My balls don't work

[the_viffer]

I've some clacks that don't work. To take them off to clean them or even reach them means dismantling to molecular level (don't blame me blame Martin Evans). Anyone got a cunning plan?

I'm away 'til late Weds UK time. If I don't reply it is not that I'm not interested just that I'm in "smoke filled rooms".

Cheers!

[SteveW]

Viff,

I've hear that rubber balls are a good solution to this one. That's assuming you can get the old ones out. Chances are its either just a bit of crud in there or the seat has lost it's edge through wear from the ball.

The other famous fix is a light tap with a drift on the ball to re-generate a new seat. This'll only really works once and really needs a perfectly round ball to take advantage of the new seat. The more this is done the bigger the depression in the seat gets and the harder it is to get it to work. The key is a light tap.

The other way would be something like a spot facing tool made from silver steel to just kiss the seat with maybe a bit of blue-tack down the hole to cartch any swarf.

Best go for a rubber ball first.

[Andy Clark]

If you go for rubber (nitrile?) balls, make sure that you get ones big enough so they don't get forced down the clack and deformed or stuck and cause you even more problems. I ended up replacing all the nitrile ones on my Pansy. Some members of the Brighton Club pointed out that the rubber variety are fine for low temperature applications (e.g. tender hand pump clacks) but can suffer in the proximity of a boiler.

[jackrae]

Not the answer to the problem, but perhaps a way ahead for future projects

Has anyone tried making a resilient insertion seat, say from a ring of teflon or similar and then using a metal ball acting on this.

To my mind, metal-to-metal seating, whilst perhaps being tight initially, is always going to be a potential problem due to scale or corrosion. The use of stainless steel balls does not eliminate the problem of electrolytic corrosion between ball and seat (gunmetal or bronze)

regards
Jack

[greasemonkey]

Hi Jack
I think Blackgates might have done a clack valve which had a ptfe seat. Ive made a couple of clacks for my boilers that have a seperate screw in seat which makes it easy to clean or make anew if you need to.
Andy

[waggy]

Hi Viffer,
Please don't use rubber balls, as Andy correctly says, they deform and stick. Believe me!
You might like to try flushing your clacks with kettle cleaner, I use "Scaleaway" on my injectors, they come up like new. Whatever goes into the boiler will descale that as well.
Good luck,
Waggy.

[Tel]

Or run a lttle Coca Cola ™ thru' 'em

[steamjohn248]

I know it wont help with the problem of having to take the thing to bits to get at them but if you do have to, finally; why not dispense with the ball system conpletely, be they rubber, SS, Bronze of whatever and go for the 'O' ring type clacks. We've made them for several engines and they seem pretty much fool proof . Ref M.E 10th Dec. 2004 page 681 Article by Ron Bignell.
Make a set of these and you may never have to worry, never known them to stick or leak back

Steamjohn