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A master valve is an automatic valve installed near the main water line of an irrigation system to prevent water leakage from leaky zone valves. It opens and closes with the zone valve and can cause premature failure of plastic pipes. A flow sensor can further reduce water losses caused by leaks.
A master valve is an electrically operated automatic valve that is often installed near the main water line of an irrigation system. This device is usually connected to a specific circuit located in the irrigation system control panel. This circuit opens the master valve every time a given zone valve is opened, and then closes it again when the zone valve is no longer open. The primary purpose of a master valve is to prevent unnecessary water leakage from leaky zone valves. Most sprinkler system control panels have a special integrated circuit for this purpose.
A typical lawn sprinkler system will often have several zone valves operating a particular group of sprinklers. During a watering cycle, the system controller typically activates one zone valve at a time to water a specific area of the yard. When a master valve is used in an irrigation system, it is opened by the controller at the same time as the first zone valve opens and then closed again after all areas of the garden have been watered. A master valve is usually the same type of valve used as a zone valve, except that it is installed upstream of zone valves as a type of safety measure in the event of a downstream leak.
Some sprinkler systems use an add-on device to further reduce the possibility of water losses caused by leaky zone valves and sprinklers. This device is known as a flow sensor and is capable of signaling the controller to shut off the water supply whenever a leak is detected. In this particular type of configuration, the controller is able to memorize the water usage of each zone valve using the information provided by the flow sensor. In the event of a leak, the flow sensor will show increased water consumption, prompting the controller to shut off the water supply via the main valve.
Using a master valve in an irrigation system can sometimes allow leaks to go unnoticed for long periods of time. Since most lawn sprinkler systems typically run late at night, there is often no one present to notice that the system is leaking. During the day, when people are around, the leak goes unnoticed again because the main valve has shut off the water supply. The use of this type of valve in an irrigation system can also cause premature failure of some types of plastic pipes. This failure is usually the result of the frequent stretching and contraction of the hose that occurs each time the valve is opened or closed.
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