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Last weekend I connected another group of 4 zones to the central timer using my voltage converter, and because there was no convenient spot to install the converter right next to the valves I had to use longer cable.
It turned out that Orbit 91592 valve works fine when connected via 45-feet long cable to the voltage converter box. The cable is a standard 18AWG 5-wire irrigation cable, nothing special. Also I found that 18AWG solid copper wires (as used in the sprinkler cable) are quite good for inserting directly into the Orbit valve custom connectors - I just put some electrical tape on the top and it is done.
Resistance of the 18AWG wire for 45 feet is about 0.3 Ohm each way (0.6 ohm total) which is not that high since the voltage I'm using to trigger the valve is 24 volt and there is healthy margin here. It will be interesting to try 100 feet cable, it should work.
This actually increases the appeal of using relays in the irrigation timer instead of thyristors, since these relays can directly drive Orbit DC valves (using the same simple circuit) and in many cases the wire length will be sufficient to directly connect valves to the central timer.
It turned out that Orbit 91592 valve works fine when connected via 45-feet long cable to the voltage converter box. The cable is a standard 18AWG 5-wire irrigation cable, nothing special. Also I found that 18AWG solid copper wires (as used in the sprinkler cable) are quite good for inserting directly into the Orbit valve custom connectors - I just put some electrical tape on the top and it is done.
Resistance of the 18AWG wire for 45 feet is about 0.3 Ohm each way (0.6 ohm total) which is not that high since the voltage I'm using to trigger the valve is 24 volt and there is healthy margin here. It will be interesting to try 100 feet cable, it should work.
This actually increases the appeal of using relays in the irrigation timer instead of thyristors, since these relays can directly drive Orbit DC valves (using the same simple circuit) and in many cases the wire length will be sufficient to directly connect valves to the central timer.