Spring loaded ball valve vs Piston valve.

[Mitchza89]

Hey guys,

Small bore piston guns are just starting to flat out annoy me so I was wondering on whats better, a ball valve yanked with a nice tough spring or a well made piston valve?

......

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

No contest, piston valves all the way

Why not make a burst disk? That's better than both of them.

[rna_duelers]

Piston anyday .Wondering what size piston valve you have in mind.

Burst discs are annoying!Leaky,fiddly,Sensitive and take a while to replace.

[Ragnarok]

Piston valve.
More reliable, more powerful, simpler...

No competition - maybe not quite as powerful as a burst disc valve, but it doesn't need you to replace it everytime - in my opinion, it's the best pneumatic valve by a mile.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Ideally you'd have no valve at all, but that leads to projectile difficulties...

[Mitchza89]

Cheers lads, thanks a mile. Gah my hands aren't what they used to be (Stupid arthritis....has a hissyfit) I might just go with a burst disk... It's all my hands can put up with these days before dying on me

[judgment_arms]

Time, she’s a cruel and unforgiving beast…
I agree I don’t have arthritis and I still can barely make a piston valve work; I think they all hate me…

My vote’s on the spring-loaded ball valve, make a new arm for it that looks like the hammer on a side lock rifle.
That’s what I’m going to do for my next cannon or two. Going to make a 3 incher and Hawken replica

[Ragnarok]

Time, she’s a cruel and unforgiving beast…
I agree I don’t have arthritis and I still can barely make a piston valve work; I think they all hate me…

Piston valves just need a little care in the making - I've made 10 working piston valves now, including one that could give a burst disk valve a pretty good run for it's money.

They're not difficult in the slightest if you're patient with them.

[judgment_arms]

I’ve tried four times, the first and forth ones the pilot valve was too small, the third had to much pilot volume, but the second one worked, only it was in my coaxial bazooka which rolled of the table.
The main problem has bean the piston, ‘cause up till recently only thing I had for pistons was hot glue.
Which reminds me, anybody know how to unstuck a piston, I my valve out in the barn and the glue melted and re-solidified gluing the piston shut…

[Mitchza89]

Eh I wish I could find some extremely thick sheet rubber (3/4-1') and stamp out my own my own solid rubber pistons. They wouldn't absorb the lube and being totally rubber, I wouldn't have sealing face problems . I think I'm definately going to have to look up this sheer rubber...

[daberno123]

I believe mcmaster has neoprene sheets and rods. The rods might be easier to use for a piston.

[BrianMigs]

How much better, would you say a piston valve is compared to a modified sprinkler valve?

I dont have the money to go out and buy new parts for a piston gun.

I have to work with what I got, and what I will have is a modifief sprinkler valve, so besides doing the blowgun mod, anything else I can do for it?

[bigbob12345]

A piston valve is quite a lot better that a sprinkler valve they have faster openig times and a lot more flow.

[Mitchza89]

How much better, would you say a piston valve is compared to a modified sprinkler valve?

I dont have the money to go out and buy new parts for a piston gun.

I have to work with what I got, and what I will have is a modifief sprinkler valve, so besides doing the blowgun mod, anything else I can do for it?

As for further modding a sprinkler valve, all you can do is make a new diaphram that will allow more flow and hold more pressure (provided you use thicker rubber). If your after a fun little plinker, sprinker valves are still a fun way to shoot

[BrianMigs]

Yeah a fun little plinker, I see all these ridiculous guns on here, and then there is my gun, with an electric sprinkler valve, an oversized chamber, and an undersized barrel,

I think modding my sprinkler valve, and adding a 42 inch 1.5" diameter barrel instead of my now 1.25" 24 inch barrel should help me out a lot, dont you think? LOL

In order of piston valves its, barrel sealing best, coaxial middle, and then chamber sealing lowest right?