Solar diverter valve stuck?

[goofiness]

Intelliflo VS pump, SunTouch controller, Compool CVA24T solar diverter valve.

Everything seemed OK. But with solar "off", and isolation valves closed, I noted some water dripping from drain on the pipe taking water up the wall to the solar. I closed the drain, opened the isolation valves, then, what the heck, decided to test the automatic solar actuator. I turned the solar "on" using the SunTouch controller. The valve started rotating in the correct direction. So, I turned it "off", but the actuator handle was still at about 90 degrees, when it should have returned to the closed position. So, I turned it "on" again, and it moved to fully open, and there it stays. No matter what I do with the controller, including flipping the little toggle switch up, down, middle, it won't budge. The self test on the SunTouch does not show any problems. Now I've got water going through the panels, which I really don't want, since it is too early yet, and to maintain flow, I've had to increase the RPM.

Is this a controller problem, or the valve actuator, or the valve components itself stuck from debris or ???

Thanks.

Jerry

 

[Bama Rambler]

When you flipped the toggle switch, was that the toggle switch on the actuator itself? If so then it could be the controller or the actuator. You need to find out if the controller is sending 24 volts to the actuator. If it is, then the actuator is the problem.

 

[goofiness]

When you flipped the toggle switch, was that the toggle switch on the actuator itself? If so then it could be the controller or the actuator. You need to find out if the controller is sending 24 volts to the actuator. If it is, then the actuator is the problem.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the little metal toggle is on the actuator.

Last evening I went out to check on the system, which had been running 4 hours, and found the valve in the "off" position as it should be. It makes me think it was simply stuck after a long winter hibernation. I ran the self test on the controller again last evening, which included the valve, and it moved normally (off-on-off).

I'll post an update after I try the solar again. The fact that this whole episode started with my finding water going to the panels even with the valve closed leads me to believe there is a problem with the guts of the valve assembly. More to follow.

Jerry

 

[goofiness]

When you flipped the toggle switch, was that the toggle switch on the actuator itself? If so then it could be the controller or the actuator. You need to find out if the controller is sending 24 volts to the actuator. If it is, then the actuator is the problem.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the little metal toggle is on the actuator.

Last evening I went out to check on the system, which had been running 4 hours, and found the valve in the "off" position as it should be. It makes me think it was simply stuck after a long winter hibernation. I ran the self test on the controller again last evening, which included the valve, and it moved normally (off-on-off).

I'll post an update after I try the solar again. The fact that this whole episode started with my finding water going to the panels even with the valve closed leads me to believe there is a problem with the guts of the valve assembly. More to follow.

Jerry

False alarm. I tested the solar diverter valve by turning the solar "on" with the SunTouch controller. The actuator and valve assembly worked fine. I guess the valve was just stuck after being off since October. Perhaps a bit of grit or some scale because of our hard water. So far, so good. I'm not going to worry about whether the valve completely blocks flow to the panels until the fall.

Thanks for your help.

Jerry