Orbit 57281 1" FPT L-Series Automatic Sprinkler Valve

We live in the "high desert" of CA, annual rainfall is about 10", and that is mostly in the winter. I put together a 6 manifold system. The controller has a glitch, it won't let you program #5 and #6 unless you start with #1 and reset (or maintain) the settings and just go in order. I have them in a little shelter so they do not get any sun and are at an easy hight to work with. They all worked for the first six month growing season. Two did not survive the winter, although I thought I had drained all of system. I replaced them. NONE of them survived the second winter although after I turned the water supply off, I left the system on for a day to be sure it drained the valves. Two will not turn off, 4 will not turn on. I did all the things the on-line fixers recommended, even buying 2 new solinoids, which did not solve the problem. So, I am buying new ones, same model, since they will be easy to plumb in, I think this winter I will take them out of the system and put them where freezing is not an issue, and put a drop of oil on the solinoid. The cost is small compared to the value of vegetables we grow, let alone the flowers and shrubs. My experience with Chinese products is that quality control is missing, so sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you do not - 10 electronic things failed in my new Audi - all made in China - in the first 50,000 miles, none of the replacements have failed in the second 50,000 miles. 3 of the 6 have failed, and, and 3 are going into their next season. Well drained when turned off, no water in lines in or out.

Easy to replace and very affordable

There are two different styles of valves this one is slightly longer than the other style, which has the black portion on top of the unit rather than on the side of the unit, but it does work. I just had to adjust my pipes to fit whereas if I’ve ordered the other style that would’ve slid right in.

I purchased 3 of these in (I think) 2020, along with the controller. A year later, one of them quit working (solenoid problem?) and I bought a replacement in May of 2021. Here it is August of 2023 and one of the "old" ones started leaking. However, I must say that I was not the fault of the manufacturer. Several bits of sand had somehow found their way onto the rubber seal and deformed it. I have cleared the sand and we'll see if that's enough. My only other comment is that the controller is tricky to program, and that's coming from a physicist who programs in C and assembly. It would help if the manual would spell out the steps and put in photos that were actually helpful. E.g. numbers can either mean part of a sequence of "on" times, or it can mean the valve number. There are no photos to show you which is which. Moreover, even if you program the times and valve numbers correctly, you still have to tell it which days to come on. The default is NOT every day, which I assumed, resulting in stunted raspberries. I know, I know, I should not have assumed that they would design it like I think they ought to! Still, instruction manuals seem to be and afterthought with many products and are poorly put together, filling up space with obvious stuff and giving little attention to important details that can make or break the experience.

Works properly, lower price than Home Depot

It is doing a great job at replacing my old broken valve. Water runs quietly and smoothly through it. Would recommend

Work for my modified project.

I have 4 of these solenoid valves on my yard's underground irrigation system. They have quietly worked with no problems for over 15 years. I just bought two more. Not because the old ones broke, but because I needed a valve to use for an automatic pond float valve system. When my pond level gets low I need a valve that I can turn on electrically to refill the pond. These Orbit valves work on 24 volts a.c., so it wasn't hard to make a circuit that could send 24 volts to the valve to release water into the pond on demand. It took me a couple days to build a rig, and now this valve keeps my pond full of water.

Was a perfect fit Exactly as described Now my sprinkler system works flawlessly

Me gustó el precio y funcionalidad, pero solo han durado 2 años ahora se mantienen las válvulas abiertas y no cumplen con su función, en comparación con la competencia duraron poco

buen producto

Does what it should and no complaints.

Cost is high