mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Mar 12, 2018 13:18:01 GMT -8
Unless it had water in it and froze, it shouldn't be leaking... You might be able to tighten a nut or replace the O ring. It didnt sit through a winter before it started leaking. Thanks, I ll try those things before ordering the repair kit.
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Post by vikx on Mar 12, 2018 20:18:27 GMT -8
Take a look at the repair videos on Youtube before you start. They're hard to take part without breaking... wonder how I know that??
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Ziggy66
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1966 Kit Companion 1500
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Post by Ziggy66 on Mar 13, 2018 13:32:46 GMT -8
Click Here for my post about rocket hand pump repair kits.
Looks like the price has gone up since I bought my repair kit but I've had no problems with my pump since I fixed it.
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Mar 18, 2018 22:06:43 GMT -8
I got the replacement pump in the mail today and just wasn't happy with the quality of it... it just felt cheap and plasticy. And the same pump on Amazon had pretty mediocre reviews. Back to plan A, fix the original pump. So after messing with it a couple weeks i was sure the problem was the check valve sticking. Nothing seemed to free it up. So I knocked it out. Yuck! Here's what was left in the housing, a nice orifice. My day job is prosthetic heart valve engineer, our company's first valve was a ball in a cage (the Starr-Edwards valve), which got me thinking maybe i could just put a small rubber ball in there to act as a check valve. My son has some "eye ball" superballs he's been playing with, so i figured I'd try my luck. And guess what?! I bench tested it and it works beautifully, better than ever since we've had it! And hey, i can say that our faucet has an eyeball in it for a valve. What's not to love about that!
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Mar 19, 2018 3:42:57 GMT -8
That's really funny. It's always good to look at a problem with a fresh eye. Eye wouldn't have thought it would work.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Mar 19, 2018 3:53:33 GMT -8
Lol, just wait until 30 years down the road when the next owner has to take it apart and find the eye ball
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Post by vikx on Mar 19, 2018 19:39:41 GMT -8
That eye ball is hilarious! I can imagine the next repair person will need your heart valve after seeing that...
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Post by danrhodes on Mar 19, 2018 20:13:42 GMT -8
The eyeball is cool. My old pump has a ball bearing as the check valve. I used a piston from a crap plastic rocket pump to rebuild it and it works pretty well.
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Mar 20, 2018 6:58:15 GMT -8
Thanks guys. Yeah, we got a good laugh out of the eyeball, and it seems to work really well. I'll reinstall the pump back on the trailer this weekend and report back. Only thing I'm not sure about is how well it will seal and hold it's prime. I'm thinking that when towing it it will probably be bouncing around in there (it is a superball, afterall lol) and lose it's prime, but hopefully it will hold it okay when parked. If not I'll machine some type of tapered sleeve for it to sit down in, maybe with an o-ring for it to seal against.
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ladywendolyn
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1964 Golden Falcon
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Post by ladywendolyn on Mar 20, 2018 22:01:27 GMT -8
I have a question about my pump as well... I have this very cool starburst hand pump which I want to get working and use in the kitchen. When I put my hand against the bottom and draw the handle up there is no suction. My new one for the bathroom has suction so I can tell the difference. Given that it possibly has a leather valve etc. Is there any way I can soak it before ripping it apart? Would filling it with water possibly soften the leather or does it always need to come apart?
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Mar 21, 2018 7:14:03 GMT -8
I didn't have any luck soaking mine, but maybe you will. You can turn it upside down and pour water in through the inlet and let it sit a little, then try slowly pumping it and see what happens. You can also try adding water and letting it soak from the outlet side. Maybe getting things wet from one side or the other will free them up and soften them enough to get it working again.
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Apr 2, 2018 18:21:09 GMT -8
So, as it turns out, the "eyeball" made a lousy check valve. The pump wouldn't hold a prime at all. I tested another one of my son's eyeball superballs and, sure enough, it floated! Can't seal if its floating!
So i ened up using one of the silastic silicone rubber balls out of one of our original heart valve models which i knew to have a density more than water (i.e. they don't float) and it works great. It held a prime for at least 45 min last i checked. For good measure i added an o-ring to the housing for the ball to seal against. Should be good to go now.
Its not quite as funny as having a rubber eyeball for a valve in my faucet, but cool that its out of a heart valve.
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Post by vikx on Apr 2, 2018 20:47:10 GMT -8
Thanks for sharing, Mkzero. I'm gonna miss that eyeball...
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Apr 3, 2018 8:51:44 GMT -8
Yeah, me too, made for a funny story. I'd rather have a working faucet though
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mkzero
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1953 Fleetwood
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Post by mkzero on Apr 9, 2018 15:42:32 GMT -8
Quick update. After sitting for a week the faucet still had a prime, pumped water on the first pump. In case anyone is interested, here's what I used the ball out of: americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1726277We stopped making these heart valves a number of years ago, but nearly 1/4 million were implanted worldwide and people have lived more than 40 years with them and they still functioned great. Should last a while in my trailer's faucet
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