- May 23, 2015
- 24,481
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I wanted to add another CVA-24T actuator to a 3-way valve in this picture -
The problem is, as some of you with an astute eye will get right away, the plumber butted the two diverter valves right up to one another and now there is no room to put the actuator in the typical position where the back of the actuator would be aligned with the common flow pipe (the pipe where water comes from). This leaves me with two option -
1. Mount the new actuator turned 90 degrees so that it is aligned along the axis of the two pipes that receive the flow of water and adjust the internal cams of the actuator so that the diverter plate can not travel the full 180deg and block the flow of water (aka, dead-head the pump). Setup right, this means that the actuator will only travel 90degs and either all the water will flow to the pool returns OR it will split evenly to each pipe BUT NEVER able to fully close off the pool returns. The only downside to this approach is if the internal limit switch failed for some reason, there is a remote possibility of dead-heading the pump.
OR
2. Figure out how to reconfigure the actuator so that it turns the opposite way it is designed to and then mount it 180 deg so that the back of the actuator is sticking out away from the flow of incoming water. I just don't know if this it at all possible?
The shaft of the actuator is designed with a special array of notches so that it can only fit on the valve body in one specific orientation to get the full range of 180 deg. The problem with just mounting it 180 degrees is that it will cause the diverter door in the valve to pass in front of the water flow effectively dead-heading the pump as it travels. This, in my opinion would not be a good thing to do.
This is a top-down shot of the same pipes showing their functions -
The purpose here is to actuate my spillway using my automation panel. The pipe labelled "SPA Return (1)" is a single return into the spa that causes the spillway to flow over.
The problem is, as some of you with an astute eye will get right away, the plumber butted the two diverter valves right up to one another and now there is no room to put the actuator in the typical position where the back of the actuator would be aligned with the common flow pipe (the pipe where water comes from). This leaves me with two option -
1. Mount the new actuator turned 90 degrees so that it is aligned along the axis of the two pipes that receive the flow of water and adjust the internal cams of the actuator so that the diverter plate can not travel the full 180deg and block the flow of water (aka, dead-head the pump). Setup right, this means that the actuator will only travel 90degs and either all the water will flow to the pool returns OR it will split evenly to each pipe BUT NEVER able to fully close off the pool returns. The only downside to this approach is if the internal limit switch failed for some reason, there is a remote possibility of dead-heading the pump.
OR
2. Figure out how to reconfigure the actuator so that it turns the opposite way it is designed to and then mount it 180 deg so that the back of the actuator is sticking out away from the flow of incoming water. I just don't know if this it at all possible?
The shaft of the actuator is designed with a special array of notches so that it can only fit on the valve body in one specific orientation to get the full range of 180 deg. The problem with just mounting it 180 degrees is that it will cause the diverter door in the valve to pass in front of the water flow effectively dead-heading the pump as it travels. This, in my opinion would not be a good thing to do.
This is a top-down shot of the same pipes showing their functions -
The purpose here is to actuate my spillway using my automation panel. The pipe labelled "SPA Return (1)" is a single return into the spa that causes the spillway to flow over.