Solar well control [RE-wrenches]

[Jeff Oldham]

I've been using and loving Cla Valves for almost 30 years with extreme reliability. And yes they cost a lot with the 1/2" model in the $300 range. I'm not as comfortable as Matt is with running a pump w/o this valve or a modest (say 15 gal.) pressure tank at least. The issue I see is when the tank is 95-99% full and a standard float valve is mostly closed - at this point the pump can remain in this condition for a very long time trying to top off the tank and using maximum power to trickle water into the tank, in a solar direct application you may not top it off before sundown (but it will be "mostly" full). If this is a SDS pump with a diaphram then this method can torture the poor diaphram as it will spend most of it's time at the upper pressure limit of the pump, this can lead to premature failure of the diaphram due to the constant stress on it and failed diaphrams can lead to additional expensive issues not to mention pulling the darn pump. At least the internal bypass will stay well flushed out! Then there is the pressure switch cycling making DC arcs on the contacts like the 4th of July, again leading to a shorter life.
Just saving one single pump pull and rebuild will pay for the Cla-Val and create a MUCH happier customer as icing on the cake. Do keep in mind even w/the Cla-Val you should still, use a pressure tank, but under these conditions it can be a little 2 gal.
Good luck with your venture into underground headaches!
-jeff o


>From the Solar, Wind and Hydro powered office of Jeff Oldham/Regenerative SOLutions

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