Gray Foot valve failure

[Earl Weiss]

Years ago went from the ble foot valve to the Gray plastic ones due to what eemed like a high frequency of failure ith the Blue ones. Now seem to have a high rate of failures with gray ones with various products from soaps to Drying agents.

Wondering if there was a bad batch. Anyone else having issues?

 

[MEP001]

Some products eat up the blue ones, some eat up the gray ones. You may have to use trial and error to see which ones last longer with which chemicals and mark it on the equipment for future replacements.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

This is just what a soap person told me. The foot valve should be in a vertical position- if on it's side on the bottom they tend to curl the membrane and then leak.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Some products eat up the blue ones, some eat up the gray ones. You may have to use trial and error to see which ones last longer with which chemicals and mark it on the equipment for future replacements.

well, since I have been using the same products with gray ffort valves which until the last 12 months or so seemed to last a year and sometimes now not even a month, I still don't see a solution, but it seems no one else is having issues.

 

[Reds]

I have to assume that the grey ones are more made in China junk. A couple of years ago they lasted about a year, as Earl said. Now they are going bad constantly. I read that the grey ones were for harsher chemicals. Not sure if that's correct or not, but in my opinion they are all junk.

 

[RykoPro]

I get mine from Ryko and have used them for over 20 years. Its the only chemical foot valve I have found that will last for years. They have a removable screen you can clean. I can send you a picture of it if you would like.

 

[Waxman]

This is just what a soap person told me. The foot valve should be in a vertical position- if on it's side on the bottom they tend to curl the membrane and then leak.

How does one keep it vertical in a drum of soap????

 

[Washmee]

How does one keep it vertical in a drum of soap????

Take a piece of PVC pipe(1.5"), cut it so that its around 6 inches taller than the drum. Cut some V shaped slots on one end of the pipe. Insert the suction line into the pipe with the footvalve at the slotted end. Stick the pipe into the barrel. I'll try to post a picture later.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I've never heard about keeping the valve vertical and have never attempted to accomplish it. What I have had a problem with over the years is the hose curling and the vavle getting up out of the chemical and sucking air. I easily cured this by sliding a piece of 3/4 PVC conduit over the hose. I cut it just shorter than the barrel so I can thread the hose through the knock-out in the bung. This also keeps the valve somewhat vertical, although I think that is BS.

 

[MEP001]

I've seen the 3/4" PVC trick done too; simple and perfectly effective. A friend invented a "Cricket shield" which is just a 1 1/2" PVC cap, a couple of barbs and a piece of hose just long enough to reach the bottom of the pail. The cap keeps bugs out of the chemica, the valve sits at the bottom to suck the pail empty and the hose can't curl. I agree that the valve lying on its side making the diaphragm curl sounds like BS.

I once drove 300 miles to correct the problem of the extra hose pushed all the way into the pails until the foot valves came up out of the chemicals. All they could tell me was that nothing was getting soap.