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what water pressure with Univalve

chris70

Active member
Messages
158
Location
herts
can any one tell me if there is a max pressure to use with Univalve problem i have is i have digital spring control set to 35 calibration and flow pressure at 35 thing is with rinse bar brush fitted turns on off fine but when i fit my standard jet brush turns on fine but when pull valve to turn off still have light water flow any ideas cheers

 
can any one tell me if there is a max pressure to use with Univalve problem i have is i have digital spring control set to 35 calibration and flow pressure at 35 thing is with rinse bar brush fitted turns on off fine but when i fit my standard jet brush turns on fine but when pull valve to turn off still have light water flow any ideas cheers


Have you fitted it the correct way round?  The shutoff pressure is designed to press the plunger up against its seat. It seals with a tiny o ring. The other possibilty is that the o ring has 'blown' off the plunger. That happen to mine just recently. I fixed it and its now a spare. I can't complain as it is one from the original batch.

 
Not sure it helps you but I use two poles of different lengths both fitted with Univalves. Both Univalves behave differently when using fanjets as opposed to 2mm pencils. I get what I call ‘misfires’ occasionally when using fans where the Univalves won’t turn off unless I pinch the hose first. The problem doesn’t exist when I use pencils though. I deduce from this that it’s a pressure related problem but I’ve yet to figure out why. Never had a problem like you describe, but having taken them apart to maintain them I can understand what spruce says regards the small ‘o’ ring at the front end and would agree that this is where to look.

 
Not sure it helps you but I use two poles of different lengths both fitted with Univalves. Both Univalves behave differently when using fanjets as opposed to 2mm pencils. I get what I call ‘misfires’ occasionally when using fans where the Univalves won’t turn off unless I pinch the hose first. The problem doesn’t exist when I use pencils though. I deduce from this that it’s a pressure related problem but I’ve yet to figure out why. Never had a problem like you describe, but having taken them apart to maintain them I can understand what spruce says regards the small ‘o’ ring at the front end and would agree that this is where to look.


I didn't fully understand the problem when I first read @chris70's post. If the unit switches on and off fine using one brush but not the other then it can't be a dislodged tiny o ring. If that o ring was dislodged the univalve would let water pass all the time.

The mechanism inside the Univalve looks a copy of a Parker Jotter ball point pen refill and actuator. I have used these pens for the past 50 years or so but sometimes I've come across one that just doesn't seem to work. I've compared the inner mechanism of a good one with the mechanism of the 'faulty' one and have never been able to see any difference.

Pressure inside the Univalve must somehow prevent the mechanism from turning but he talks about a light flow of water escaping so that idea doesn't hold water either.

Maybe @chris70could pop an email over to Steve Jones at Exceed and ask him the question. He's the designer of it and when comes to this sort of thing he's brilliant.

.

 
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cheers for ya reply's going to take out of pole tomorrow and have look turned pressure down today and shut of fine but not much good as need higher flow which is when the problem starts funny thing is i have univalve in both my poles and does same on both fine with rinse bar brush but don't seem to shut of with jet brush strange 

 
You have them upside down.  Will bet a pint on it. 


He has a Spring controller with dead end calibrated to 35 so his water pressure will stay the same no matter what flow rate he sets his controller on. This means to me that it will 'leak' or dribble no matter what flow the controller is set on. If it leaked all the time then the chances are that the Univalve is fitted incorrectly or the tiny o ring inside has failed or twisted in some way.

Didn't Steve make a slight adjustment to the operating mechanism with the second batch of Univalves he made? He never disclosed what that modification was, but if memory serves me, he exchanged 'faulty' Univalves with ones from the next batch. This is why I suggested @chris70 pop an email off to him as he will probably know what the problem is, especially if the unit is less than a year old. If its older than a year then I would open it and have a look.

I don't see how it can be a controller issue. The way I see it is when the Univalve is shutoff, the back pressure should force the Univalve plunger harder onto it seat.

Funnily enough I notice a drip from my setup on Friday when I lend my pole up against a wall. I didn't pay too much attention to it as it could have just been water being shed from the Dupont brushes bristles. I was also occupied with other things at the time but I made a mental note of it incase of future issues.

 
can any one tell me if there is a max pressure to use with Univalve problem i have is i have digital spring control set to 35 calibration and flow pressure at 35 thing is with rinse bar brush fitted turns on off fine but when i fit my standard jet brush turns on fine but when pull valve to turn off still have light water flow any ideas cheers
They can take that pressure no bother. I have my spring controller calibrated at 75 and flow at 60.

Whack it up you won't believe how much quicker you can clean and rise the windows. 

 
Mine is problematic in not turning off . Sometimes I kink the hose first and then it would turn off. My problem seems to have came from new smaller reel hose wit having to put up higher flow. Before my new reel hose when connected to an outside tap pressure it would have behaved the same way 

 
My old controller was auto calibrated at around 30 and the new one is at 56 (auto). Today on one job the Univalve glitched and took a few attempts to come on. It's the first it's happened but I have read that people had problems with more pressure. 

 
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