5" Pulse Solenoid Valve

When you hear about5" Pulse Solenoid Valve, the first thing that comes to mind is a typical mistake of beginners who believe that any five-inch valve is suitable for drip irrigation systems. In fact, diameter is far from the main parameter. For example, last month they looked into a case at a project in the Krasnodar region: the customer bought a cheap analogue, and then suffered for three weeks with the membrane sticking due to small particles in the water. I had to redo the entire piping and install an additional filter - a saving of 15% turned into an increase in installation costs by 40%.

Design features that are not noticeable

If we take our standardimpulse valveby 5 inches, then many do not pay attention to the material of the case. Brass differs from brass - some manufacturers begin to show chipping on the threads after a season. We at Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC, after testing 12 samples, settled on CW510L with additional passivation. Yes, it’s 20% more expensive, but on the other hand, warranty claims for corrosion have been reduced by 85%.

But with impulse control it’s a completely different story. I remember in 2021 they tried to install valves with “improved” ones. electronics from one German brand. So there the board failed after the first thunderstorm front - we had to develop our own protection circuit. Now on our website https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru you can see a modification with two varistors and a suppressor - we lose in compactness, but in three years there have been zero failures due to electromagnetic interference.

By the way, about membranes, people often ask why we use EPDM instead of the cheaper NBR. The answer is simple: after analyzing 47 returns, it turned out that in water with a high iron content, NBR loses its elasticity within 4-6 months. Even though, according to the passport, it must withstand 2 years.

Typical installation errors

The most painful place is the installation without taking into account water hammer. Once we arrived at a facility in the Rostov region, where farmers complained about spontaneous operation5 inch pulse valves. It turned out that the installers installed them immediately after the centrifugal pump without a damper tank. I had to install a 50-liter hydraulic accumulator - the problem went away immediately.

Another issue with orientation is that you cannot mount it with the coil facing down, although this seems convenient for maintenance. In this position, condensation from the housing flows directly into the contact area. It is better horizontally or with a deviation of up to 45 degrees. Tested on 120 installed units over the last two seasons.

And yes, about the gaskets - do not try to replace the standard silicone ones with rubber ones from water fittings. The difference in elasticity is only 5 Shore, but this is what leads to leaks due to pressure changes. We always use only original components in our projects, which is reflected in the technical documentation at https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru in the section on the installation of intelligent irrigation systems.

Compatibility with automation systems

With our water and fertilizer integration equipmentpulse solenoid valveIt works stably, but there is a nuance in response time. When programming the controller, you need to include a delay of 2-3 seconds between commands - otherwise false alarms are possible when simultaneously controlling 8+ valves.

An interesting case occurred during integration with a frequency control system - the valves began to “rattling?” at certain frequencies. I had to add RC circuits to the control circuit. Now we write this point in the terms of reference for all automation projects.

By the way, for remote control via GSM modules, we recommend installing additional 12V stabilizers - voltage surges in the field have not been canceled. This is especially true for southern regions where thunderstorms are frequent.

Operation in different climatic zones

In the Krasnodar region, with their hard water, the main problem is the deposition of salts on the core. Once a season, it is necessary to do a soak with citric acid (2% solution). But in the Stavropol region, where the water is softer, but there are more mechanical impurities, the emphasis is on filtration.

For the northern regions, we have developed a modification with a heated coil - an additional 15 W, but guaranteed to work at -25°C. True, we had to sacrifice compactness - we increased the body by 30%.

The most unexpected thing is that in Crimea they encountered the fact that lizards often climb into the body and cause a short circuit. It was necessary to develop additional protective covers. Such little things are never written in the instructions, but they are the ones that determine the reliability of operation in real conditions.

Economic aspects of choice

If we consider not the initial cost, but the cost of ownership over 5 years, then our5 inch impulse valvesturn out to be 25-30% more profitable than analogues. The main savings are on maintenance and replacement of membranes. Due to the special geometry of the rod, our service life is 15,000 cycles longer than that of our competitors.

Another point is maintainability. The design is dismountable, all key components can be replaced in the field. This is important for large agricultural holdings - downtime of the irrigation system during the season costs a lot of money.

When designing smart agricultural parks, we always reserve a 15% margin for the number of valves - this is exactly what is usually required for prompt replacement in case of force majeure. This practice was born after analyzing 23 completed projects of Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC.

Prospects for technology development

Now we are experimenting with position control sensors - we want to have feedback not just “it worked/didn’t work?”, but the exact position of the rod. This will allow you to more accurately dose water during drip irrigation.

Another direction is combination with a water quality monitoring system. If the valve “understands” what kind of water passes through it, the maintenance schedule can be automatically adjusted.

But the main thing is that we are working on unification. To be the same5" Pulse Solenoid Valvecould work in both simple systems and complex automation schemes without additional modifications. It's difficult, but there are already prototypes showing good results.