Spot free regulator leaking water

[OurTown]

Yet another issue. It's been non stop with issues lately. This time it is the Paraplate regulator leaking water. There is a hole at the one end (time to rebuild indicator?) that has been leaking more and more for months. It started off to spit water only a tiny bit when we were busy. It has now gotten to the point now where it is leaking a bit more and also when nothing is running. The other day I put a 5 gal bucket under it but it was just a few oz or so per day. Today the bucket was almost full and we only had a few customers. It was dripping a few drops per second and also the water looks rusty. Our spot free storage tank is underground so where is all this water coming from? Why is it rusty? I have an o-ring kit for the regulator but before I replace them I want make sure everything else is okay. The Cat 1010 is feeding a 3/8 line to a check valve then a manifold to three solenoid valves to 1/4" hoses for each of the three bays. The regulator is set for 400 psi. Someone told us when we bought this place last year that after 15 years car washes start to fall apart. Just our luck it was built in 2003. Good thing we got it cheap.

 

[JGinther]

You have a car wash. 15 years vs 1 year - hardly makes any difference. The rust is from the spring in the regulator. Its rusting from the water leaking past the seal into the spring chamber. Next time your in the car wash - look around and count the parts. All of them break. And some of them aren't made right in the first place.

 

[OurTown]

The rust is from the spring in the regulator. Its rusting from the water leaking past the seal into the spring chamber

Should we replace it too?

 

[slash007]

You can rebuild it if the insides are not worn out. Rebuild kits are cheap and I am able to rebuild them twice before I have to replace the whole thing. Car washes fall apart anytime. I wish everything lasted 15 years.

 

[OurTown]

It just amazes me how many things that we are replacing are original but then again there are a lot of parts.

 

[MEP001]

I assume the regulator is on a Cat 390 pump, which means it's a Paraplate BR10-1. Kleen-Rite has the repair kit for $11 (REBR10K) on their site, but I couldn't find the spring kit. They list a REBR10SK but it is NOT the right one for your regulator. The spring kit is just conical washers stacked alternately and can be cleaned of rust, oiled and put back in.

 

[OurTown]

I assume the regulator is on a Cat 390 pump

Cat 1010.

which means it's a Paraplate BR10-1

Yes.

Kleen-Rite has the repair kit for $11 (REBR10K)

I have that right now but have not tried to put it in yet.

 

[OurTown]

Are you supposed to put a particular type of oil in these when rebuilding them?

 

[MEP001]

No, just something to stop it from rusting at least until the next time it begins to leak. I clean them with WD-40 and give it an extra spray after I reassemble it on the stem.

 

[OurTown]

Is there anything tricky about these? I don't have a spare so our spot free would be down if it doesn't go smoothly.

 

[MEP001]

Just be careful when you're reassembling it, and pay attention to where the backup ring is when you take it apart. The backup ring will want to come off the piston when you're putting it together. I use silicone grease on the o-rings, I don't know what they recommend. I know they're expensive ($154 from Kleen-Rite) but I'd recommend replacing it and rebuilding the old one.

 

[MEP001]

I'll put this here since it pertains to this pump. I finally found and compared parts with the 623 and 1010 and updated the list.

(3) 14158 - Cotter Pin
(6) 25392 - Sleeve O-Ring
(3) 29003 - Sleeve Backup Ring
(6) 26969 - Cylinder O-Ring
(3) 28204 - Cylinder Backup Ring (Not needed for 1010)
(3) 26966 - Valve Seat O-Ring
(3) 43062 - Valve Seat Backup Ring
(3) 43172 - Piston Cup (27815 for 1010)
(3) 30544 - Bac-Cup Ring (Not needed for 1010)
(3) 30543 - Bac-Cup Piston (Optional) (27814 for 1010)

I wrote "optional" on the 30543 because you can reuse them. Kleen-Rite's video recommends three kits which totals about $340. A lot of the parts in the kits don't usually go bad, but it's a good idea to have a set of sleeves, pistons and valves in case something is worn or scored.

 

[2Biz]

Are you supposed to put a particular type of oil in these when rebuilding them?

I have Paraplate BR 5 regulators to replace my Giant Regulators when they fail. The instructions just say to use light oil. But researching further online, the best oil for o'rings is silicone oil or silicone grease like Sil Glyde. . So I figured silicone oil would be perfect to fill the regulator with.... Not only keep the o'rings wet, but to also keep the spring washers from rusting. I just need one of the Giants to fail before I find out if it works. I bought Super Lube Part number 56104...

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-5...d=1543540183&sr=8-2&keywords=super+lube+56104

 

[MEP001]

The regulator doesn't get water in it until it leaks, at which point it's just going to push all the oil out. IMO you don't need to fill it with oil, just something to keep the washers from rusting from ambient air humidity.

Sil Glyde is really thick, I can't imagine it's too thick for lubing o-rings - I usually use dielectric tuneup grease which is the same as silicone o-ring lube but non-conductive and for some reason cheaper, not to mention you can get it at almost any auto parts store.

 

[2Biz]

I agree to a point mep….My thoughts were to take each of the regulators apart and coat the stem and spring washers with the silicone oil. Then when I install, put about 1/4 inch of the silicone oil in the regulator to help keep the pressure oring lubed, at least on the oil side....I can't help but think this will help keep that oring from sticking and keep from wearing out faster....Actually I'm surprised there is only one High Pressure oring????


Thoughts?

 

[MEP001]

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to put silicone oil in it. I've rebuilt them at the first sign of leaking and there was no rust on the spring washers, and there's no oil on them when new.