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which float valve is better?

jack954

Active member
i use the bottom one (watts) but seems like once a year i have issues with it. i don’t know the name of or anything about the top one
 

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The bottom one is a Walters, which is what I like. I get two or three years out of a 1" valve, and I never have a catastrophic failure, just a slow overfill when they go bad.
 
No experience with either but if you’re looking to try something different, I’ve had excellent results with Jobe Topaz Industro floats. Get several years out of them then an easy diaphragm replacement.


If you’re running really hot water then this one…

 
I have good luck with Jobe valves. I've also been using the inexpensive Hudson float valves( $30 from zoro) and they've been pretty good on cold water. At that price, I should probably just chunk them every couple of years instead of waiting for them to fail. The main reason I'm using those is it is easy to build an assembly with a vertical drop. This allows me to set the tanks at a lower water level and I can then top them off with RO reject water.

In my SS pump unit at one site I have a 24V sprinkler solenoid tied into the water feed as a backup in the event of a catastrophic float failure. I just use the cheap ones at Lowes (around $20) and it has worked for years. I need to do it on all my feeds. I have insane sewer at one wash and a catastrophic float failure could easily cost me several hundred dollars.
 
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Do you have a link to the cheap Walter's float valve on Zori. Can't seem to find it. One thing to keep in mind is the Walter's is a two stage valve which eliminates water hammer. I've tried several designs and the Walters have been the best. Like Mep said, when they start to fail, they don't close completely off and might overfill the tank, but not catastrophic failure. Although I have never experienced any issues with the Walter's. I change them out every 4-5 years.
 
I know one guy who uses the Hudson valve. He's had them fail wide open more than once, and this is what gets cleaned out of the pump strainers because the tanks are open:

IMG_20210208_171511101.jpg
 
We have a Bob valve and seems pretty reliable. I did replace the seals in it last year because it seemed to fill to an inconsistent level. It has never catastrophically failed.
 
We have a Bob valve and seems pretty reliable. I did replace the seals in it last year because it seemed to fill to an inconsistent level. It has never catastrophically failed.
The only time I've seen one of those hang wide open was after someone bent the rod so much that when the tank ran low the float tried to go the wrong way under the valve and stuck against the back wall.
 
I’ve been converting my customer’s troublesome float valves with the Hudson Valve.

Some installations require fabricating the inlet plumbing to properly locate the valve inside the tank.

Open tanks can be installed using Hudson's Mounting Bracket
I hate tell you this. We have used the Hudson valves and we had nothing but problems with them. Most of the time they would stick full open, a few times they wouldn't come on. Open them up and there's no debris inside of them. unless they've changed in the last couple of years we wouldn't waste our time using them.
 
I hate tell you this. We have used the Hudson valves and we had nothing but problems with them. Most of the time they would stick full open, a few times they wouldn't come on. Open them up and there's no debris inside of them. unless they've changed in the last couple of years we wouldn't waste our time using them.

Us too. We used them for a few years and couldn't find a replacement fast enough. I wouldn't recommend them ever.
 
I switched over to Jobe Topaz Float valves exclusively years ago. Not one problem or over flood since then. They're all plastic and easy to adjust. I keep a spare one in stock but have never needed it.
 
Jobe is definitely my favorite but I've had the ears break off on the quick change coupling multiple times. Anyone else?

Sounds like I need to get rid of my Hudsons,lol
 
The bottom one is a Walters, which is what I like. I get two or three years out of a 1" valve, and I never have a catastrophic failure, just a slow overfill when they go bad.
the bottom 1 is actually a Watts,& says so with a stamp. IIRC, they both have a model that looks very similar....?
So, what's kind of the boards general consensus...?
 
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