Water Valve Servo Automation (part 1) | Voltlog  

Yeah, a manual override will be a good idea and also a sensor to know the actual state of the valve

You gave me some ideas thanks.

A plumber once said that you should close and open a valve a few times in a row to keep it in a good shape. Repeat the procedure once per 3 months.

Good job 👏

Since your valve turns 90° and the servo 180°, you could half the torque requirement of the servo (or the other way round increase the "reserves" in case the valve gets harder to turn with time). And it isn't hard to do either. Use the normal servo horn and print one for the valve that's about twice the length. Mount the servo to the side of the valve, so you can look onto the shaft of the servo as well as of the valve, like two clocks side by side. When the servo turns from 9 to 3, the valve turn from 10 to 1 (or 11 to 2 or something in between). This also solves your other problem: you can easily access the valve for manual operation. You can even integrate the "knob" in the 3D part you print for the valve.

Nice project! Have been thinking about similar project and this brought this up again. Only problem being that I do not have power nearby and have to figure out how to get it get it from somewhere.

Nice. I think the existing handle could be incorporated and allow manual override and not be too bulky. For meter reading I suspect you have heard of but just in case - jomjol AI on the edge esp32 meter reading project. I have tested it and works ok. It occasionally gets it wrong.

nice very helpful

Do they make a servo motor like those stepper motors with the drive shaft that runs out both sides of the motor? Then you could just have a handle that can be connected to that for manually closing or opening the valve.

Nice not-only-electronic project! For the manual override, I was wondering if it would work to drill a diametrical hole through the adapter piece plus make a long slot in the U-shaped part, so that it would be possible to turn the valve by plugging any medium-sized screwdriver would work (as a lever). That would allow also to manually 'feel' the valve stiffness, without dismantling it from its operational state.

very good video .... there would be the possibility of uploading the cad modeling.

I did basically the same but used an old cordless drill (you find plenty of them in every scrapyard, because once the battery died they get thrown away). In this way i have plenty of torque, and even an overload ratchet mechanism. Of course this needs a little more space ...

I know you said that changing the water pipes is not an option but the most simple solution for an manual emergency valve is to had another valve on the input side of the water supply and leave it unmodified. If any time you need to close the water supply quickly in case of an emergency you'll always have a manual and the automatic/remote shut off.

Do you power off the servo after using it. Or it keeps energized? Does it still work after this many months if it kept energized for ever?

if it is a quarter turn knob do a bigger cutaway on top or bottom spanning to the left/right , then on you adapter, print a lever on just one side so there is enough room for the lever to move tho the cutaway, if you can imagine, between 3 and 6 pm, make the lever reasonably long so it has enought force to to overcome the servos gear torque.then you get a manual control lever and it will fit in the same space

I tried something similar for watering my greenhouse, but the servos i had available were not strong enough, So i went ordering solenoid walves instead stronger servos.

Very nice, Wanted to use something like this for some brewing Equipment, but because of space constrains I am useing the solenoid type valve. But this needs to be tested further. For your problem with the mechanical lever, i would use either something like on lathe with powerfeed, where the wheel is disenaged with a spring. You have to partially cut out one side of your clamp and let a "single end lever" either rest upright or let it dangeling down. Or partially cut out the clamp on the right side, model a hex on the outside of your connection piece and place the matching hex wrench somewhere in your technical space.

Any link to part 2?

for an emergency manual closing just add a second valve

Use a new electric ball valve motor and adapt it to your existing valve. Be sure to get one that defaults to off. If you have a problem remove your quick release pins and the existing red wing knob can operate as normal.

Good idea. Another problem with solenoids is that they consume power constantly at open state.

An option for an emergency cutoff would be to attach a thin cable to the new valve knob and wrap one turn around the shaft then add a small grab handle to the free end of the cable. Then with power off on the servo it should be possible to pull on the handle and rotate the valve the quarter turn to shut it off. It will require more force than the original valve handle but it should not be too much for an emergency.

can i order this device complete with arm ?

using a retrofit device to work the manual lever is the best because. 1. it retrofits no need to design an interface to the valve that requires removal of knob. 2. most important should the electronics malfunction or get hacked into you have a manual means of control you disconnect the actuator motor and turn the valve manually. if the valve is on the city side of the fixture then you will have to call in the water co to replace the valve and you being in an apartment you have to get permission from landlord unless you are the landlord. if you can install a valve on the owner side of the fixture you can then install what ever valve you want again as long as you have permission from landlord or you are the landlord.

I was going to suggest you cycle the valve once a month. The city i work in has a guy that goes around with a device that does that with valves in the streets. The device measures the torque needed to open and close the valve so they know if the have to work on the valve

I don't know if there is servo with 2 shafts, it could be the solution to your problem

Put a hinge on one side of the servo bracket assembly and an over-center cabinet latch on the other side. Putting it on and taking it off would only take a couple of seconds. Drill a hole in one wing of the red valve handle and hang it by a string next to the valve. If you need manual control you can unlatch the servo clamp, pull off the drive adapter and use the handle. The handle will work just by pushing it against the valve stem; its retaining nut isn't required. Or, simply hang a small metal or wood bar near the valve that will fit in the same recesses of the drive adapter where the servo arm sits now.

👍

with a bit more extra work you could mount a small chain or toothed belt onto the valve adaptor itself, and then use the short belt to create a new secondary shaft added to your existing mechanism. but in a different position that then be clear the clamp etc and avoid the other access problems due to the limited space then you have another shaft onto which you must decide how to put your manual override lever or turning device. but you do not need the turning thing always attached. it could be just a connector stub, on to which you can more quickly insert into a temporary key when it is needed in an emergency. in other words a detachable handle the advandage of this approach is that you never have to remove the original motorized device and mounting. which comex at the cost of some extra complexity. a more complicated design. but you have limited space to work with another option might be to make the coupler include a 90 degree gear, so that the servo can go sideways. instead of the hole shaft being inline an a straight extension of the original valve. since the confined space there a probably a few other different mechanical solutions too. for transferring the drive more creatively in other ways. ie with wires or steel cables and such. but of course you do not want to obstruct or interfere with the other things in the rest of that compartment

I can hardly turn my main valve with both hands. 😅 Also, those powerul servos are quite pricey.

A) It may not all be "crust" but water pressure itself providing some resistance. B) These type of valves have limited lifespan I would recommend not turning it of and on every night.

I really like your ideas and creativity a lot, but in this case I don't think it is a very good idea... The torque needed to close the valve can become a lot higher when it is not closed for some weeks or even days or hours. In case of an emergency, top priority is that you can easily close it by hand (not depending on electricity or connectivity) without any extra obstacles. When you have flooding; it can be in any location of the house, so it's difficult to have sensors everywhere. Closing central water when away might also have side-effects for central heating/cooling and when accidentally closed could ruin your washing-machine/dishwasher etc. Again the tinkering idea is a lot of fun, but practically I would considering this troublsome at least ... Beside this, all the kudos for a great channel; I'm a big fan :-)

The servo metallic rotary threads being connected to the plastic adapter threads is going to fail, it will mess up the plastic threads over time since the threads are so small and these valves requires a lot of torque. Wouldn't implement that for home plumbing lol Gears are much better, worth the time. If the servo metallic rotary had larger threads connected to the plastic adapter would be ideal.

Very vary bad idea . No manual control you don't have a second valve for manual cut off . In case of power failure how you can cut the valve?