a check valve is an amazing little
device that lets a liquid or a gas flow
one way only we’ll need some to make a
low cost water pump but buying them can
be a little pricey so in this project
we’ll be making our own out of common
materials and for less than a dollar
[Music]
you
[Music]
for this project I’m using a
three-quarter inch male PVC slip adapter
3/4 inch tubing a three-quarter inch
plastic ball and an o-ring I chose this
adapter because there’s a little ledge
on the inside where the o-ring can sit
and it should look like this
the ball needs to be large enough that
it won’t push through the throat but
small enough that it doesn’t touch the
sides attaching the two at this point
won’t really do any good because the
ball will roll right out we need a way
to secure it in position so let’s make a
mark on our tube 5/8 of an inch from the
bottom and use a sixteenth inch bit to
drill a small hole in the tube
continuing right on through the other
side now you’ll need a strong piece of
metal like a nail or a thick paper clip
I’m using one of these Brad nails that
go to my nail gun whatever you use it
needs to be strong and long enough to
push all the way through the tube the
ends of the nail will need to be flush
with the sides of the pipe so we can go
ahead and clip the end with the nail
head on it and now we’ve got ourselves a
retaining bar that’s perfectly flush on
both sides the next step is to prime our
connections and place the o-ring in
place inside the adapter now let’s drop
in the ball and double check that
everything seals properly PVC cement is
added to the pipe making sure it covers
the holes where the nail is set then the
pipe is pushed down to the point where
the holes dip just below the rim of the
adapter so when the glue sets this
connection will be completely airtight
you can build this valve into any length
of PVC pipe you want but I’m using this
one and a half inch piece because it’s
just long enough to accept another
adapter when it’s glued and pushed
together it makes a nice little compact
unit the only a slight gap separating
the two ends I took the opportunity to
make four of these valves and a visual
inspection on the inside shows that the
ball and oring are still seated properly
in place and the retention bar is
keeping it all together to finish up I
gave these a quick paint job and wrapped
one end with a bit of electrical tape to
indicate the direction of flow similar
to the marking you’d find on an
electrical diode
a fluid can pass freely in one direction
but if the valve is turned around the
pressure closes the valve and the fluid
is blocked the quality of the seal can
be tested by giving the pressurized
valve in a bowl of water this will show
us if any air is escaping at all the
pressure can be released though by
pushing up on the inside of the valve to
break the seal between the ball and the
o-ring I tried using a couple of these
valves to make a hand pump which you’ll
be able to find in another project it
will compress air and move water at over
five gallons per minute you can even
create enough suction to form a
makeshift vacuum pump the threaded ends
of the valve make them easy to connect
replace or rearrange whenever needed
just for curiosity let’s pressure test
the valve by hooking it up to an air
compressor using this pneumatic adapter
that we made in the rocket rifle project
the system set at 20 psi and you can see
the valve closed off and prevent any air
from leaking when I crank it up to 50
psi the pressure difference is a little
more obvious by the compression of the
o-ring and I’m really impressed to how
well it works as an alternative I found
that a rubber bouncy ball could replace
the entire valve mechanism for low
pressure applications since the ball is
rubber you don’t need an o-ring to seal
the board to make it work just grab a
sharp knife and a cutting board and
begin cutting the top third of the ball
very slowly until you slice right
through it now reinsert the ball with
the round side facing down and simply
slide the tube in overtop amazingly it’s
that easy and my kids use it for blowing
up balloons
well there’s how to make some useful
pressure rated check valves for as
little as 35 cents if you liked this
project perhaps you’ll like some of my
others check them out at the king of
random calm
[Music]
you
[Music]
device that lets a liquid or a gas flow
one way only we’ll need some to make a
low cost water pump but buying them can
be a little pricey so in this project
we’ll be making our own out of common
materials and for less than a dollar
[Music]
you
[Music]
for this project I’m using a
three-quarter inch male PVC slip adapter
3/4 inch tubing a three-quarter inch
plastic ball and an o-ring I chose this
adapter because there’s a little ledge
on the inside where the o-ring can sit
and it should look like this
the ball needs to be large enough that
it won’t push through the throat but
small enough that it doesn’t touch the
sides attaching the two at this point
won’t really do any good because the
ball will roll right out we need a way
to secure it in position so let’s make a
mark on our tube 5/8 of an inch from the
bottom and use a sixteenth inch bit to
drill a small hole in the tube
continuing right on through the other
side now you’ll need a strong piece of
metal like a nail or a thick paper clip
I’m using one of these Brad nails that
go to my nail gun whatever you use it
needs to be strong and long enough to
push all the way through the tube the
ends of the nail will need to be flush
with the sides of the pipe so we can go
ahead and clip the end with the nail
head on it and now we’ve got ourselves a
retaining bar that’s perfectly flush on
both sides the next step is to prime our
connections and place the o-ring in
place inside the adapter now let’s drop
in the ball and double check that
everything seals properly PVC cement is
added to the pipe making sure it covers
the holes where the nail is set then the
pipe is pushed down to the point where
the holes dip just below the rim of the
adapter so when the glue sets this
connection will be completely airtight
you can build this valve into any length
of PVC pipe you want but I’m using this
one and a half inch piece because it’s
just long enough to accept another
adapter when it’s glued and pushed
together it makes a nice little compact
unit the only a slight gap separating
the two ends I took the opportunity to
make four of these valves and a visual
inspection on the inside shows that the
ball and oring are still seated properly
in place and the retention bar is
keeping it all together to finish up I
gave these a quick paint job and wrapped
one end with a bit of electrical tape to
indicate the direction of flow similar
to the marking you’d find on an
electrical diode
a fluid can pass freely in one direction
but if the valve is turned around the
pressure closes the valve and the fluid
is blocked the quality of the seal can
be tested by giving the pressurized
valve in a bowl of water this will show
us if any air is escaping at all the
pressure can be released though by
pushing up on the inside of the valve to
break the seal between the ball and the
o-ring I tried using a couple of these
valves to make a hand pump which you’ll
be able to find in another project it
will compress air and move water at over
five gallons per minute you can even
create enough suction to form a
makeshift vacuum pump the threaded ends
of the valve make them easy to connect
replace or rearrange whenever needed
just for curiosity let’s pressure test
the valve by hooking it up to an air
compressor using this pneumatic adapter
that we made in the rocket rifle project
the system set at 20 psi and you can see
the valve closed off and prevent any air
from leaking when I crank it up to 50
psi the pressure difference is a little
more obvious by the compression of the
o-ring and I’m really impressed to how
well it works as an alternative I found
that a rubber bouncy ball could replace
the entire valve mechanism for low
pressure applications since the ball is
rubber you don’t need an o-ring to seal
the board to make it work just grab a
sharp knife and a cutting board and
begin cutting the top third of the ball
very slowly until you slice right
through it now reinsert the ball with
the round side facing down and simply
slide the tube in overtop amazingly it’s
that easy and my kids use it for blowing
up balloons
well there’s how to make some useful
pressure rated check valves for as
little as 35 cents if you liked this
project perhaps you’ll like some of my
others check them out at the king of
random calm
[Music]
you
[Music]
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