For reference, I’m using the 1" version of:
Shut off Valve
The slip feature worked great to make the installation a breeze, but that last bit of friction to close is just too much for the Dome.
Can you exercise the valve? Maybe use food grade lubricant to ease the friction in the valve?
Hey, mictha1, any new promo codes for the holidays?
I sent back my Water Hero (unfulfilled promises galore!) and installed a Dome about nine months ago. I love it. I have it open and close once a week to work out the valve, and it’s shut the water off when I tested my leak sensors. Recommended.
There has to be a solution. I have a skylight motor that can sense when the thing is closed, not by position but by resistance, and stops running…
I’m wondering if the solution to this isn’t to have a device that acts opposite the valve handle. You can test this for yourself. Try positioning your hand over the valve, as if you were one of these devices, and turn the valve. No do it as you usually do. The latter is far easier. Leverage is the reason.
Additionally, a two-stage solution might be in order. It’s harder to turn these valves when water is rushing through them than when the water is flowing very slowly… and it’s easier to turn them when little to no water is flowing. So then. What if, upon leak detection, two valves would automatically close in series? As the first in line closes, it lowers the pressure on the second - if the first one can’t fully close because of pressure, the second would, at some point, face minimal pressure and therefore be able to shut completely.
Does anyone have one of these still in the box or easy to access?
I opened mine the other day and noticed the static and moving arms weren’t perfectly lined up. Picture a clock at 12 and 6:45 if looking at the underside of the unit.
I thought it might ‘learn’ the limits so I installed it but it just keeps trying to push the valve too far past close and doesn’t stop until I unplug it.
I’d just like confirmation that it is supposed to be exactly at 12 and 6 out of the box.
I opened a ticket with Dome 10 days ago but haven’t heard a single thing back despite multiple calls on my behalf to get an update/rma.
Mine seems to be correctly aligned, but see my problem up above at Posts #79,81. Apparently, most of the users are happy with the built-in limits, but, for my case, some adjustability would be critical. I’ve tried every suggestion here and I have zero success getting it to close (and usually open).
But, I have found Dome to be reasonably responsive - albeit with no solution.
The lack of ability to set a limit on the turn has made these virtually useless to me which is disappointing. I have installed one of my two and I’ve had to play with the position of the fulcrum (not ideal) to prevent the motor from churning as my valve only operates through about 85 degrees. I may not install my second for this reason. May even sell them both and look for another solution.
I honestly find it a pretty big oversight that limits cannot be set on something like this.
Thanks for the response. Good to know that 12 and 6 are expected like I assumed. The tele-support I’ve spoken to are very nice but I suspect they are just a call center as they just take my info and make notes in the case. It kind of annoys me since (to me at least) mine is a simple replace/return situation and yet my ticket hasn’t even been picked up best I can tell. But that’s just me whining.
I also feel like limits would be immensely beneficial but no doubt would drive up the price point. It would also open up a world of other uses that don’t require a 90 arc.
It would take a little trial and error but I would think one could modify the moving arm or the valve handle. Cut/bend/bolt/solder/etc.
Not saying we should have to and would shoot the warranty but seems like it could be cobbled together.
What about even cutting the valve handle in half lengthwise (or at least where the clamp hits it) but not clamping the dome handle tight against it? So when opening it would go the full arc but when closing it would go the full arc- minus half the handle width.
‘Clamp’ being the clamp on the moving arm and not the pipe clamps.
Just thinking in my head - haven’t drawn it out so may not work at all.
I hadn’t considered that, but it is a poor-man’s way to adjust the handle. The approach I tried was to loosen the “pushing” side of the Dome clamp, thus giving it some wiggle room on the close cycle. It made sense to me, although it causes a jump when the cycle starts. But it didn’t help.
Curious, has anyone looked at an industrial/commercial solenoid valve that is normally open? One could use a Smart relay to close it.
Same function - better, heavy duty solution.
Used these in commercial food production and never any issues. All were some lower voltage (unsure what), but coils were available in any voltage They were controlled by commercial industrial control.
Well shoot - didn’t think about that. Quick search and the first reviewer is doing just that.
110 or 12v are available.
I had to spend a lot of time calibrating mine perfectly…but eventually got it to work fine.
Calibration? Anything aside from lining up the pivot points?
I used some foam to shift it slightly to the right for better alignment.
I’m curious for more details. Was your problem closing (specifically, the arm rotating clockwise trying to move past the valve limits)? Where did you place the aforementioned foam? What kind of foam? Thanks!
Yeah - IMHO, that … or a quality known name one would be a more robust install. Would probably cost less as well.
I finally got home to take some pictures of one of my units installed. I have two and they both have been flawless.
As you can see it does hit perfectly at 12 and 3 (not 6 as it’s defined as a 1/4 !turn ball valve application). I did cut in brand new ball valves for my install and placed all metal valve fittings. They are a bit more expensive but overall much higher quality valves. I set up a piston to cycle the valves and report weekly that the cycle worked properly. This keeps the crud from making the valve sticky and keeps the valve with the minimal friction.
Finally - two videos from two different angles. One from the front, one from the side. It’s the best shots I can provide. The install location is too tight to get any better.
Hope this is helpful.
Thanks for mentioning me, I wasn’t aware of this topic.
I have no idea if this will work, but have you tried loosing those 4 screws on top of the arm and attaching it to the valve while it’s closed and then tightening those screws?
They appear to allow you to slightly change the angle that it connects with the lever, but I’m not sure if that will cause problems when it tries to open the valve.
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