Kerick Valve MA052 PVC Mini Float Valve, Tank Mount, Adjustable Arm, 1.5 gpm at 60 psi, 1/2" NPT Male

Quality float valve, barely distinguishable from the Chinese copies but I trust the brand that actual plumbers use. Replaced the cracked valve in our backyard water feature that's fed by our lawn & garden irrigation system. Just had to put a little silicone grease on the threads and screw it in by hand.

My supply pipe coming out of the pool, flush on the wall tiles is 1/2". So I buy a 1/2" barb fitting male NPT, 70 cents lowe's. Soften the barb fitting on a trial scrap 1/2" pipe to reduce the barb diameter, or you can sand the barb with drill chuck to the id of barb fitting, around .010 bigger over the 1/2" pipe ID. (Do Not Drill the pool pipe ID to make it bigger, you need a smooth weld when you apply a primer and glue on pipe for water pressure application integrity, wait about 2 hrs. Connect a 1/2" elbow then the kerick valve, so the whole unit is parallel to the wall of the pool for less obstruction. I have it installed for about a 2 weeks now, set about halfway or middle of the mouth of the skimmer, with stable height the whole two weeks. Usually my pool go down 1/2" every 2 days, then I fill it up, about 30-45 minutes with timer, until the middle of mouth of skimmer. The water ball valve on the faucet is set on the low opening to avoid overfill just in case this kerrick valve malfunction. The thread on this is not a standard 1/2" NPT, but that 2 turn is enough, with the help of a provided nut, no leak, so no problem for me.

I wanted a water holding tank and used a 20 gallon Husky Garbage can, mounted this on it and it works just fine. I use the water with a very weak solution of fertilizer to water my 80 plus orchids and other plants. I had to use a couple of sturdy plastic plates to solidify the installation because the weight of the hose would buckle the area where it's mounted. But once that was done, it works just fine. October 28th, 2015 addendum: I think that something like this would also work great for adding water to an aquarium or fish tank. If the water coming out of your tap is chlorinated, letting it sit for a while will help dissipate the chlorine. This could also work as an emergency self filling water tank. Here in Hawaii, we are constantly warned about the possibility of a hurricane. A 33 gallon CLEAN garbage can filled with water would certainly help in an emergency. Just leave the cover on to keep dust and debris from getting into it. Actually, if you think hard enough, there are a lot of possibilities with this.

This thing is much smaller than I had pictured in my mind. The whole assembly is barely longer than my open hand, so it can fit into tight spaces for a fountain project, or in a sump to maintain water level in a swimming pool. The description here at Amazon.com is nonsense, giving its length as 1 inch: The actual overall length is about 7.5 inches, or 6.5 inches from the mounting flange to the tip of the float, worst case. (See the second vendor-supplied image with the valve photographed against an inch grid for a better understanding of its actual size.) With allowance for installation and adjustment, the valve could be squeezed into a space as small as 8 inches by 2 inches. If installed in a bulkhead, the mounting surface should be flat and no thicker than about 0.25 inch, to allow enough thread protrusion on the outside to attach a threaded pipe fitting. Bulkhead mounting is optional: The male pipe thread on the valve is slightly tapered and can be screwed into any female pipe thread fitting, using Teflon tape on the threads for a watertight seal I gauged the valve orifice with a drill rod at 0.094 inch (3/32 inch) diameter, which accounts for the low flow rate specification. You may not want to fill a swimming pool with it from scratch, but for a typical backyard pool it will allow more than enough water to flow to compensate for evaporation loss. The float arm pivots on a stainless steel cotter pin, so it could easily be disassembled, should the need arise, although at the low cost of the assembly it may be more economical to replace it entirely. Depending on the placement of the valve, the float can be adjusted over a liquid level range of at least 4 inches, possibly as much as 6 inches, by loosening the stainless steel wing nut. One of these valves was successfully used to maintain the water level in a neighbor's swimming pool last summer during a month-long absence. See the customer photo that I posted, showing the minimalist installation with a few pieces of PVC plastic plumbing, an ordinary brick and a garden hose. The only problem I encountered was the hose of the automatic pool sweep once getting hung up on the valve, keeping it open continuously. Because of the restricted flow, no flooding occurred by the time I discovered the problem the next day. If I use it next summer again, I'll mount the valve with some sort of bumper or "fence" around it to keep the pool sweep hose clear, and I'll replace the leaky plastic hose fitting with a sturdier brass fitting.

Make sure you know the size of the pipe and threads you need.

The valves last welll for months, but then the seal, a 1/4" white plastic, nail-shaped part, is prone to internal bubbles full of water, which make the valves suddenly begin to leak badly, wasting water. The seals are difficult to replace down in our swimming pool filler sump, so I replace the whole valve. ...but proper molding by the manufacturer would have been much better. They the seals appear to have been molded with air bubbles, which eventually fill with water under pressure, so the seal grows a flexible lump. ...which you can break with a pin, and water comes out. I would replace with different brand, but all these small valves seem to have the same form. ...appear to be made, maybe, by the same maker.

Kerick Valve MA052 PVC Mini Float Valve - Bought Mar 2020 - $16.25 UPDATED DEC 2023 Very Happy with this float valve. I am using it in an automatic watering system for the family dogs. It is installed inside our home near the back door so leakage is a concern. I measured the water supply pressure and found it to be 50 - 55 psi. Installed it just over 3 1/2 years ago now and no issues so far, all the parts are original and the water looks like it is the same level as when I first set it up. Simple and effective design. I thought that I would try one of these, as I had already replaced 2 of the float valves that came with my automatic watering bowl. They were failing around the 6 month mark. (seal would become deformed and water would not shut off completely)

I have had this valve for nearly a year and it is perfect. It fills up my pond to the proper level and shuts off. The size fits in the palm of your hand and thus could be hidden very easily. There is little noise to the operation when it is topping up your water level and when it shuts off, there is no noise. Very simple to install, this is a DIY set-up...that is how simple it is. I would buy this again if needed.

Had purchased a small garden fountain but it was a pain keeping it topped up with water. A very hot day meant a lot of evaporation, a rainy day added water. Had considered adding it to my regular watering system, but that always added the same amount each day so did not work. I then purchased this float valve and hooked it up to a low pressure line that was permanently on and this works perfectly! Only thing I did to the valve was to paint the float black so it was hard see under the water! Simple and cheap solution.

On verra après un hiver…

Bought it to feed sap to the maple syrup evaporator. Works great as expected, just might of went with bigger pipe ID because it has trouble keeping up to my boil rate. I just help it along 30 to 40 minutes instead. Nice to know it won't overflow though.