Solar valve position for off??

[lborne]

I think I've been keeping my 3 way Jandy valve in the wrong position when I wanted the solar off and now want to check my logic here.

The 3 way valve can be rotated 360. When I wanted solar off, I would position the valve such that the gate was North and blocked flow to the vertical pipe. However, if I did this while the pump was running, I trapped water in the feed pipe.

Is it OK instead to turn the valve so that the gate is South (toward the X) and not blocking any flow to any pipe. Then the water takes least resistive path and avoids the solar even though the path is open. This would allow the solar to drain completely.

Either way, when I want the solar On, I just turn the valve so that the gate is North East allowing some flow both ways.[attachment=0:3mvram2v]solar.gif[/attachment:3mvram2v]

 

[JohnT]

That's going to depend on how much back pressure the rest of your plumbing has. The lift to the solar could be low enough that water will still partly go to the panels when you have the valve to the south.

Many people drill a hole in the sealing surface of the valve to allow the solar to drain back when it's off. Some valves are made that way.

 

[kjcole]

Turning off the solar by blocking it seems to be the preferred way. Both of my 3-way valves (both Jandy - one came with my solar kit, the other with my Goldline solar controller) are made 'leaky' to drain when positioned to close the solar. I'd go that route, but I'm certainly no expert - just based on what I see with my system.

Kelly

 

[lborne]

My valve is actually a Pentair, not a Jandy as I first mentioned. How can I check to see if it is the one with the drain down feature? If it is not, can I modify it? What is the difference?

If I drill a hole, what is the optimal size?

 

[kjcole]

bump - for expert advice