing you to specify a negative number to indicate early shut off of the master valve. And early shut off of the master valve means reduced pressure in the line - which would be good for reliability.
thanks
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Most, maybe all, sprinkler valves need water pressure to complete the opening or closure itself. Lacking this pressure on the valve may reduce the life of the valve and it may fail prematurely. The electric solenoid only controls a smaller valve internally, which then sends water pressure controlling a main valve for the system. This is one reason for using a delay between zones in programs - to make sure the system has enough water pressure to fully close the valve before opening the next.
This main valve would shut off pressure to the other zones valves, they would not then function properly.
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I agree with Jeff Benjamin. Two big features of the RainMachine for me compared to my old controller are the ability to have water pressure to the zones while the zone valves are opening or closing, and to have a delay between zones. I feel that some of my zone valves have been opening more fully and closing more reliably since I installed the RainMachine with those features, and I think some older heads that had trouble popping up before are now popping up to full height more reliably due to having higher water pressure.
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I have a slightly different need in this area. I have a hose hydrant in my system behind the master valve. It is not controlled by any zone valve, so I need to be able to turn on the master valve by itself like any other zone. Before anyone points out that it might not be code or anything, My system in on a water well and rural. I use this hydrant to fill my pool. Currently, I've got a jumper from the "hydrant zone" to the mv zone to fake it out but I don't really like it this way...
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Mark, in my case, a few years ago, when my water pressure from the town was low and a valve did not close fully before the next zone began to open, there were then two zones receiving water, resulting in insufficient pressure to both complete the closure of the first zone and complete the opening of the second zone. Now my water pressure is higher, so even without the zone delay feature, I would probably be OK, but I still like the zone delay feature, which I think will help if I experience low water pressure again.
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I just filed a similar request, "Option to open a zone *after* closing master, for configurable duration", bit it looks like it's already essentially covered here.
I have plenty of pressure even to close all the zones if they all start off open. (I've tried it.) What I want is the ability to drain the hose between my master and zone valves. This is not possible if the zones always close first or simultaneously (the master valve is a ball valve and slower to close), as it's not possible to use an automatic drain valve on the master line if it remains pressurized even after the master valve closes (because all the zones are also already closed). The only options are to add a slow intentional leak (could be a drip emitter, but still not a great solution as this could add up to quite a lot of wasted water) or just keep one of the zones open after the master closes. This should be very easy to do with a software update.
Roy and Jeff, we're not asking for the zone or master delays to be removed. These are also important options. We're only asking for an additional option similar but opposite to the master delay, for those who need it. Your stories are good reminders of the different constraints people may be facing, but ultimately irrelevant to this request. Also note, if your valves require more than an extremely minimal flow to close, they may be in need of replacement. A properly operating valve should have no problem closing even with just a couple low flow drip emitters attached.
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I see Jeff Benjamin's point, however having the option for a negative master shutoff delay means everyone is happy.
My problem is the same as Jonathan Lotz's and Alfred Barnat's in that I don't want constant pressure in the system after the master valve when everything's off (i.e. the zone valve shutting of before the master means the master does not close due to no pressure differential). Today I found a slow leak in my line between the master and the zone valves, slow enough that the master still couldn't close but enough to spray and soak the ground under my valve box. I fixed that, but if I could have the master shut off early it may never have happened (by not having mains pressure in the line 24/7).
Given that the point of a master valve is to close off the supply to everything else, it makes sense no?
Similar request has been raised here: https://support.rainmachine.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360023001633-Master-Valve-Water-Hammer-Close-Master-Valve-Early-
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Hi,
Agree with Alfred Barnat. We are not asking to remove the option to delay the shutoff the master after the valves. If your valve needs pressure to close, fine, keep using the functionality as is. I think most of the people ( like me ) want is to have a option to turn off the master before ( and also to turn on the master after) the other valves due to different scenarios where the pressure in the line is not needed.
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I also have this issue. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Why offer the ability to adjust the start time of the master valve at all if you don't allow positive and negative time adjustments? I need to open my zone valve ...and THEN turn my pump on. The way it is now, with no timing adjustment, the master valve comes on at the start of the program - then about 5 seconds later, the zone valve opens. For that 5 seconds, my plumbing goes from about 20 psi to over 110psi. The manifold shakes and the pressure gauge jumps way up waiting for the zone to open. The app should allow me to delay the start of the pump. On the backside of the program, the app should likewise allow me to turn the pump off and THEN shut the zone valve off.
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I am pumping water uphill from a lake. A few days ago, I installed an oil-filled pressure gauge on my pump. When a zone stops watering, there is a pressure spike of about 20+ PSI while the pump is winding down. This has been damaging my pump. Before installing RainMachine, I never had issues with the pump reliability. Now every season, I have to rebuild the impeller / diffuser at least once. I would like to be able to keep a zone open for about 2 seconds while the pump winds down to reduce/eliminate this spike.
Recently, I've added a pressure relief valve (IrrigationKing RKP-2 Pressure Relief Valve 22-80 PSI) which "burps" a little water when the pressure spike occurs at the end of each cycle. Hopefully, this will also help, but a software change is still needed.
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My post is yet another case for the need for this functionality - shut off the master valve before the zone valves to release pressure. My reasoning is that this would allow the master valve to be an anti siphon valve. Anti siphons will only operate if there is no pressurized water trapped downstream, hence the need to depressurize it. Just extending options for the delay to include negative times (as suggested by art) will solve the problem.
Any progress (or at least interest) in adding this feature?
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