SpudFiles

This is for people who have pistons that aren't completely sealing.

What would people think of molded silicone sealing faces for piston valves? I don't think its been done before, and silicone, when put pressure upon, flexes and stretches and would seal itself into any tiny inperfections in the seat of the valve, making it seal completely. I have a piston that isn't sealing 100% (leaks about 30 psi per minute), and I have a silicone sealing face in a mold as I'm typing this.
Tell me what you think.

should work noname and i havent ever seen it done before...are u going to put it on an old gun or make a new one??id like to see it toigether with the peice if i get a piston valve i might have to do it.....btw check out my first pneumatic


EDIT: just posted it

I had a similar idea a while back though I never tested it. I actually made a piston out of silicone and a grocery bag, and a golf ball for weight and filling. I lined the inside of the pipe with a plastic bag and filled it with silicone, and stuck a golf ball in it to fill in the rest.

I tryed to make one in a 2" coupling using silicone out of a caulk tube but It never dryed completely after atleast 3 weeks/wth?lol

How thick was it? The whole coupler? I'm just making discs, to bolt or glue onto the front of the piston to make it seal.

i got some silicone sheets at work ill get my dad to pick them up during the week. i cant believe i didn't think of this.

noname wrote:How thick was it? The whole coupler? I'm just making discs, to bolt or glue onto the front of the piston to make it seal.

3/8"

I wouldn't think that silicone would be strong enough to resist tearing and such.

I have an idea if someone would like to try it. Instead of a flat sealing face why not a round one? Like a rubber ball? And what if the rubber ball was connected to the piston with a short length of some heavy coil spring? I'm thinking that it would act like a diaphragm crossed with a piston.

hot damn boy. that was a good idea. i think ive seen it posted before tho

however, im not sure what you mean by the spring part, could you explain.

The spring would connect the ball to the face of the piston and allow it to center itself in the end of the barrel/valve seat. If it is a big enough piston, the spring could be a coil over shock spring from a motorbike suspension, or at least something tense enough to be able to pull the ball away from the valve seat without stretching too much. The spring doesn't have to be very long, it's just to allow for some movement so that the ball seats well. It may have been done before but it is a completely fresh idea for me.

Silicone would seal but it would also deform quite a bit under pressure in an undesireable way and with metal barrels it could get cut through.

Well, it's in the mold, I'll test it in a day (if it's dry).

well.........did it work?

Patience is a virtue.
I popped it out of the mold this morning, it was 100% dry. I'll test it and post results when I finish my homework.

$10 it will tear.........not really i don't bet money, but i think it will tear.