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Hi Brian. I looked at a few "ball valve repair" sites and it looks to me
like you could take a large ball valve ( 2-3 inch? )apart, and use it to make
the socket set-up. First off, the groove where the handle goes into the ball
would need to be filled. Stainless weld, grind, and polish. Time consuming but
not impossible.
Next, you'd need to reduce the hole size. That's a
little tougher. It should be possible to make a bushing for that with "o" ring
grooves that seal the shaft going through the center. Again, weld that into the
ball, grind, and polish.
Now for the socket. With a "repairable" brass ball
valve, the kind with 4 bolts holding the assembly together, you need to cap off
the part where the handle exits the body. This can be done by brazing a plug
into the collet and filling the space where the tab going into the ball was with
a urethane sealant. Basically making a plug. Wax on the ball would keep it
from sticking to the ball until cured. Now, if the threaded end outside the
sub is cut off a little, leaving enough to keep the exterior part of the socket
structurally sound, that would give enough radius for the shaft passing through
the now smaller hole in the ball.
Re-assemble the valve, and make a stop on the
polished shaft so it can't be pushed into the sub. With the "o" rings installed
inside the new smaller hole, slide the shaft through and thread the stop onto
the shaft. Probably use a locking nut here, so it can't loosen up, and make sure
there's no threads that can get near the first "o" ring. Maybe put a
sliding bushing on there so only the polished part of the shaft enters the
ball.
Now with the finished ball and socket, it could be
threaded onto a nipple welded into the sub hull.
Try looking at different "ball valve repair" sites and see what kind of
parts are available. It should be possible to maybe use a mix and match method
to find seals, sockets, etc. for something that would work. I'm still busy
glassing my fairings, but I'll look around for a used ball valve that I can cut
up and experiment with.
Frank D. It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here. |