Geothermal Solenoid Valve

[Dean]

Thanks for the explanation Jonathon, I just wasn't getting the whole picture.

I said we don't have many heat pumps because natural gas is cheaper in my area but I suppose the real reason we don't see many geothermal systems is due to the initial cost of installation.
Also when people call with a heat pump problem, we usually tell them we don't work on heat pumps.
I can see that is going to change though as we are getting more and more of them all the time and the price of natural gas seems to keep increasing.

I did install one 5 ton York "add on" heat pump with a natural gas furnace back up several years ago.

[Kidd6488]

Right now, our furnace room is temporarily closed by a screwed-in piece of OSB, as we will be getting a roll-up type door. So I can't quite easily take a picture of the situation. I had never seen a solenoid valve like this before, but I presume it works the same way. But the next time I'm in there, I will take a pic.

~Jonathon Reinhart

[imeduc]

DEAN Go to http://www.warmair.net there you can compare fuel cost for where you are. In central Mo. heat pumps are about all we sell now.
Just out of the box here. But you say dont look like a solenoid valve. You know it can be a temp actuated water valve there. Dont know just how you are set up there. But with water cooled AC units on well water you have to put water temp valve on the outlet of the water cooled condensers. You say water down the drain. Most set ups like this are well to well dont waste the water

ED

My mistakes dont define me they inform me.

[LazyPup]

Immudec...I was also wondering about discharging the water as all the geothermals i have seen use a closed loop, eitehr underground or back to the well source, but after thinking about this a few days, it might be that they use the same well for potable water supply. If so, the plumbing codes prohibit discharging "process water" into the potable supply.

[Kidd6488]

We did install a new well, and were planning on dumping the water out of the geothermal back down into our old well. But for some reason, the well did not want to take the water, and quickly overflowed. So we dump it down our garage drain, which leads directly to a field tile. Before we backfilled our addition, we put around 12 GPM of water down that field tiel for around 2 hours, with absolutely no problem. So I'm sure it can handle the 6 GPM for minutes at a time.

And regarding the valve: No, It is a solenoid. The geothermal furnace has a spot on its 24V terminal block to connect the solenoid. This lets the water run through the furnace only when the compressor is running. Without this, we would be sending 6 GPM down the tile for no reason, constantly.

And regarding wasting water, we've spoken to many people about this issue, including a man from the, um, water advisory council, or something like that for most of NW Ohio. And they all agree that a person running one well in a spot will never be able to deplete the water table in that area.

~Jonathon Reinhart

[LazyPup]

Kidd...where are you in NW Ohio,,,i am on the ohio/pa line 6 mile north of I 80.

[Kidd6488]

About 15 min from Findlay, about 50 min South of Toledo....

~Jonathon Reinhart

[Barkleydave]

Geothermal Solenoid Valve

I have a geo pump and dump system. I have had problem with the Solenoid Valve since installation 7 years ago.

I have a sediment filter on the well line and sediment and is a problem requiring cleaning of the filter frequently. The valve diaphram gets contaminated and then it does not close. The installer put the valve in a VERY Challenging location making cleaning a real pain!

I am looking for a better valve that can handle sediment better than the cheap irrigation valves being used on most of these systems.

Any thought and links to better quality valve will be appreciated.

[Speedbump]

Ground water heat pumps use about 2.5 gpm per ton. If your unit is set to use 6gpm, it's probably a 2-2.5 ton. I assume your using the same well for your home plumbing. If so, the installer probably put a dole valve in the line going to the heat pump and that may be the hissing your hearing. The water being restricted down to a hole that may only be 3/16" in diameter or so.

These things became popular back in the 70's and were supposed to keep us Well Drillers real busy. When people started weighing the added expenses to the savings (which wasn't much) the ground water units became much less popular. I see they have been re-introduced in the last few years. I am really curious if they have improved the technology since the 70's and if so, how much.

[sklyce]

Noise from geothermal water regulator valve

Thanks all for posting in this thread. The original question was related to noisy operation in a water-fed geothermal heat pump. There was a suggestion of water hammer, which is a thump during on and off transitions, not a continuous whining sound of water rushing by a constriction such as a poorly designed water regulating valve. Dirt and scale can produce restrictions and also noise in systems after some time, but the noise described was in a new system. I've had installed 6 geothermal units in the last couple years, all fed with an open loop double well (source and sink) system. Each of these systems uses a water flow regulator which adjusts the water flow to a few GPM. The first water flow regulators that were installed were unacceptably noisy producing a whining noise that drove me crazy, as it could be heard outside the machine room in living space. After making a lot of noise myself to the installer, this valve was replaced by another (more expensive) water control valve that had a thermal sensor coupled to the refrigerant coil. It activated when the coil got warm (when cooling the house) and when the cool got cool (when heating the house). Importantly, this water control valve was designed so that during water regulation IT MADE NO NOISE! When I had the next 5 geothermal units installed, despite my outcry, the installer used the same noisy water regulators used in my first system.

I believe the noise heard in the first posting, a continuous whining or screeching noise was due to a poorly designed water regulator in the water line. If there is anyone out there who can recommend a specific water regulator for geothermal system use, the community would benefit. I am reluctant to write the model that helped in our first system, because I cannot find it for purchase. I will try to attach photos of the two valves. The black valve is the screecher, while the metallic valve runs quiet. I failed to attach. Sorry.