sprinkler mod

dobieharris · Sun May 06, 2007 5:46 pm

i want to mod my sprinkler valve.does anyone know if i can just screw in a brass plug in place of where i remove the electric solenoid or do i have to cover both holes with epoxy?what if i leave the solenoid in place even though im using a blowgun mod.i dont understand if i need to cover those holes individually with epoxy or can they just be sealed by threading in a brass plug to cover them up,to take place of where the solenoid was?

Panzerfaust · Sun May 06, 2007 5:58 pm

You can leave the solonoid in place, it will seal the hole but it takes up some room. you only have to seal the hole that the solonoid sits on, the other leads to the barrel i believe. epoxy works to seal it if u remove it as under the solonoid is a very very small hole. Just so you know, if that really is a picture of you valve then you might not be able to modify it. if that post in the center is just flow control then you can cut it off, but if your valve has an integral guide rode i dont think you can modify it.

pyromaniac · Sun May 06, 2007 6:01 pm

don't take the solenoid out. theres a little switch on the other side of the sprinkler that you can flip to make it sound really funny like an air horn.

or am i just thinking of watermasters?

keep_it_real · Sun May 06, 2007 6:07 pm

I have a rainbird but its a different style and it doesn't have a manual switch so I doubt this kind does.

dobie: Didn't you just post the same thing on a different thread???

Once again, use epoxy and cover both holes. Take the top off and glue from the inside too.

dobieharris · Sun May 06, 2007 6:10 pm

ive seen this one modified by "juicy" if you look at his topic" my tennis ball pneumatic".the black post you see sticking up unscrews with a small hole underneath it.i took the housing off and it does not use a guide rod,only a spring in the middle,directly underneath the hole i would have to drill.so,im sure it can be moded,but my real question is,if i remove the solenoid,can i just screw in a brass plug to cover where the solenoid was?im not exactly sure how the solenoid works,does it keep the small hole underneath it closed untill activated?if so,then i fugure if i remove the solenoid,then i most plug off the hole.anyone with experience on modding,please help.thanks.

keep_it_real · Sun May 06, 2007 6:18 pm

When you mod a sprinkler valve, you are letting the air out through a valve that you have (blowgun, ball valve, or whatever). The solenoid also lets air out to open the sprinkler valve. Unfortunately, it does this a little slow. To change that, you have to have a pilot valve that release air faster than the solenoid. Once you have done this, the solenoid is useless. You can put a brass plug or use epoxy. I don't now if the solenoid threads are the same as npt though. Epoxy will work perfectly fine. That is what most people do.

dobieharris · Sun May 06, 2007 6:19 pm

mine does not have a manual switch and i did post this with no real answer to my question.im looking for someone that knows about moding a sprinkler valve.a simple question to anyone who has experience in it:can i thread in a brass plug in place of where the solenoid is removed or do the two small holes underneath the solenoid need to be epoxied?i saw a beer cap stuffed in one on here,can i do the same with a threaded plug or do i need to seal off both holes from each other?in other words,if i thread in a plug,then the two holes are able open to each other,but closed to contain air within or do i need to plug them both off so that they are closed to each other and that would still contain air within?

Panzerfaust · Sun May 06, 2007 6:25 pm

Yes you would need to seal the holes from each other. If i remember correctly the second hole vents to the air-out end of the valve. if that was not sealed from the other hole the gun would leak out of the hole, and if pressure rose high enough (not sure how high, but probably not very) then that leak would allow the diapraghm to blow back, essentialy firing the gun. OR you could just leave the solonoid in, OR you could only seal the hole that the solonoid sealed. this hole should be higher up than the other and in the center. as long as the first hole is sealed you SHOULD NOT have to seal the second.

dobieharris · Sun May 06, 2007 6:42 pm

thanks for the info,maybe the only way to find out for sure is to try it.i have yet to build the gun,ive been doing nothing but research first.the only part i have is the valve right now.when i find the answer,i will post for all to see.i dont like the idea of epoxy,as its kinda ghetto to me,so id like to plug it off with something else,loose the bulky solenoid.thanks.

Intel Xeon · Sun May 06, 2007 6:49 pm

@ Panzerfaust
If you were to only seal the hole leading to the pilot area, a negligible amount of power would be lost by the uncovered hole. Also, a minor correction. The hole that is on the outer rim of the solenoid hole is the one that is required to be sealed (on the rainbird models CP-75 and CP-100 anyways)

iPaintball · Sun May 06, 2007 7:01 pm

A brass plug would do the same thing as a solenoid in the "open" position. You HAVE to seal the holes or else the valve will exhaust as soon as you fill the chamber.

pyrogeek · Sun May 06, 2007 7:30 pm

Yeah, just use epoxy. I had used the wrong type the first time apparently. After I left the gun out in the cold, air was leaking out of the top where the epoxy met the plastic of the valve. So I ended up having to dremel some epoxy and plastic out, and new epoxy. Since then it has worked just fine though.

Intel Xeon · Sun May 06, 2007 7:42 pm

@ Pneu

That is not entirely true. If you do not seal the hole leading to the barrel, the only adverse effect is a little bit of air discharging out of the hole when firing.
However, if you do not seal the pilot hole, the valve will not seal at all and a hollow sound will ensue.

Also, I find that oatey brand steel epoxy putty matches rainbird valves well when combined properly.

paddo · Mon May 07, 2007 6:42 am

i just modded a valve that is very similar to that the other day. the black rod on the top is a flow control and i took that out and used the hole from that (made it a bit bigger) to put the male to male fitting into to connect my blowgun / ballvalve onto. and filled the solenoid hole up with epoxy.. my solenoid hole had a couple of holes in it actually one from above the diaphragm into the solenoid port an another that i think would lead to the 'barrel' and one from the manual switch.

not sure if this is normal but i just filled up every hole in it and added the fitting. it seals perfectly and opens quickly.

i dont think you will find a brass fitting that will be the same thread as the solenoid. and unless the plug actually seals against the hole that the solenoid opened and closed then it wouldn't work anyway. really you have to seal the actual little hole that it covered not just the big one with the thread for the solenoid.

good luck hope i helped