Water flowing from multiple outlets means that the disk is not seating completely inside the valve housing. This issue could be due to a handful of factors.
Lack of Water Volume
Without sufficient water volume, the disk won’t sit properly and water will seep into the inactive outlets.
Many people want to argue this point, that they know they are getting enough water, and many are correct. Don’t be so quick to go by the rating on the pump, however, as that’s what the number that the pump manufacturer is getting in their facility, under optimum conditions, and in their test rig.
Let’s measure the volume you’re actually getting.
To measure the volume your system is producing, remove the six or eight screws around the perimeter of the valve and unthread the coupling nut. The upper half of the housing will now lift completely off of the base and you will have an open pipe coming from the source.
Power up the system and use a five-gallon bucket to catch the water from that pipe. Time how long it takes to fill the bucket. If it takes 30 seconds, that’s ten gallons per minute, etc…
Lack of water volume could be due to municipality control if you’re on city water, it could also be due to a malfunctioning solenoid valve.
For pump systems, it’s a little different. If your source is a lake, canal, pond, etc, the first thing you will want to check is your screen on your intake pipe. It could also be an issue with the pump itself or once again an obstruction inside the pipe.
Most low-volume issues are resolved with the use of a low-flow stem and disk assembly but often times that’s more of a band-aid than a true fix.
Here are some things to try:
If you’re pumping out of a lake, canal, etc, you will most likely have a screen at your intake. That needs to be cleaned periodically based on the condition of that source. Basically, any and all filtration connected to your system needs to be cleaned at some point.
If you’re on city water, most likely you will have a single solenoid valve attached to your system. Make sure that solenoid is opening all the way. There is usually an adjustment around the solenoid itself that will manually adjust how open it is.
If you are still having issues, please contact the factory at (561) 624-3308 and let us know what’s going on.
Obstructions Inside the Housing
This is more common than it sounds and it usually occurs on valves with inactive ports left open. Critters like snails, frogs, and lizards climb up inside the housing and get stuck under the disk. This is one of the reasons we recommend inactive outlets to be capped.
Other obstructions like rocks, shells and other debris can also keep the disk from seating.
Also very common is PVC cement that flows into the housing during installation. That can certainly cause the disk to hang up on the side wall of the housing.
