can the rachio 3 power a 24v ball valve?
If 24VAC, very likely as long as they do not draw too much power (seems unlikely).
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Ive been using 24vDC valves for 8 months with out issue, rachio valve monitoring says they pull60-75ma. But now im getting faults. So going to try the 24vAC valves.
What do you mean by diaphragm valves allow siphoning? Siphoning into what, the water supply?
To answer your question, Iām not aware of any ball valves on the market that have a low enough power draw to work with Rachio. You certainly could probably get techy and wire in some relays triggered by the signal from Rachio, but that would take a bit of work.
A proper irrigation system is either going to either be plumbed with a backflow device installed prior to the valves, or utilize anti-siphon irrigation valves that are installed above the highest point in the system.
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Thanks for the reply. Ive got it working again with my 24v DC valves. I had a few of them wired backwards, but not everything is working good again. they are pulling around 60-70MA. 1" brass ball valves.
Well, good luck. Not sure how long the DC valves will last on AC current. That can have a tendency to overheat the internals.
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Your other option if the valves pull too much, or you want to actually run them on DC is to use 24VAC relays, and a separate 1-2A DC power supply.