GARDENA 24 V Irrigation Valve doesn't close

Sorry @flyglide, we designed the Iro for US electrical requirements - 120 volts / 60hz. If we were certified to be selling and shipping internationally, we would reconsider this and the power adaptor included with the Iro.

We love to see examples of these power supplies and any links to purchase them as well :wink:

@dszymkun, thanks for your continued support. It’s great to know we have friends internationally!

Sure Emil,

just visit
http://www.alibaba.com
and search for “power adapter 100-240V 24V AC” - you get all the information you need, including contact details, price, etc.

Some articles have different options and you have to ask for the right one eg. 24V AC/AC.

Received my IRO and had the same issue. Could not find an adapter so I took my old 220v adapter ( from a 15 year old Irritriol controller) and just cut the wires of the 110V and soldered the two wires together. Worked!

So you could try to find an adapter from another controller brand in case you do not want to order from China.

@Marten, thanks for sharing this tip. I assume the 220v adaptor only output 120 volts / 60hz for the Irritrol controller?

@flyglide, did your new adaptor come in yet? Just wanted to check in and see if you were able to get up and running yet?

Best, Emil

Hi Emil,

Perhaps confusing. What I used was the old power supply which happened to be 220V -24VAC. Unfortunately there is no information of the current on it but it worked.
So I guess if you are in Europe and just upgrading from an older controller and that controller happens to have an external 220V / 24 VAC power supply then there is a good chance it will work.

For the short time I use a 220/110 volt converter and it works now. But I will definitely go for a direct 220V to 24VAC converter as currently the configuration 220->110->24 is power wasting. As I thought before these 220/110 adapter create extreme wasting heat and I don’t want to have this for long time in a box.
But apart from that it works now.

Dear Support,
We would need your help on this topic as of two 230V/24V power supplies I tried none works.
My understanding is that what matters is the output. The out of the box power supply has 24V 1.25A. I tried 24V 1A and the valve did not close. I tried 24V 4A and the issue is the same. Could you please clarify what might be wrong?
@Marten, could you please share parameters of your old power supply which work for you?

Regards,
Dariusz

@dszymkun, this sounds like a DC latching solenoid issue…the Iro requires 24V AC solenoids.

Do you know what type of solenoids you have?

Best, Emil

Hi Emil,

I do have 24V DC solenoids otherwise they would not work with your controller and my previous Toro one. This seems to be related to the parameters of power supply.
Could we have an input from the engineering team please?

Regards,
Dariusz

Ok, here is a recommendation concerning power adapter when using Rachio in Europe based on the experience I made so far.

I highly recommend NOT to use a 240/110V adapter to connect to the Rachio own 110V adapter. The reason why is that the adapters getting so hot that you cannot hold them in your hands anymore. Especially if you have stored them in a box. So if you don’t want to risk to burn down your house don’t use this combination.

Instead buy a 220/24V 1000mA AC/AC Adapter (not DC) and use that setup. It will work.

I do not think this is correct - the output is 24V with polarity hence is using DC electricity.
Usually (+) is inside and (-) is outside of the plug. This is something the Rachio engineering team must confirm. I ask for help some time ago but all quiet since. @flyglide, could you please check polarity on your power supply?

@dszymkun, I can confirm that I use an ordinary AC/AC adapter - here the model which I bought http://www.ebay.de/itm/130283807565. So it’s not DC.

Thanks @flyglide - that would explain the issue - sorry I was mistaken.

@dszymkun, sorry I have been tied up in support this week with the 2.0 release. I apologize for the delayed reply.

The Iro was designed to run on AC power, and outputs AC power to the solenoids. It’s a common mistake to assume sprinkler valves work with DC voltage. Converting to AC solenoids corrects the problem. Here’s a great link that explains the science and electrical principals at play: Understanding 24VAC Sprinkler Valves « RAYSHOBBY.NET

Did @flyglide’s recommendaiton work for you?

Hoping you’re up and running soon! Thanks for being patient and having patience with the electrical limitations.

Best, Emil

Great thread. Thanks for nurturing us renegade Europeans. Sounds like there are workable solutions. Quick question about setup: the Cnet review says you “enter your zip code” - hoping there is a country setting too. Also (OT) can I connect to Control4 without having to buy an expensive driver? Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Tom

No country setting, but we do use the device coordinates to pick the closest weather station, you can even use a personal weather station if you’d like.

You will need to purchase a driver from http://www.houselogix.com/ if you would like an integration with Control4.

Please let us know if you have any more questions or feedback.

:cheers:

Hello, I’m having an issue with my valves activating properly. I’ve verified that I don’t have a master valve and that my app is set to master valve disabled (as seen in many other posts). I converted an older Imperial Valet controller that plugs into 110/120v AC wall outlet with a Rachio v2 with a 24v AC adapter. I’m getting voltage to my valves and they’re not opening correctly unless I give them a nudge (manually open the valves by twisting the solenoid then closing it back). The valves stay on and work properly if I do that and they turn off as expected when I tell them to via the app. My hunch is that my valves may be requiring too much amps that the Rachio isn’t able to supply. Rachio support, can you please provide me with some basic information on your controller so I can continue my diagnosis. If I can’t figure it out I’ll send wiring pics later. Can you please tell me the output I should expect from your controller when the zone is activated. I assume 24v but what amps should I expect to see on my meter. Second part of the question… what is the max ohms should I should expect to see from my valves. This information will tell me A) if my controller is putting out the proper voltage / amps and B) if my valves are requiring too much amps and thereby not opening without a little help. Thanks in advance.

@1825monroe

@brad or @Devin Can you help out with these technical questions?

:cheers:

Let me try to cover everything here. Definitely a good test for your solenoids is resistance. You can disconnect common at the controller and measure resistance from the common wire to your zone under test. You should see a resistance between 20 and 60 ohms. In terms of controller voltage output, if everything is working correctly you should see 24 Vrms or possible a couple volts higher depending on the load.

Is it possible that something is physically blocking the solenoids from opening the valves or that they might need to be cleaned? Do all your valves act this way or just some? Any chance you have a part number or information on your solenoids (wishful thinking :slight_smile: )?

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Thank you for the response. I’ll test my solenoids for resistance. I thought of your suggestion about the solenoids needing to be cleaned except that they all worked an hour before on the old Imperial Valet system. The first thing I did was to trace my common and make sure I didn’t have a wiring issue but they’re all good. I kept a picture of my old system’s wiring and it matches perfectly to how I wired my Rachio. My first guess is that the Imperial Valet just has more amps to push to the solenoids. Question, have you seen some solenoids work with the Rachio and some solenoids not? Or are all solenoids pretty much the same with the same voltage / amps requirements and they all work the same? I’m really hoping I can just go buy more from Home Depot, plug them in, and away I go but somehow I have a feeling this is going to throw me for a loop. I’ll post again once I do the ohms tests.

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