SpudFiles

First of, i would like to say that i searched the forum and i looked at the basic help on this subject, but my valve is still not working. I am using a 1 inch rainbird sprinkler valve on my pneumatic cannon, but the problem is it's leeking air into the barrel. The air is not flowing fully, but there is a smalll amount coming out, enough to stop the gun from actuallly presurizing. I washed and cleaned the diaphraagm, it doesnt appear to be defective either. The pilot valve is in, teflon wrapped, my solenoid is clogged, everything appears fine, but it doesn't work. Any ideas?

Also, on the diaphragm there is a little plastic filter piece. Is that my problem?Is that suposd to b there?

http://www.watertips.com/images/RBproDia.gif

Edited by jrrdw.

How are you filling the chamber? Some sprinkler valves require a minimum pressure to seal and won't seal if you're filling too slowly.

mhhhh....i just built the gun, and i was doing prelimainary testing on the valve and such with a small bike pump to check if everything was working okay...ill try with a bigger pump then, thnx. Ill post later wether it worked or not...

Is that "filter" bit stuck in the diaphragm, it looks like some sort of equilisation hole.

yea, it goes right through the diaphragm

You need to be able to fill the chamber quickly, a bigger pump might or might not help you. These valves do break in and get easier to use. Try squirting a little bit of water into it to get the diaphram wet, sometimes that helps. Also make sure the arrow is pointed towards the barrel, (you'd be surprised how many make that mistake).

Welcome to Spudfiles.

it most likely isb't that you filling the chamber too slow the usually problem when air is leaking out the barrel is there is debris where the diaphram seals, pvc shavings are usually the culprit take apart the valve and clean it real well and the try it again that should fix the problem .

He did that.

I washed and cleaned the diaphraagm, it doesnt appear to be defective either

does anybody know what that lil filter thing is there for/is it suposd top b there?

Dreydor wrote:does anybody know what that lil filter thing is there for/is it suposd top b there?

Its purpose is to prevent debris or foreign particles from clogging the equalization hole when used as a sprinkler valve.

When used for pneumatic use, it is usually removed for better performance. At least this is true on an Orbit valve.

Ok, so i will remove the filter from my orbit cuz maybe its leaking ther