3 Way Valve Without Movement Restrictions?

[wsamon]

This is probably a really silly noob question, but does anyone know of a 3-way "T" valve that allows me to block any of the 3 pipes or leave them all open? The ones I've seen only allow you to block the side pipes or leave everything open but never allow you to block the "middle" pipe.

My setup looks something like this (gotta love ascii drawings....). The 0 next to a valve indicates the always open side though you can probably figure that out just by looking at it

            spa
             |
             |
           valve0-----------------pump
             |
             0
  ,--------valve-----------.-------------------------,
  |                        |                         |
  |                      valve                       |
  |                        |                         |
  |                        |                         |
Main                    Skimmer                   Cleaner
Drain

As you can see, in my current setup I cannot turn off the cleaner line while maintaining the skimmer. The only way to do that is to detach the cleaner hose and plug the line with an end cap, which is both annoying and a problem since the end cap that came with the cleaner broke after a couple weeks of use.

Obviously, I could add a 2-way valve to the cleaner line but for simplicity and space sake would prefer to remove the 2-way valve from the skimmer line and replace the skinner/cleaner T with a 3 way valve with no movement restrictions. Then with one handle I could choose to run just the skimmer, just the cleaner, both, or none; but I'm having difficulty finding this part.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I'm not 100% sure about others, but on Pentair valves you can remove the stop pins and it'll rotate 360º.

 

[mas985]

With Jandy valves, you can rotate the valve head to block any of the 3 ports. You always want the valve setup so it won't ever block the main port to the pump.

 

[mfk0213]

If you unthread the handle on a Jandy valve, and lift up a little, you can skip the stop. I've heard of people filing off the stops to get the functionality you're talking about. However, the stops were engineered there for a reason. If you turn the knob all the way around to block off the inlet port, the you are basically sucking against the leverage of the valve. In normal positions, the pressure helps to seal the valve. So, you might end up with a leaking or broken valve. Once in a while, the valves explode, just shatter (ask me how I know ). You can get the behavior you want by adding a 2-way valve on the inlet, without breaking any of the manufacturer's design.

Take care,
Mo

 

[wsamon]

If you unthread the handle on a Jandy valve, and lift up a little, you can skip the stop. I've heard of people filing off the stops to get the functionality you're talking about. However, the stops were engineered there for a reason. If you turn the knob all the way around to block off the inlet port, the you are basically sucking against the leverage of the valve. In normal positions, the pressure helps to seal the valve. So, you might end up with a leaking or broken valve. Once in a while, the valves explode, just shatter (ask me how I know ). You can get the behavior you want by adding a 2-way valve on the inlet, without breaking any of the manufacturer's design.

Take care,
Mo

I understand that it's potentially dangerous since I could conceivably block every port leading to the inlet. However, I could in theory do that now, it just requires the annoyance of disconnecting my cleaner and attaching the plug at the opening in the pool. If I trust myself to not be an idiot (never a safe assumption, but nonetheless) there really shouldn't be an issue.

I actually did buy a 2 way valve and will install it. However, I have to admit that I don't like the overall design as much. It just kind of irks me to have extra, unnecessary valves which complicate things. It seems inefficient and unoptimized, not to mention more complicated to explain to my wife. I guess it's the software developer in me...

 

[proavia]

As mas985 stated, you can rotate the valve head on the Jandy 3-way valve as needed.

Looking at your diagram, place the 3-way Jandy valve at the tee in the skimmer and cleaner lines. Once installed, rotate the entire Jandy valve head so the word "inlet" is on the pump side of the tee (not pointed to either skimmer or cleaner, but pointed to the left in your diagram). This will allow you to completely close off either the skimmer or cleaner, have both totally open, or adjust flow for any combination desired between the two. I would guess other brands incorporate a similar feature - even though the setup may be different than I described for the Jandy valve.

Then you won't need the 2-way valve on the skimmer line either.