Valves - Choosing a Hunter Valve

When determining what might be the best valve for your particular needs, it is a good idea to keep these considerations in mind:

Choose a valve that will operate at the pressure available on the project. If your system will be subject to pressure surges or water hammer, the surge can be several times higher than your static pressure (for large projects, it's best to choose a valve with a higher operating pressure). A valve with a 200 psi (13.8 bars/1378.96 KPa) rating will provide the best long-term performance.

Choose a valve that will be easy to work on should the need ever arise. For example, the ICV's bonnet bolts, solenoid plunger and plunger spring, diaphragm and diaphragm spring are all captive parts, eliminating the chance of their becoming lost. Additionally, the bonnet bolts can be loosened or tightened with a variety of tools, so servicing is always easy.

Look for a valve that has bonnet bolt holes which are open at the bottom. This allows dirt to fall through the bolt hole instead of packing to the bottom, where it would make it impossible to tighten the bonnet bolts.

Choose a valve to specifically handle reclaimed, well or lake water (if needed). Valve diaphragm filters can get clogged by high amounts of sand, particle debris, algae, minerals, sludge or other contaminants commonly found in such water sources. Hunter valves (especially ICV and HBV) have excellent self-flushing filtering systems with a specially designed turbulent flow around the diaphragm filter to wash contaminants away and assure reliable operation. With especially dirty or effluent water this action may not completely clean, and thus may eventually clog, some filters.

When working with algae or other biological contaminants, or where longer life is desired, select a valve with a mechanical filter cleaner. To eliminate clogged filters and the time spent for cleaning, or simply for extra insurance in clean water applications, use a valve such as the ICV. Its extra large filter and optional Filter Sentry™ system scours the filter clean each time it opens or closes, making this valve a good choice for both installations where long-term reliability is an absolute must, as well as situations where biological water is being used.