Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey guys, Ive got one of rupes sequencing valves, and its run like a dream for a while now, however last week I noticed it wasnt sequencing and some of the plants just were getting almost no water, now it appears to sequence but very very weakly, if you turn of pump pressure and do it by pressing the plunger it works and sequences just fine, but under pump pressure it doesnt look like its sequencing at all

So I pulled it apart and it had lots of bio film on the main plunger, cleaned that put it back together and still same problem, also it appears that theres a semi decent flow to all grow beds not just the sequenced ones, so Im guessing its not sealing correctly, any helps hints suggestions

What pump. I use a 5000lpr one and it has not missed a beat.

Ive got the standard pump supplied by BYAP pondmax 3000L, its not a missed a beat and the valve has sequenced fine for as long as I can remember, have even cleaned the pump out to make sure, and swapped it with a spare pump that I had which was another 3000L, so its got to have something to do with the valve or lack of pressure Im guessing to the valve

Simso... remove both the zone indicator & cam... and the main valve body.... and throughly hose/rinse everything... should be good...

Bit strange that you've got "lots of biofilm" buildup... in the time you've had the valve...

Sounds like perhaps the pump is just a bit slow, flow rate wise...

Hey rupe, okay, stripped cleaned and back together.

With pressure off you can push the green button down let it go and it sequences around nicely, however when you put pressure on the black internal plunger goes down the green knob stays in the same position "up" it doesnt fall or rise and then you turn the pressure of and it wont sequence, however if the pressures on and I physically push the little green button down and leave it down, next time the pressure goes of it will sequence , is the green button meant to fall down with the engagaement of the plunger because it stays in the up position

Sounds like the zone indicator isn't seated into the valve stem correctly...

Two things to check... remove the zone indicator again, and check that the cam is the correct way up... you should see the cam numbers on top of the cam...

Reseat the zone indicator such that it is fully down in the valve stem... and rescrew... there should only be minimal movement if you manually "twist" the zone indicator....

Then remove the valve top only... with the zone indicator attached... and manually depress/sequence the zone indicator and valve...

If it sequences correctly then the problem is either....

There is something preventing the valve cup rotating correctly when installed.... look for any grit... or any dribbles of glue...

Or the flow rate at the head height you have is borderline....

Having thought of the above... if you're using a 3000L pump.... then it take it you're only running two grow beds (max).... and therefore have the valve "cammed" with un-used outlets?? ... ...

Email me with a couple of photos of how you'bve got it plumbed...

Thanks rupe, I dont understand why its not working, has been working just fine with no problems and Ive done no system adjustments either and then it stopped sequencing. I cleaned the pump out and restarted still wouldnt sequence, replaced the pump with a spare one I had same problem wont sequence.

Ive stripped and cleaned the valve and it still wont sequence, dry mechanically no water pressue applied it mechanicallyl sequences just fine by pushing the plunger down.

However I do noitce when its running under pressure the green top cap stays raised, when it stays raised it wont sequence, if its under pressure and I tap the green cap down when the pressure drops and re0engages it sequences, so its got something to do with the green cap (well what I can figure)

I use 3 of the 6 lines the other three run to drain, never had a problem till now, cant for the life of me figure it out either

Okay so Ive stripped this thing so many times now, I know it back the front

For some reason the now supplied pump pressure is not sufficient enough to push the plunger all the way down, with either of the pumps running (one being brand new) the plunger is pushed down within a 1mm of full seal, it will not index unless I simply push it down that last 1mm, be this wear in the spider valve or not, I dont know but can only make the assumption that that is the reason, could also be the internal spring in the plunger has gained tension ?? dont know how unles its not stainless and has ruisted up a little bit maybe

So the fix is either a larger pump, or removal of the internal spring in the plunger unit and size it down so that way it works efficielntly on a lower flowing pump

The standard configuration is a "low flow" valve/spring combination...

I've not heard of anyone having problems with the "spring"... and I've not suffered any similar problem in over two years...

But having said that... I do use pumps with a lot more flow than the one you're using... and uprating the pump would almost certainly solve the problem by the sounds of things...

The other option, and I'd have to check if I have any available... is a newly developed "gravity" flow stem/spring... designed specifically for even lower flow... and particularly for "barrelponic" systems...

This would, as you suggest, be the other option to pursue...

Email me Simso... so I have a paper trail... and I'll see what I can do...

Read that you are draining 3 of the ports. Are these actually indexed ports or spare ports that leak some flow. If they are spare ports, would capping these off create some backpressure to help with indexing??

Nope the three spare ports are to drain, I originally last year had them capped and it actually caused problems becuase its creates small hydraulic locks preventing the plunger from seating properly.

Email sent rupe

sorry still didnt answer the question, its a 6 port unit with a 3 port cam, indexes past the unused ports which are set to drain back into the tank for any residual water.

A lighter spring would certainly work in my situation, it would be good too becuase then I have the lower powered pumps running as well

Be interesting to work out how to remove that spring, it actually looks like its encased into the plastic

You mentioned it might be wear on the green plunger. I work in landscaping and plumbing. It is common that old sprinkler heads that pop up stop falling back down. The problem isn't necessarily the spring. If you feel the sides of the pop up stem you can feel that it is rough from dirt and friction wear. This creates friction preventing the stem from falling back down. I haven't figured out a fix for this, it's cheap just to replace the sprinkler head. I don't know if this is the problem you have but you should check the surface of the plastic to see if it feels rough. Perhaps compare it to another spider.

Might also be worth trying a slightly stronger pump or trying your pump at zero head.

A stronger pump would definitely work.... the existing pump is at the lower limit of flow necessary to seal the valve cup....

Well if the flow is borderline, and if you have not topped up your tank recently, topping up the tank might help?? Until you get a permanent fix.