Electric Ball or Gate Valve?

[Cubby]

Hiya folks, I am looking to the collective wisdom for some advice. I've got a cabin in the woods that we visit every so often. When we leave, we shut off the water and drain the lines via two hand operated valves (one turns the water off, the other opens up the lines). They are not in an ideal location and there really is no where to move them to that would be better. I got to thinking about using electrically actuated valves and wondering if anyone has any words to say about these. I'd need one that would be Normally Open and one that would be Normally Closed in the event of power failure. I see Grainger carries some but was wondering if there are other recommendations out there. Thanks very much, jlc

[Jake]

Asco ball valves should be fine up to about 1 1/2". After that I'd consider gate valves, which the actuators are a bit more $$.

Jake

[Cubby]

Thanks Jake. They've got a local distributer so I'll give them a call on Tuesday. Cheers, jlc

[Mark]

You may want to think carefully about not being able to turn the water on during a power failure. You may want to add a hand controlled override so you can get water if you need to during a power failure.

Mark

[Jake]

I agree.

Jake

[Cubby]

Oh I plan to. Our power supply is actually pretty good here with the odd power bumps but it's definitely a good idea to plan for the worst.

I guess my biggest question at this point is whether these valves come in different varieties meaning, do they come in both Normally Open or Normally Closed configurations in the event of a power failure? I would like to make these switch activated....turn one switch on and the drain valve closes. Turn on the other switch and the main water valve opens to service the house. When I would leave, I would turn off the main valve and turn on the drain valve. I also notice these things aren't cheap! Seem to run around $250.00 each! Ahh well, the cost of convenience I suppose. Cheers, cc

[No]