For whatever reason I've been having a very high failure rate on these lately. My first guess is that they are now made in China. I see them start going bad just a couple of days or weeks after putting them online. Anyone else seeing this?
Blue and gray foot valves
- Thread starter mac
- Start date
Bob Koo
Member
Just happened Recently?
I know the Blue Foot Valves are suppose to have Viton seats and the Grey's are Buna. Supposedly separated in Use between Alkalines and Acid based products.
Are you having problems with Both, when just replacing them with normal failure?
I know the Blue Foot Valves are suppose to have Viton seats and the Grey's are Buna. Supposedly separated in Use between Alkalines and Acid based products.
Are you having problems with Both, when just replacing them with normal failure?
Jimmy Buffett
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I had a lot of trouble with the gray ones. I assumed that I just had a bad batch. Installed one yesterday from a different order so we will see.
Buzzie8
Member
My understanding was that grey was for aggressive chemicals, pre-soaks, etc. and blue was for non-aggressive triple foams, waxes, etc.. I have had some trouble with them lately too. I assumed I could use gray in the non-aggressive as well. Who manufacturer's them for KR?
JustClean
Active member
I had problems with the grey ones years ago and replaced them with the blue ones and haven't had a problem for the last 3 years.
Reds
Member
I tried gray in all my chemical tanks. Had trouble with them in the wax tanks, so I am switching back to blue in the wax tanks.
madscientist
Member
Blue for acid (wax). Gray for alkaline. Grays will not last when using with wax, in my experience.
Kimberly Berg
Well-known member
When I got into the carwash industry 11 years ago, I was told that the GRAY foot valves were more chemical resistant than the BLUE ones, and to just use the GRAY ones for all my chemicals (degreaser, presoak, soap, wax), to simplify my inventory. However, I too have been noticing that my GRAY foot valves don't last as long as they used to.
According to the Kleen-Rite catalog the GRAY foot valves uses an EPDM seal (for soap &wax), while the BLUE foot valve uses a Viton seal (for white wall, butyl, alkalis). I did some Google research and found that the Viton seals are made by Dupont and designed to be very chemical resistant. When I spoke to Kleen-rite yesterday, they confirmed my findings and told me that the BLUE foot valves are MORE chemical resistant than the GRAY ones. When I asked if they were from China, he didn't know, but said they purchased them from a company in Ohio. Based on this information, I ordered some BLUE foot valves with the Viton seal, and am planning to use them exclusively from now on.
According to the Kleen-Rite catalog the GRAY foot valves uses an EPDM seal (for soap &wax), while the BLUE foot valve uses a Viton seal (for white wall, butyl, alkalis). I did some Google research and found that the Viton seals are made by Dupont and designed to be very chemical resistant. When I spoke to Kleen-rite yesterday, they confirmed my findings and told me that the BLUE foot valves are MORE chemical resistant than the GRAY ones. When I asked if they were from China, he didn't know, but said they purchased them from a company in Ohio. Based on this information, I ordered some BLUE foot valves with the Viton seal, and am planning to use them exclusively from now on.
