Beduan Brass Electric Solenoid Valve, 1/2" 12V Air Valve Normally Colsed for Water Air Gas Fuel Oil

Didn't survive after one winter in Vancouver BC. At the end of the winter it got stuck in the open position (the 2 valves I purchased), I had to replace and throw them both to the garbage. I ordered a couple of different valves that hopefully will function in the next summer time will tell...

This product worked very well when used intermittently. NOT designed for continuously activated operation. If this valve is to be used in it's "normally closed" state, which is the state the valve is in when it's not active (no voltage applied to the coil) it will likely work for a very long time. I have this valve on a 5 second timer to discharge 140psi from a compressor when needed. I'm sure you could get away with longer times as well but this isn't the valve you would want to use for a situation where the valve would be in the open position (actively energized) as it's "normal" state. This is what I would refer to as a "dump valve" where it lets ALL of the pressure out very very quickly. It doesn't appear to restrict any of the air flow at all. I assure you, when 140psi dumps out of this valve it's violet and loud! This is what I expected in a valve of this type and so far it didn't disappoint.

Great quality and exactly as described. It works perfectly for what I needed, and the overall value is excellent. I’m really happy with this purchase and definitely recommend it

This is verifiably a direct acting solenoid valve, meaning that all movement of the diaphragm is from the energized coil itself. It does NOT require a minimum operating pressure to fully open, which is a much more common design to find. However, that capability comes at a price: operation requires a very powerful coil. But powerful coils draw high CURRENTS and cannot sustain that full current for more than very short periods without OVERHEATING. If your application only requires that the valve be energized for 5 seconds every few minutes and NO MORE, you'll probably be fine using it as-is. Otherwise this MUST be driven using some form of active current/voltage control, i.e. PWM. The resistance of the coil for the 1/2" 12 VDC version measures 5.5 ohms, drawing just over two amps at 12 volts, dissipating 26 watts of heat, which is quite a lot in such a small space. The secret to success is understanding that full power is only needed for a brief time to initially open the valve but a MUCH smaller current will HOLD the valve open. In my case I've got an Arduino Mega driving an H-bridge motor controller that actually powers the coil. To open, full current is supplied for about 100 milliseconds after which it drops to a fraction of that by switching to PWM with around a 30% duty cycle to maintainin the open position. Using this scheme I've yet to have a failure to open or to stay open and the body of the valve never goes above ambient even after hours of being powered. The only other things to be aware of are that it makes a VERY loud click when activated and the threads are NOT NPT, they are not tapered - so expect to use a LOT of sealing tape if using conventional pipe fittings.

I installed this near my water pump. I wanted to be able to fill my fresh water tank while hooked up to city water. I installed it and tried it on our first first water fill, and it worked great I was so happy. And then we hit the road and 4 days later we needed to refill our freshwater tank I turned it on and after 5 minutes the valve closed I checked the fuse and it had popped. I looked at the valve and it was smoking and was red hot to the touch. I'm glad it did not catch fire. I returned it for a refund.