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Sprinkler Valve Troubleshooting

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:46 pm
by Vincente
The sprinkler valve on my tennis ball cannon won't close. The air goes right through the valve.

These are pictures of the cannon, the valve with the first blowgun setup (no bleed screw), the valve with the second blowgun setup (bleed screw), the valve itself, the valve without the diaphram, and the valve and the diaphram.

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I think it might have something to do with the white thing on the diaphram.

Please help! Anything would be appreciated.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:29 am
by theregoesthewindow
Did you put the spring in? That might be the problem. The white thing is the equilization port I think. The Wiki recomends that you clean out the valve and check for any plastic chips or something else clogging the valve.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:49 pm
by Vincente
The spring is in, and the valve isn't clogged.

Are you sure that's what the white thing is?
Here are two pictures that show the white thing (I wish I knew what it is).

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/723/img38959fp.jpg

http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/1858/img38902bm.jpg

BTW, the valve I'm using is a Rainbird CP-100 for anyone who has ever used one before.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:30 pm
by theregoesthewindow
I haven't used that exact type of valve before but the wiki mentions a white thing here
http://www.spudfiles.com/spud_wiki/inde ... dification
but I haven't worked with either of the valves, so maybe I shouldn't be talking.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:40 pm
by Vincente
That's the white peice! Thanks a lot, you just explained one of my problems. I'll just remove the white peice.

Now all I need to know is why my valve won't close. When I try to pump it up (pressurize it), the air goes right through the valve and out the barrel.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:33 pm
by nicholai
well, for one unscrew the solenoid and plug up the hole with some epoxy, then make sure your diaphragm has no rips tears or obvious sign of damage or manufacturer faults. Also make sure your blowgun mod isnt leaking at all (fill the chamber with water/air and pressurize, look for wet bubbly leaks)

im not 100% sure but i think you can remove the flow control knob and thread the blowgun directly into that instead of the side.

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:38 pm
by King-o-PVC
u might not have high enought pressure going in, u need to get a good bit of pressure on it quick or it wont hold

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:25 pm
by Shrimphead
Ya, King-O is right, I heard sprinkler valves need at least 20 psi to seal the diaphragm.

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:55 am
by nicholai
larger air chamber tanks forgetting to replace the spring, and damage are the most common reasons why a diaphragm wont seal

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:44 pm
by Vincente
Thanks a ton, guys.

Because of your help I finally got it to seal and my cannon works like a charm.

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:01 am
by MadSkillzMan
i know this threads old, BUT

i have the same valve, and im going to do a coaxial piston gun, and im going to have the same problem

What did you do exactly? And where could i get a bigger spring if needed? or could i just stack something under it to give it more push?

and can i get a yay or nay on running the blow gun thorugh that hole on the top? the how to on modding valves says it wont work

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:55 pm
by Shrimphead
You won't need a bigger spring, the one that's built into will work fine. The problem is that sometimes when people mod their valves, they forget to put the spring back in.

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:29 pm
by sam_516
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turn it into a pneumatic modded sprinkler valuve it takes longer to reload but i have had no problems with myn and my gun kicks arse