Need Ball Valve advice, please.

[Aplus 525]

Rig your trigger guns like this picture. Then put plugs on everything else.....lance, surface cleaner, whatever.

No need for a ballvalve at all.

I know Alan also outfits his guns like this, I'm sure he'll chime in how sweet it makes switching between devices.

Who said work smarter not harder?

[Don Phelps 85]

I thought Alan was the king of 3-way ball valves.

:lgbounces

[CCPC 26]

how do you plug that into a surface cleaner with a built in gun?

[Aplus 525]

I guess every one is different and you'd have to figure a way to reconfigure the setup.

But once you find a way, you'll never want to use a ball valve again.

My main beef with ball valves is not so much the weight, but rather after they get used a bit, they are tough to open and close.

[tropical wave 22]

I would like to put a ball valve on the end of my hose for quick change from wand to hydra scrubber. I know that a ball valve has a psi rating. I need to get a b.v. that is compatible with my pw unit. Here's some simple specs on pw unit. 9hp honda 3200 psi 3gpm. I have seen only b.v's as high as 600 psi. I'm thinking that will be sufficient for my "big rig". Tell me if i'm wrong, please. But I am pretty sure I don't need a b.v. that has equal psi rating as my pw unit. I am not a mathematician either so a simple yes or no or suggestion works for me, as I could easily become confused with all of the comparative formulas some of you "Wizards of Old" may throw my way. I have not seen a psi rating over 600 for any ball valves used in this type of application.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Adrian

too funny guys.......a pleasure to read the thread....

A/C, you need a high pressure ball valve......any of the PW supply joints will have them.......got mine at espec on sale.....I keep a high pressure ball valve on the business end of my hose, I use it all the time.....for one I always forget to release the pressure before restarting the machine and hate having to walk back to the gun to pull the trigger, release pressure, drag the wand, gun and hose to the machine to hold the trigger open while starting, so, off with the gun, open the BV and crank it up, the water pressure is not too high and it just pumps out...but the main reason I use it is to rinse stuff I dont want chems on.....after applying whatever Im doing, like stripper or chlorine, I use the ball valve to rinse down everything, just close it a little and its like putting your thumb over a garden hose, except its more pressure.....I dont like rinsing plants and grass with 600 psi thru a 40 degree tip......even a 7200 psi valve adds minimal weight ,its noticeable, but no biggie and you get used to it quickly.....

[PLD 14]

Interesting......Can you explain this, Philip?

I actually got the idea from Alan in an earlier thread. All my guns have a 1/4" female QC (a tip socket) immediately post trigger. So, the gun it just a trigger with a 3/8 F-QC on the input side and a 1/4" F-QC on the output side.

All my wands, etc (after trigger stuff) are outfitted with 1/4" male QC's facing upstream and 1/4" F-QC's facing downstream. This includes the surface cleaner. When I want to switch to the surf cleaner I just let off the trigger, drop the wand and plug into the surf cleaner.

This gives all the functionality of a ball valve without the weight, stiff action, and lack of manuverability it adds (w/o a whip). As an added bonus, it allows for extended reach with less wands on truck. I carry a single 3ft, 6ft, and 12ft. In just a minute, I can stack them for 21ft of wand. Realistically, I only use ever 3', 6', 3' & 6', 12', or 3' & 12'.

For those who don't feel the added "weight" of the ball valve, I would offer either you are using a whip or you haven't tried it both ways in a short period of time. I never did a whip before I canned my ball valve and IMHO it wears on you after a long day. I think the weight has less to do with it than the extra torque on the base of the gun by the 8-12" lever arm created by the ball valve. I also hated that after a few weeks, the ball valve required two hands and a good 15 minute rest to toggle.

Here's the link to the prev thread with a pic of Alans setup. Mine only differs in that my 3/8 is a female. I always run male upstream pre-gun and male downstream post gun.

Like this:

PUMP-> >----hose---> >--gun--< <--lance--< <-tip

[Don Phelps 85]

As Michael mentioned, it's great for rinsing plants, grass, roofs etc. Just choke the valve partially shut and start rinsing. You can also make yourself a rinse nozzle with a q/c and tip for the valve and skip the gun if weight is an issue.

[Aplus 525]

You can only choke the valve if your machine has a pressure actuated unloader. With a flow unloader, if you choke a bit, the machine goes into bypass.

[Don Phelps 85]

I can choke mine (K-7), but you're correct. It's not nearly as much pressure as you can generate with a pressure actuated unloader.

[Aplus 525]

I use K7's also, and found with the ballvalves I was using from Espec, at less than a 1/4 turn, the unloader bypassed. A minimal range of use.

With pressure unloaders, you get full range of use with the ballvalve.

It's not about how much pressure you can generate, but rather how much range of control you have.

[Don Phelps 85]

Both actually.....If you aren't generating any pressure by choking it, you're defeating the purpose of trying to rinse anything at any discernable distance. It works for me.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

I thought Alan was the king of 3-way ball valves.

:lgbounces

Oh, I am just the king of all ball valves, just not on my high pressure lines. I guess I need to take some pictures.

As far as the guys with built in guns on their surfacers, all I can say is I love my Steel Eagles, as none of them are built in.

[Adrian 155]

Remember, work smarter not harder.

I thought that I was on the right track. I simply thought that having a ball valve on the end of my hose and before the wand would allow me to cut off the flow of h2o so I could switch to hydra scrubber w/o walking back to pw unit and turning it off.

Or maybe I have the wrong idea of what a ball valve does. I have not heard of the rinse process with the b.v. some have spoke of in this thread I started. I was just trying to save a few steps and time by adding ball valve.

Although I should re emphasize the original ???. Does the b.v. psi rating have to match the p.w. psi rating which is 3200 psi?

What would be adequate b.v. setup be for my unit as far as psi?

I do thank you all for your input, and I especially enjoy reading about everyone's processes. I also like the thread war I started....... just kidding!!!!!

I actually may just stick with the way things are without adding b.v.

My unit is portable and I have a tank trailer which I use only to transport h2o when needed. I don't mind creeping around the house with my unit as my volume of work is not that high right now. Plus I only use 50' of pw hose and usu. 100' of h20 hose to pw unit. That usu. gets me around the whole resi. So the walk really isn't that much of a hassle.

Now if I had 3 or 4 resi's to do in a day it would really make a difference in time consumption. Really the best time saver I have aquired lately is the portable hose reel ( a reel time saver...lol). I roll all of my hoses in it and just load it in the back of my big rig ranger ( in which I use the air conditioner all the time).

Thx again one and all.

[mikew 14]

Although I should re emphasize the original ???. Does the b.v. psi rating have to match the p.w. psi rating which is 3200 psi?

Should match or be greater. You wouldn't want to use a ball valve that is rated for a lower PSI than your pressure washer.

Mike

[Adrian 155]

cool.... thanks Mike. That's what I needed. Look me up if you ever need help.

I don't mind the drive, Georgia's not really that big as far as this Texas boy is concerned. I'm in Marietta. Always greatful for the help.

Adrian

[Washaway 64]

too funny guys.......a pleasure to read the thread....

A/C, you need a high pressure ball valve......any of the PW supply joints will have them.......got mine at espec on sale.....I keep a high pressure ball valve on the business end of my hose, I use it all the time.....for one I always forget to release the pressure before restarting the machine and hate having to walk back to the gun to pull the trigger, release pressure, drag the wand, gun and hose to the machine to hold the trigger open while starting, so, off with the gun, open the BV and crank it up, the water pressure is not too high and it just pumps out...but the main reason I use it is to rinse stuff I dont want chems on.....after applying whatever Im doing, like stripper or chlorine, I use the ball valve to rinse down everything, just close it a little and its like putting your thumb over a garden hose, except its more pressure.....I dont like rinsing plants and grass with 600 psi thru a 40 degree tip......even a 7200 psi valve adds minimal weight ,its noticeable, but no biggie and you get used to it quickly.....

I use the same 7500psi, square looking, bulky ball valves myself. They last a hell of lot longer and I use it to rinse everything!!

Infact I think I have about 3 of them.

[Washaway 64]

1 question:Where do you keep the ball valve until you need it?

You could tie it around your neck...like our mothers used to with our house keys, when we were young.

[Paul B. 523]

Changing nozzles with the P/W running and the trigger engaged can be somewhat hazardous and you stand a good chance of blowing out (losing the o'ring from the Q.D.

Our problem always seemed to be that without a ball valve, changing nozzle or lance was very difficult. With a ball valve, you turn it off, then you can relieve the pressure by pressing the trigger and then the lance/gun or nozzle can be easily removed.

The ball valves we use are rated at 5000 psi and are all easy to turn after several years of being in service. These valves way in at 13.5 ounces with the S.S. Q.D's attached. They cost less than $20.

Your ball valve rating should always be equal or higher than your machines pressure rating if you are using it on the high pressure end.

[squirtgun 122]

Where do you buy those Paul?

[mikew 14]

cool.... thanks Mike. That's what I needed. Look me up if you ever need help.

I don't mind the drive, Georgia's not really that big as far as this Texas boy is concerned. I'm in Marietta. Always greatful for the help.

Adrian

Hi Adrian,

No problem, glad to help. You're right Marietta is not far at all.

Thanks,

Mike

[CCPC 26]

Changing nozzles with the P/W running and the trigger engaged can be somewhat hazardous and you stand a good chance of blowing out (losing the o'ring from the Q.D.

Who said anything about changing nozzles when the trigger is engaged? Your right, that would be stupid.

[CCPC 26]

The ball valves we use are rated at 5000 psi and are all easy to turn after several years of being in service. These valves way in at 13.5 ounces with the S.S. Q.D's attached. They cost less than $20.

I used to have one like that, and it was definetely much lighter than the one I have now.

[tropical wave 22]

The ball valves we use are rated at 5000 psi and are all easy to turn after several years of being in service. These valves way in at 13.5 ounces with the S.S. Q.D's attached.

never seen a valve that small at such a high pressure rating, I like the size and that would be better than the giant 7500 psi brick......which I'm not complaining about, just in this instance, smaller is better !!

[Christopher 102]

I have my gun setup like Alan's and Tony's with QC's and Couplers. I can let go of the gun trigger and disconnect my wand from the gun and attach the gun to my surface cleaner in about 5 seconds. You just need to get some Couplers and Plugs of the correct size and attach them to the wand and surface cleaner. You can take the fitting off the gun that is attached to the surface cleaner and put either a Coupler or a Plug of the correct size. Then you need a gun on the end of your hose to connect to the wand or surface cleaner. A small investment in Plugs and Couplers saves a lot of time. A lot of times I am cleaning concrete and will switch from surface cleaner to wand as needed. I have a whip hose connected to the gun but the swivel locks up when I use warm water. I wish I had a good swivel that will work with hot water that does not lock up. I got a tackle box full of Plugs, Couplers, etc.... so when something happens I do not shut down for long or have to go to the local supplier the next day or shut down the job and wait for parts. Hope this helps.

[beyoungsr 14]

We use to use ball valves. I found them heavy and hard to close as they get age on them. And yes I make a lot of shade myself when washing.

I removed the gun from my surface cleaner. We now attach the lance and gun directly to the rotary union. Actually copied this idea from a very successful pwer in this area.

Tnis works great for us. You might give it a try depending on how your surface cleaner is configured .