12V day night switch on solenoid valve - PLEASE HELP!!

[Niko]

Hi guys. Firstly, I know nothing about electronics, and I have a setup I am struggling with.

Here is what I have:
1. 12v Day-Night Switch
2. 12v Direct acting solenoid valve
3. 12v Car battery

I need this setup to open a gas pipe during the day and close it at night.
There is no electricity where it is used, hence the 12v setup

I connected everything and it works once or twice and then stops and gets hot.
(the valve open when light is detected and close when dark but stops working then)

On the bottom of the DN switch box it says:"remember to include end of line resistance in the bypassed circuit"
I googled a bit and it seems that maby I have to add a resistor (especially since it gets hot), but I am not sure .

I have included a diagram of the switch and of my wiring

Please let me know.

 

[Harald Kapp]

Welcome to electronicspoint..

Your wiring shows the solenoid's "+" connected to the battery's "-" and vice versa. This may be an issue, although unlikely. Can you supply more information on the solenoid valve and the DN-switch like a datasheet or whatever technical data is available? The important parameter is the solenoid's current consumption versus the DB-switches maximum load.

By the way: in your setup the valve is powered all day long which is not efficient. It will drain the battery and puts a load on the DN-switch. Could you change to another valve that is operated that has two stable positions, on and off, where you need only a short pulse on on input to turn the valve on, a pulse on another input to turn it off? You could use the NC and NO outputs of the DN-switch plus two capacitors to create the se two pulses. This setup will require power to the valve only twice a day to change the valve's position, otherwise only small power for the DN-switch is used continuously.

 

[Niko]

Thanks Harald. Yes, sorry my sketch is just wrong at the solenoid the poles should be swapped on sketch.
the data sheet for the solenoid is at:
http://www.buerkert.com/products_data/datasheets/DS6013-Standard-EU-EN.pdf

The DN switch is on: http://www.kesa.co.za/12v dn.htm
very little info on it.

Note: the solenoid we use is 12v and not 24 volt as on datasheet.
On the solenoid it also indicates 8w.
I am rather limited with the choice of solenoid valves since it has to be for high pressure LP gas.
In South Africa we do not have many electronic suppliers where I can just go to get parts unfortunately.

The only supplier I know of is http://za.rs-online.com/web/
but I would not know what to buy.

 

[Harald Kapp]

Assuming the 12V solenoid works at 8W, too, this translates to 1.5 A which is much less than the DN-switch's rated current (10A). I can see no reason why your setup wouldn't work.

Have you tried connecting the valve directly to the battery? Does it get hot then, too?

By the way, the datasheet of the valve states that there is an optional impulse version which may just be right for saving battery power. But that will require a bit of additional circuitry. For starters, let's get the actual valve going...

 

[Bluejets]

Combination of gas, electricity and inexperience....not a place I would like to be near.

 

[Niko]

Hi Harald. I have changed the setup now (took it to an electrician), so basically I now have the 12volt car battery, connected to a :Hager EG103V Time Switch and the Burkert 6013 Solenoid valve.

I tested it, and now it works (meaning that the valve opens and closes), but the solenoid get extremely hot!!! This happens with and without the timer switch. I am sure it can handle the volts, but I have no idea how many amps goes to it.

I do not understand resistors at all. I understand that they provide resistance, but how would one add it to the current? serial or parallel? and how would one know which resistor to buy?

Unfortunately the electrician could not help me. I am still looking for an impulse model

 

[Harald Kapp]

I do not understand resistors at all. I understand that they provide resistance, but how would one add it to the current? serial or parallel? and how would one know which resistor to buy?

To decrease the currrent you'd have to put a resistor in series. But decreasing the current may make the operation of the valve unreliable. Normally a load (her: coil) is designed to draw the required current at the nominal operating voltage without extra measures. If you reduce the current by adding a series resistor, the force generated by the solenoid my not be enough to operate the valve correctly.

Can you measure the current drawn by the coil when active?
Are you sure the valve you have at hand is rated for 12V DC? There is also an AC version (according to the datasheet) which may draw too much current when operated with DC.

 

[PAFMElb]

Concur with everything Harold has said. Measure the actual current drawn. Looking at the Burkert spec sheets it seems they make what they call a 6013 valve in many configurations including AC types. Check out what you have against their full part number (see http://tinyurl.com/ycvdpp7z) and ensure your Burkert 6013 is a 12 volt DC version. The 6013 part does not uniquely specify the device. Also check your valve is OK for gas (the 6013's come in a range of seal materials too. My money is on it being an AC valve that is causing you problems.

 

[Minder]

It Probabally is an AC valve, if so the resistance is too low to use on DC.
The other style that gets hot if left connected is a magnetic latch valve or solenoid.
M.