Hello, I have done some looking and I can find plenty of "normally open" and "normally closed" water valves but that means that to keep the valve in the opposite state electricity will be required. Electrical savings are critical to my application so I am looking for a valve that I can use with Arduino to basically reverse the state of. I don't want any energy necessary to maintain the state of the valve only change it. Does anyone have a recommendation for a valve like this?
If so how would I go about wiring this? I originally intended to use a MOSFET but I am not sure if that would be suitable for this particular circumstance.
Thank you for your time and assistance!
use a rc type servo to accuate a ball valve
Your keyword is "latching".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-inch-Latching-Pulse-Solenoid-Valve-NPT-Gas-Water-6-VDC-Low-Power-Long-Life-/120886526629
Not a recommendation (I have no experience with this valve); just an example. Also be aware that many solenoid valves need a minimum pressure to operate. For the example valve above rated at 3PSI you would need ~3 meters of head if you're using rain barrels or such.
Thank you for your recommendations, the latching solenoid looks like exactly what I was looking for. It says to reverse the direction of the current to change the valve, how would this best be accomplished?
Thank you again
A motor driver chip (L293D) would do it.