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Sprinkler valves keep leaking...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:29 am
by Mihlrad
Ok well.. so far ive gone through 2 sprinkler valves im not sure if i should do a third or just get a ball valve... the cost is adding up on them so... What happened the first time is i tried to hand thread it...bad idea... second time for some reason the hose adapter i used to thread it with a drill... wasnt making threads it jus made a smooth hole about 1/3 of the way till i tried a different one which made a nice leak for the blowgun. Also on the second one, it randomly began to leak air out of the sides of the valve... like where the 2 pieces of it come together. Should i just try it once more or just use a ball valve?
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:10 am
by frogy
It sounds like you have absolutely no idea how to tap a thread....
buy a thread tap and buy new top covers for your valves, they're not ruined... Use teflon tape around your fitting and make sure there's no PVC shavings inside of your valve because that causes it to leak...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:48 am
by Mihlrad
where can i buy new tops... havent seen those sold anywhere in my life...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:50 am
by spudshot
Just about any hardware store should have them. You need a 1/4" NPT tap and a 7/16" drill bit. it needs to say NPT, thats is national pipe thread, and its much different than NC or NF (national coarse or national fine)
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 12:55 pm
by Mihlrad
I used a 1/4 inch hose adapter like it says in the guide...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:06 pm
by spudshot
yea, thats the cheap ass way of doing it, you need a tap and a 7/16" drill bit
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:05 pm
by huse_spud
it sounds like taps are pretty expensive, but idk.
maybe mihlrad spun the hose adapter too fast or had too big of a hole.
when you put the hose adapter in the drill, you just press down into the pre-drilled hole on the valve lid and slowly turn the drill chuck right?
and it sounds like doing it by hand creates leaks hmmm.
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:29 pm
by spudshot
taps those size are about 5 bucks, its the bigger sizes that really kill you.
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:27 pm
by huse_spud
$5 not bad, not bad at all thanks bud.
what size? 7/16 you said?
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:29 pm
by frogy
7/16 drill bit, and a 1/4 NPT tap (they're about 1/2" diameter)