SpudFiles

I bought a 2" PVC ball valve to vent my chamber. It is very difficult to open and close. I tryed to lubricate with oil and it did not help. Are ball valves normally this hard to open and close? Maybe a smaller one would open easier.

Hey pibster, you must be weak! (jk's)
Sometimes it helps if you remove to handle and place the shaft inside a hand drill, press button, revolve the ball for a couple hundred rpm for a while (maybe 5 secs), remove drill, replace handle, lube, and use.
Luck much grasshopper.

It looks as if this ball valve is a solid piece. We were unable to even close the valve once with our hands. Maybe I just got a bad valve. They had to special order it so I couldn't try another one.

Pibster wrote:It looks as if this ball valve is a solid piece. We were unable to even close the valve once with our hands. Maybe I just got a bad valve. They had to special order it so I couldn't try another one.

No your valve is good...those 2"ers are pretty stiff. I've seen people screw on a longer handle just to get some leverage.

I use 1" PVC ball valves for air intake. Coupled with a running mix/intake fan, that is plenty large enough. With the fan running, I can air out the chamber in 5 seconds or so, no problem.

BTW, the vent should be used as an intake...and the gases should expel from the breech/barrel side of the chamber.

OK. I will try a smaller valve. Thanks for the help.

Pibster wrote:OK. I will try a smaller valve. Thanks for the help.

Here's how I mounted my 1" valves...

metal ball valves work pretty good.. you can do it with one finger

I wanted plastic to help keep the weight down. I guess a smaller 1" metal valve would weigh the same as a 2" PVC.