TORO CO M/R IRRIGATION 53380 Inline Valve, 3/4-Inch

I needed a new valve because the old one started leaking at the case after 20 yrs. and I didnt feel like fixing it. I did have to replace the tiny seal on the end of solenoid plunger once in 20 yrs. I am using it as a supply valve for my home-brew reverse osmosis water system, and it works great, despite a flow rate much lower than it was designed for. Maybe thats why the plunger seal was leaking slightly and needed replacement. Bought a spare to have for future, I was glad to see they were still made.

If you are building a system from scratch, you will want to look at how you will disassemble these in place, so that you can clean and repair them. Because, over time, these will need maintenance (as will all sprinkler systems). I went with these years ago for my manifold, and I always have a spare that I can use for replacement parts (solenoid, especially) for my existing manifold. There are four screws that hold the top on, and when you remove them, you get access to all the moving parts without having to remove the whole thing from your manifold. This is a real blessing. In operation, these work reliably. They can be cleaned and repaired when parts wear out. And the manifold itself can be left in place for decades.

These valves work well for a few years then start to have problems. Not unexpected given their inexpensive price. I am happy with the value for the price. I just keep a couple of extras on hand to deal with the failures.

Great irrigation valve system, which I have been using for many years. Glad they continue to make. Live in the desert southwest and this device has held up very well. Since buying this valve, I have only had to replace once over the last 8-10 years so I am quite happy with this device. Always have extra valves on hand just in case TORO decides to stop making this version. Excellent product.

I have a five zone system that uses these control valves. They run on City water and the diaphragms last about 15 years before they finally start to get stiff and stop working. Glad they're still manufactured and can get replacements. The nice thing about these valves is they are repairable. As long as the valve body is not cracked, you can buy a new one and unscrew the top portion that holds the diaphragm and solenoid, and do a swap with an old valve without removing it. Just unscrew the four stainless steel screws and remove all the moving parts inside and take the corresponding parts off a new valve, and put them in the old valve and screw it back together. You do have to be careful because there several small parts you have to hold up inside the top half of the valve housing as you're lowering it onto the old bottom half of the valve. Specifically there are the solenoid plunger and a spring that can easily fall out so you have to keep your fingers over them as you lower it on to the valve body. It's probably a good idea to disassemble the new valve and take an inventory of all the parts so that you're familiar with what should be there and the order they go in. Practice a little bit before you actually do the replacement and it should be pretty straightforward.

Great product. Ordered 20 of these for 20 different zones of watering lots of plants in big area.. Deliver 26volts AC (yes this uses AC, which is nice, as AC travels further, more efficiently) to each device. 24-30volts AC is best.. the device says not to go over 30Volts. All of these are working, after power is shut off it takes maybe 1-3 seconds for them to close up and stop letting water through. They close tight and have no leaking... if you have this make sure the bleed valves on the top are shut off. Also they have bleed valves! great to have in case a device breaks.

My irrigation system is probably over 20 years old and parts are finally reaching the end of their service life. Most recently one of my zone's underground valves started sticking and reducing the flow rate to the heads. They barely came out of the ground and rotated. I was pretty sure it was the diaphragm and decided to replace it. The original valve is discontinued, but a replacement was identified on the Toro site. Rather than dig up the old valve I cannibalized it and used the top half w/ the solenoid and diaphragm to slap over the already plumbed body. Fifteen minutes later it was done and I now have a flow rate not seen in years. BTW, the new part had a purge valve to blow out debris. Conclusion: The parts fit perfectly and all is good. Trickiest part was overlaying the top half of the body to the bottom while aligning the diaphragm and stainless steel plunger properly.

Naturally the return window closed 1 mont after purchase but it is defective and no way to return.