failsafe valve? The blasted thing flooded my neighbor.

21 years ago

The other night my neighbor woke me up at 2am to inform me that I was flooding his property. I guess I'm lucky that he's a light sleeper, because it turned out that one of my "lawn genie" valves had stuck in the open position. Disconnecting the power to it didn't close it, and manually opening and closing it didn't close it either. The next day I chopped off the lawn genie valve and replaced it with a rainbird. I suppose I could have done something less radical, but I wanted to avoid a repeat. Upon reviewing the rainbird instructions, I was surprised to learn that it too could fail in the open position and offered suggestions on how to remedy this if it occured. However, let's be real: when I go to work or on vacation, I don't want to worry that I'm flooding the neighborhood. Are there failsafe valves I can buy, where if a failure occurs it's guaranteed not to stick in the open position?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

The_Mohave__Kid
21 years ago
Toro .. I believe has a valve line designed to fail in the closed position.

Good Day ...
rabbit9
Original Author
21 years ago
How common a problem is this? I'd like a self-cleaning valve that's failsafe (from diaphragm, solenoid, and any other failure), and that minimizes water hammer. Short of that, I guess I'll have to connect two valves in series to get the reliability I want. Does anyone use filters ahead of their valves to prevent debree problems from triggering valve problems, and if so what's the best type of filter to use? I'd like to set it up right and then largely forget about it.
Related Professionals
Johnson City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · College Station Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Huntington Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Green Bay Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Seattle Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Zanesville Landscape Contractors · La Crosse Landscape Contractors · San Luis Obispo Landscape Contractors · Santa Maria Landscape Contractors · Mobile Home Additions · Atlantic City Home Additions · Peoria Home Additions · Winona Home Additions · Wausau Home Additions · San Diego Home Additions
steve_l
21 years ago
I installed a master valve ahead of all the zone valves in my system as the "fail safe".
The_Mohave__Kid
21 years ago
It's water not rocket fuel so don't get carried away. A master valve is nice for a large system but if it fails to open your enter system goes without water ( the flip side ). Unless you have dirty water a filter is just another thing to go wrong ... they can break also and cause leaks and less expensive ones are not as tuff as a valve. Rainbird makes such filters if you feel you need one ..

Nothing last forever ... a good name brand valve can last decades.

Good Day ...
Holly Dungan
4 years ago
can really appreciate the thread my pool valve failed & flooded my house - a mere 30 days after buying the house & of course while i was travelling. Water is so destructive & as water came from outside - not covered by homeowners - would have needed flood insirance. So I’m looking for a failsafe way to avoid this again. i have been told a pool autofill is the answer … but - my friend recommended a double/master valve so 2 would have to fail. trying to find a gardener that will do this.