Molexs and Inspo valves

Mdemon · 19th February 2007, 19:12

Thought these might be of interest. The first is about emergency replacement of molex connectors and the second is just for interest and is about what an Inspo valve looks like in bits. Grateful for any comment/observations.

Replacing molex connectors - belt and braces

Stripping an Inspo valve

John

fubari · 20th February 2007, 05:33

Quote: (Originally Posted by mdemon)

Thought these might be of interest. The first is about emergency replacement of molex connectors and the second is just for interest and is about what an Inspo valve looks like in bits. Grateful for any comment/observations.
Replacing molex connectors - belt and braces
Stripping an Inspo valve

I can't comment on the molex-one; the hot-glue looks like fun, but is it overkill on an inspiration head?

The valve-one is timely; I'm actively researching that now.

Quote:

I normally give the valve a tap with a rubber mallet to loosen it.

You're talking about "tapping" the handwheel, yes? I'm lead to believe that is bad - a delicate bit of machining there (I'm guessing there is a good reason this thread has some popularity: valve removal tool ).
Hmm... I wonder what the consequences of tapping are?
Stripping the valve-stem's threading?
Making the stem off-center so it doesn't seat doesn't seal flush?

Quote:

The "proper" way is something like locking the cylinder body and using a big spanner on the solid parts of the valve. Short of trapping the cylinder between the pavement and the wheels of a car, I can't keep the cylinder still enough, so I (risk damaging the valve and) whack it with the rubber hammer.

Wedging it up against a car-wheel? What about a pipe-wrench, with the snug-it-down long-strap-kind-of-thing (yeah, I'm getting all technical). I could see setting that on the floor in a way that when the cylinder starts to roll, the pipe-wrench would oppose it (hmmm... I'm starting to think that I should sign up for one of those valve-removal-tools).

If using a spanner, I'm guessing that putting a yoke-adapter inset would help the valve's brass resist the torque. I'm also willing to bet the force should be on the valve's face and back, not sides, to avoid bending it.

Quote:

In this case, my hammer had gone AWOL, so I took the plastic knob off and gave it a tap with a lead weight. (Certified technicians will be cringing now.)

Cringing? Whatver for?

Quote:

You take the plastic knob off using a wide screwdriver with a slot cut in it. Or you use a smaller screwdriver in one half of the slot, but you risk buggering up the slot. I put the valve back in for the next bit.

This link about cylinder service showed up on my thread about sourcing valve parts. Turns out APD doesn't have a service manual for their valves. The exploded-parts line drawing diagram (end of prev link) seems nice, though.

As for the followup post on oxygen service w/brass seats, perhaps AP valve seats use teflon instead of nylon? Or something else along these lines - anybody know for sure? (excerpt from CONVERTING DIVE TANKS FOR OXYGEN SERVICE):

Quote:

Most scuba valves contain seats made of Nylon 6/6 which is not
considered to be very oxygen-compatible. While Nylon 6/6 does
have marginal oxygen-compatibility, field use has shown that
pure oxygen and oxy-rich Nitrox slowly vaporizes that material,
often resulting in a complete seat failure. Some manufacturers
provide alternate seats containing recognized oxygen-compatible
materials such as 8 Page 9 KEL-F. For example, Sherwood valve
seats (Sherwood #3506-9K) contain Kel-F polymer, which will fit
many valves that Sherwood-Selpac produced for other distributors
over the years

I will say it sounds like you did a fair job of cleaning it.
If it was going into oxygen-service (and being the paranoid fellow I am, I would say that partial-pressure diluent blending would apply), I would say handling with gloves (latex? nitrile?) to keep body oil off the cleaned parts would be a good idea.

Anyway, I'm getting ready to take my first run at this at this, so I'll stand back and wait for critiques of my critique so I can learn too.
John G.

Mdemon · 20th February 2007, 10:00

Glad you found it useful. The Inspo head thing - it has to be robust being DIY. And with the speed of corrosion being higher on the non-Inspo cable, all the bases needed to be covered.

I have seen cylinders clamped in a vice-like affair at a service shop. I like the idea of the large pipe wrench. You can get wrenches with straps to remove oil filters in cars. I guess you could use one of those too. With the tap thing you just need to hold it steady with your other hand - no clamping usually necessary.

I remove the knob and hit the valve, not the spindle. Unless the thing is completely stuck and then I take the risk. I've seen many people, including sevice techs, just hit the thing with the rubber mallet. It's just a sharp tap to unstick the valve from the o-ring. Rather like the roll-technique using one of Routely's removal tools. ("Plug Tax" John - that's a beer you owe me...

)

I would never hit anywhere near the DIN threads because if you do, you run the serious risk of deforming them and you'll never get your regs in! I used to have a huge adjustable spanner (wrench) which would fit around the main body of the valve so wouldn't deform anything. I used to tap that with the hammer, rather than the valve itself. Thinking about it, I could have used the Roll technique with this too, but the salt air killed the spanner before I heard of it. Routley's Truncheon would seem to be the best solution for this. (And another one, John

)

19th February 2007, 19:12	#1 (permalink)
Mdemon SiegeEngine II Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Home Build Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SWUK Posts: 1,946	Molexs and Inspo valves Thought these might be of interest. The first is about emergency replacement of molex connectors and the second is just for interest and is about what an Inspo valve looks like in bits. Grateful for any comment/observations. Replacing molex connectors - belt and braces Stripping an Inspo valve John Last edited by Mdemon : 19th February 2007 at 21:21.
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20th February 2007, 05:33	#2 (permalink)
fubari New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 113	Re: Molexs and Inspo valves Quote: (Originally Posted by mdemon) Thought these might be of interest. The first is about emergency replacement of molex connectors and the second is just for interest and is about what an Inspo valve looks like in bits. Grateful for any comment/observations. Replacing molex connectors - belt and braces Stripping an Inspo valve I can't comment on the molex-one; the hot-glue looks like fun, but is it overkill on an inspiration head? The valve-one is timely; I'm actively researching that now. Quote: I normally give the valve a tap with a rubber mallet to loosen it. You're talking about "tapping" the handwheel, yes? I'm lead to believe that is bad - a delicate bit of machining there (I'm guessing there is a good reason this thread has some popularity: valve removal tool ). Hmm... I wonder what the consequences of tapping are? Stripping the valve-stem's threading? Making the stem off-center so it doesn't seat doesn't seal flush? Quote: The "proper" way is something like locking the cylinder body and using a big spanner on the solid parts of the valve. Short of trapping the cylinder between the pavement and the wheels of a car, I can't keep the cylinder still enough, so I (risk damaging the valve and) whack it with the rubber hammer. Wedging it up against a car-wheel? What about a pipe-wrench, with the snug-it-down long-strap-kind-of-thing (yeah, I'm getting all technical). I could see setting that on the floor in a way that when the cylinder starts to roll, the pipe-wrench would oppose it (hmmm... I'm starting to think that I should sign up for one of those valve-removal-tools). If using a spanner, I'm guessing that putting a yoke-adapter inset would help the valve's brass resist the torque. I'm also willing to bet the force should be on the valve's face and back, not sides, to avoid bending it. Quote: In this case, my hammer had gone AWOL, so I took the plastic knob off and gave it a tap with a lead weight. (Certified technicians will be cringing now.) Cringing? Whatver for? Quote: You take the plastic knob off using a wide screwdriver with a slot cut in it. Or you use a smaller screwdriver in one half of the slot, but you risk buggering up the slot. I put the valve back in for the next bit. This link about cylinder service showed up on my thread about sourcing valve parts. Turns out APD doesn't have a service manual for their valves. The exploded-parts line drawing diagram (end of prev link) seems nice, though. As for the followup post on oxygen service w/brass seats, perhaps AP valve seats use teflon instead of nylon? Or something else along these lines - anybody know for sure? (excerpt from CONVERTING DIVE TANKS FOR OXYGEN SERVICE): Quote: Most scuba valves contain seats made of Nylon 6/6 which is not considered to be very oxygen-compatible. While Nylon 6/6 does have marginal oxygen-compatibility, field use has shown that pure oxygen and oxy-rich Nitrox slowly vaporizes that material, often resulting in a complete seat failure. Some manufacturers provide alternate seats containing recognized oxygen-compatible materials such as 8 Page 9 KEL-F. For example, Sherwood valve seats (Sherwood #3506-9K) contain Kel-F polymer, which will fit many valves that Sherwood-Selpac produced for other distributors over the years I will say it sounds like you did a fair job of cleaning it. If it was going into oxygen-service (and being the paranoid fellow I am, I would say that partial-pressure diluent blending would apply), I would say handling with gloves (latex? nitrile?) to keep body oil off the cleaned parts would be a good idea. Anyway, I'm getting ready to take my first run at this at this, so I'll stand back and wait for critiques of my critique so I can learn too. John G.
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20th February 2007, 10:00	#3 (permalink)
Mdemon SiegeEngine II Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Home Build Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SWUK Posts: 1,946	Re: Molexs and Inspo valves Glad you found it useful. The Inspo head thing - it has to be robust being DIY. And with the speed of corrosion being higher on the non-Inspo cable, all the bases needed to be covered. I have seen cylinders clamped in a vice-like affair at a service shop. I like the idea of the large pipe wrench. You can get wrenches with straps to remove oil filters in cars. I guess you could use one of those too. With the tap thing you just need to hold it steady with your other hand - no clamping usually necessary. I remove the knob and hit the valve, not the spindle. Unless the thing is completely stuck and then I take the risk. I've seen many people, including sevice techs, just hit the thing with the rubber mallet. It's just a sharp tap to unstick the valve from the o-ring. Rather like the roll-technique using one of Routely's removal tools. ("Plug Tax" John - that's a beer you owe me... ) I would never hit anywhere near the DIN threads because if you do, you run the serious risk of deforming them and you'll never get your regs in! I used to have a huge adjustable spanner (wrench) which would fit around the main body of the valve so wouldn't deform anything. I used to tap that with the hammer, rather than the valve itself. Thinking about it, I could have used the Roll technique with this too, but the salt air killed the spanner before I heard of it. Routley's Truncheon would seem to be the best solution for this. (And another one, John )
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