Water Fill Valve
- Thread starter 420benz
- Start date
The Little Giant works for me.
I've never used the float valve pictured so don't know what the issue is, but I do like float valves best. I like Kerick valves only because that's what I have experience with, they're not very expensive and do work well. I also like knowing what manufacturer made the part. When you buy a kit from a 3rd party like you show then you don't generally know who made the parts. The 3rd party can change parts, etc... And I'm not too keen on parts made specifically for ponds because it's such a small market the manufacturer can't really invest in improvements. Companies like Kerick make these parts for many different fields from agriculture to evaporator coolers. Lot's of use over decades results in good design and reduced cost.
But these things are mechanical and used in a damp environment. Bacteria grows on parts, dirt can get into places and cause failure. These also have to be installed correctly which isn't hard, but I have seen people make mistakes. One of these people is me. It happens. Also some of these things have washers that need to be replaced over time.
The best float valve imo is one with an arm. Even these short arms, where the float is the arm provides leverage on the valve, are good. An adjustable arm is good too because as the washer starts to leak you can move the float down into the water to produce more leverage and buy yourself a little more time. These types of valves keep the valve out of the water which reduces bacteria built up and dirt entering the valve. All parts that rub or slide against other parts isn't good imo. And of course valve can't be where leaves and debris can mess it up.
I do not like the horse trough valves. They aren't very easy to mount in a pond, the steel clamp parts rust away very fast and the plastic is very weak.
There are digital controls which detect water level and use motors to open and close valves but these are very expensive and with all the parts can also fail of course.
However, there are other ways to make your life easier such as...
I always add a timer controlled sprinkler control valve as the supply line to the float valve. This allows me to set the timer to once a day for a couple of minutes which means the float valve only gets water to it for those couple of minutes. If the float fails there isn't a flood. Basically you have 2 valves as insurance. Even suppling the float value with water from an existing sprinkler line will work as long as you restrict the amount of water that can flow thru the float valve so you don't drop the water pressure in the sprinkler line too much.
A variation on this is to not use the float valve at all and just allow the sprinkler valve to add water for a set amount of time. This can mean too much water is added, or too little if you don't notice for a long time. Too much water can be a good thing in a fish pond as long as there is an overflow and, if chlorinated water is used, not too much is added. When an overflow waters a garden bed the water isn't actually wasted. Here in Phoenix I use about 15,000 gal of city water a month for garden plants in the summer. I put that water into the ponds first and then water the garden with that overflow. I get two uses from the water. Nice water change in the ponds and better water for the garden.
Another variation on this is to not use the float valve or the sprinkler valve at all and instead use what is called a 24/7 water change system. This is a drip irrigation head to deliver a constant water supply to the pond. So say you have a 1,000 gal pond and wanted a 10% weekly water change. 1000 * .10 = 100 gal per week, 168 hours in a week so 100 / 168 = 0.6 gals per hour so you could use one 1/2 GPH emitter which is on 24/7. IMO this is the best way to do water changes because there is so little risk of too much chlorine hurting fish and you never forget to do it. Again, you need a proper overflow design for handling the overflow.
But these things are mechanical and used in a damp environment. Bacteria grows on parts, dirt can get into places and cause failure. These also have to be installed correctly which isn't hard, but I have seen people make mistakes. One of these people is me. It happens. Also some of these things have washers that need to be replaced over time.
The best float valve imo is one with an arm. Even these short arms, where the float is the arm provides leverage on the valve, are good. An adjustable arm is good too because as the washer starts to leak you can move the float down into the water to produce more leverage and buy yourself a little more time. These types of valves keep the valve out of the water which reduces bacteria built up and dirt entering the valve. All parts that rub or slide against other parts isn't good imo. And of course valve can't be where leaves and debris can mess it up.
I do not like the horse trough valves. They aren't very easy to mount in a pond, the steel clamp parts rust away very fast and the plastic is very weak.
There are digital controls which detect water level and use motors to open and close valves but these are very expensive and with all the parts can also fail of course.
However, there are other ways to make your life easier such as...
I always add a timer controlled sprinkler control valve as the supply line to the float valve. This allows me to set the timer to once a day for a couple of minutes which means the float valve only gets water to it for those couple of minutes. If the float fails there isn't a flood. Basically you have 2 valves as insurance. Even suppling the float value with water from an existing sprinkler line will work as long as you restrict the amount of water that can flow thru the float valve so you don't drop the water pressure in the sprinkler line too much.
A variation on this is to not use the float valve at all and just allow the sprinkler valve to add water for a set amount of time. This can mean too much water is added, or too little if you don't notice for a long time. Too much water can be a good thing in a fish pond as long as there is an overflow and, if chlorinated water is used, not too much is added. When an overflow waters a garden bed the water isn't actually wasted. Here in Phoenix I use about 15,000 gal of city water a month for garden plants in the summer. I put that water into the ponds first and then water the garden with that overflow. I get two uses from the water. Nice water change in the ponds and better water for the garden.
Another variation on this is to not use the float valve or the sprinkler valve at all and instead use what is called a 24/7 water change system. This is a drip irrigation head to deliver a constant water supply to the pond. So say you have a 1,000 gal pond and wanted a 10% weekly water change. 1000 * .10 = 100 gal per week, 168 hours in a week so 100 / 168 = 0.6 gals per hour so you could use one 1/2 GPH emitter which is on 24/7. IMO this is the best way to do water changes because there is so little risk of too much chlorine hurting fish and you never forget to do it. Again, you need a proper overflow design for handling the overflow.
dustboy
Nattering Nabob
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I’ve been filling manually but have been looking at float valves...this is all good info. I like the slow drip irrigation Keep-It-Simple-Stupid 24/7 idea, some emitters are adjustable so you could dial-in the flow seasonally.
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I have our pond on a sprinkler auto system. I can judge by how much water is loss, due to evap etc, and dial in the amount of water to add. I can set it to turn on xxx times a day. Usually just turn it on once. During the heat of the summer and if we are not getting rain I usually run it twice a day. Easier on our well.
We buried a pvc pipe, have the hose connect near the house with a hose bib and a small piece of hose go into the pond at the other end. Attached to the pvc line with another hose bib.
Also real easy to add water on a random basis, manual feed for minutes to hours.
Can also turn it off if raining for 24 hours at a time.
Works great for me. Been using it for quite a few years now.
We buried a pvc pipe, have the hose connect near the house with a hose bib and a small piece of hose go into the pond at the other end. Attached to the pvc line with another hose bib.
Also real easy to add water on a random basis, manual feed for minutes to hours.
Can also turn it off if raining for 24 hours at a time.
Works great for me. Been using it for quite a few years now.
I use the horse trough water unit. Have not had the horses break them so it works in my pond
The simple float valve i had added water ok but would never shut off. So i would like to go the sprinkler valve route.I have the valve but i don't know how to activate it.I guess i need a transformer that i can plug into a 120 v socket.If any one knows how to do this please share.
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You need a controller. I bought my set up at Lowes years ago. I tried battery ones a few times, they kept failing, mine is electric.
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I had the same issue with this float valve. Would never shut off. I took the cotter key out and took the stopper out. I found that there was some plastic burrs from when they molded it. Sanded it smooth and haven't an issue since.
[B]El Duderino[/B]: I sent it back already thanks.
[B]addy1[/B]: Ironically i have two of them.One for my grass and the other for the shrubs. My idea is to install a 24v controller to a pvc pipe near the pond which is activated by a float that will open and close this valve when the water level is achieved.
[B]addy1[/B]: Ironically i have two of them.One for my grass and the other for the shrubs. My idea is to install a 24v controller to a pvc pipe near the pond which is activated by a float that will open and close this valve when the water level is achieved.
