Just had TWO parker solenoid valves die on me in one day!

gillt

Junior Poster
May 1, 2010
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My sherrodplus parker just stopped. I have yet to take it apart. How can I tell if it's broken or needs cleaning?
 

Mike1971

Junior Poster
Apr 19, 2010
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Mine stopped working a few weeks ago, I just used the magnet from one side of my glass cleaner to open and close it manually until the Burkett solenoid I ordered to replace it arrived. I don't know how to diagnose it, but mine wouldn't open via electricity, just with a magnet.
 

Oreo

Guru Class Expert
May 6, 2010
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Yep. That's exactly what happened to mine. When the coil dies the valve functions normally mechanically but the coil won't operate the valve.

I'm sorry to hear that you guys are starting to have problems too.
 

gillt

Junior Poster
May 1, 2010
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I noticed you took apart your parker, Oreo. Is there a way I can access the spring or check to see if mine is clogged? The sherrodplus parker I have seems fused together, no o-ring in sight. If not, I'm in the market for a hopefully inexpensive replacement solenoid, if anyone has any suggestions!
 

herns

Guru Class Expert
Jul 29, 2007
287
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The United States of America
I just bought two of this sherrodplus Parker Solenoid in ebay from the same seller. Some folks in TPT had their sherrodplus Parker S running for months now without problems, but some had their parker coil roasted in less than 2 weeks of use.

I had sellers reply about this issue, He said "We have had five returns out of 1,500+ pieces sold. Two of those were attributed to the use of incorrect 12VDC current, which obviously fried them in short order.".

My other Clippard solenoid is leaking, too.
 

Oreo

Guru Class Expert
May 6, 2010
251
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Gillt, Unscrew the nut on top and take the coil off the valve. Then grip the base of the valve with a pair of pliers and use a screwdriver on the valve stem. It unscrews pretty easy. You'll see the inside is made very well and not much to go wrong.
 

hbosman

Guru Class Expert
Oct 22, 2008
277
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Leesburg VA USA
Oreo;51903 said:
Here ya go there hbosman:

P1013083.jpg

Wow, that looks really professional. I think I'm going to look for some springs as well.
 

gillt

Junior Poster
May 1, 2010
29
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Thanks, oreo. I have my co2 running constantly while I shop for another solenoid.
 

Oreo

Guru Class Expert
May 6, 2010
251
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All Parker Solenoid valves are marked 0 & 1, or 1 & 2. If your valve came with the instruction leaflet from Parker it tells you which is which. On the one in the picture above, 2 was the inlet, 1 was the outlet. If you look in the 1/8" npt ports one side will have 1 hole drilled (the outlet) the other side will have 2 holes drilled (the inlet). Or, you can take the valve apart & see how it's constructed. For all solenoid valves by any manufacturer the center hole sealed by the stem piston is always the outlet as inlet pressure on this hole would simply lift the piston & leak.
 
C

csmith

Guest
herns;52433 said:
How do you determine directional flow of sherrodplus Parker S?

If you mean the EBay solenoids, one side says I, the other O.
 

Left C

Lifetime Members
Sep 26, 2005
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sherrodsurplus Parker solenoid and mechanical timer idea

It seems that these sherrodsurplus Parker solenoids are frying because they are been kept on continuously for hours at a time. Also, mechanical timers are being used with many of them to turn them on and off.

Many of the mechanical timers that are used have little tabs that you flip up and down that represent 15 minutes.

What if you would set the timer so that it would turn off a certain amount of time that allows the solenoid to cool from time to time during the lighting cycle? You may want to use a dedicated timer for the solenoid instead of the same one for the lights.

You could do something like: on 15 off 15, on 30 off 15, on 45 off 15, on 60 off 15, on 75 off 15 and so forth. Or it may need to be off for 30 minutes instead of 15 so that it gets a chance to cool. Of course, you would have to adjust your needle/metering valve accordingly. I wonder if doing something like this would extend its life?

Those that are using pH controllers and these solenoids can crank up their bubble count so that the solenoid is off a good portion of its cycle time to keep cool.

Also, there are various electronic timers that allow multiple cycles in a 24 hour period that may be used too.

It's just some ideas that I want to toss out.
 

Oreo

Guru Class Expert
May 6, 2010
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That might help a lot actually Left C. Still, just my humble opinion, but if you gotta jerry rig the damn thing to work right it defeats the whole purpose. We talk about buying the very best equipement- regulators, needle valves, etc. for the purpose of absolute reliability. I see no reason why the solenoid valve should suddenly be the chink in the chain anyone asks for. If you've got one that's working, great. Otherwise, ditch the garbage and find one that spec'd proper.
 

shoggoth43

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 15, 2009
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I would think that the on/off cycle every 15 minutes would be best for that particular unit.

But I have to think that if it can't handle the duty cycle then it's not really suited for the application. I'd like for my CO2 to be on and stable and not pulsed every 15 minutes or so. ( of course it helps if the CO2 actually makes it to my aquarium but that's another equipment failure entirely unrelated to the solenoid ) I'm not sure if the 50% duty cycle would cause issues in the tank or not. I would think it wouldn't help but maybe it would average out well enough? More concerning would be the knowledge that if my timer ever stuck on I'd roast the solenoid and that concept kind of bugs me for some reason.

-
S
 

Left C

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Sep 26, 2005
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I like for my equipment to work right too. I have two of the sherrodsurplus solenoids that I got for backup.

I ordered three of the Parker PN: 20CC02LV4B4F solenoids like Oreo has a few days before Brett at Bürkert contacted me. When I get some solenoids from Bürkert, I'm going to have a nest full of solenoids. LOL
 

Left C

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Sep 26, 2005
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My three of these came in yesterday. They are very nice! Thanks a bunch Oreo!!!!

Oreo;51858 said:
My solenoid valves arrived in the mail today. :D

Like I said before, these parker valves are creme de la creme as long as you get one spec'd proper for the job.


The only way this valve could be better is if it had the 1/2" npt sleeve where the wires exit for use with a wire grommet but this should still be much easier to work with then the spade connectors. Definitely safer since there won't be any exposed live-wires. The stainless pressure vessel is the same size as the sherrodSurplus parker valve but the coil is about 50% taller.
P1013081.jpg


100% stainless everything. Internal machine work is impeccable. Clean welded joints, and standard O-rings. Use of standard o-rings are nice because replacements are easy to find, vs. proprietary seals that may not even be available if the manufacturer discontinues the design.
P1013077.jpg


On this particular Parker valve they even used o-rings on the coil body. It's a nice touch to help keep moisture out of there, considering anything used around an aquarium tends to get splashed once in a while.
P1013080.jpg
 

Singtoh

Prolific Poster
Sep 12, 2009
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Bangkok,Thailand
Parker VE131.4 FV solenoid valve

Hello All,

My solenoid valve that came stock with my regulator decided to give me a fireworks show this morning. It was a real fright, the thing just suddenly shorted and throwing sparks everywhere. Anyway, I went and purchased the Parker VE131-4 FV solenoid valve. I wasn't paying to much attention when I put it together and I put the arrow that is on the brass fitting going against the flow of gas:eek:, off course I noticed this after I tightned the crap out of everything. It seems to be working just fine this way but was wondering if someone could tell me if I will damage it this way. If I don't have to mess with it again that would be really good. Are they 2 way can go either way type of valves?? Thanks in advance for any info on this.

Cheers,

Singtoh