pcrussell50 wrote:At least one HB'er just got a new valve from there within the last month or two. But at $40 each, I lean towards just servicing the one I have. Although I do have a brand new spare just in case.

You can service it by flipping over the existing PTFE washers and re using them. Or buy a bag of 100 new ones for under $10.

-Peter

I'm sure this has probably been covered somewhere already but I can't seem to find it.
So my ball valve was leaking and I removed it to flip the seals. However, when I went to unscrew the Allen head portion I got about halfway done unscrewing it and it suddenly completely stripped out on me. So now I'm looking to purchase a replacement ball valve and it looks like the original part has been discontinued. Has anyone confirmed if this alternate part will work or not?

All ball valves from all generations work. In the other thread I advised you heat the threaded part with a flame and the thread sealer turns from sticky, into a greasy lubricant. From there you could twist it open by hand. If it weren't hot. But ordinary pliers will do it. And you won't have to turn hard either. You might even be able to heat it an ordinary match. It doesn't take much. It's not like trying to break throw corrosion. Because that's not what it is.

Anyway, this way you can get back in business ASAP by flipping the seals, while you wait for your new one. Me? I'm still using an ancient flipped seal valve from a -900, in my -920. I have a brand new spare valve but haven't needed it. The old dog with the flipped seals is working like a champ.

-Peter

Thanks for the quick response. I used a torch and heated it up until it was really hot. It started to give, and I got about halfway and it stopped. I heated it back up again and went back at it. Then honestly I thought I had finally opened it because it gave so suddenly, but when I looked it hadn't moved at all and the Allen socket was completely stripped out. Pieces literally fell out into my hand. Worst part is that it's stuck halfway now and I can't tighten it or get it apart. I'm going to order this replacement while I continue to work on the original one. I'm pretty sure it's toast though.

Do you think you might have over heated it? I've done it three times and it never took much. And the thread sealer never gave me problems again either.

If you think it's done for, send it to me. I'll autopsy it. If I can revive it, I'll send it back to you.

-Peter

It's definitely possible. When you heated yours did it start making a sizzling sound? I'm gonna take another crack at it today after work. If I still can't get it to pop open, l'll send it over to you.

vonkas wrote:Fixed my valve today. This valve is 100% serviceable.... Disassembled valve, polished ball with metal polish, inserted stainless washer under bottom teflon ball seal, the thickness does not matter, wrapped teflon plumber's tape around boss thread and hand screwed home. Assembled in reverse.

I polished the ball and added a spacer under the cleaned PTFE seal (actually used waterproof gorilla tape and trimmed around it), replaced the shaft seal with an Aflas 008 o-ring, then applied food grade silicone lube to the valve and shaft. No leaks and the valve turns like butter with that lube!

BTW, I replaced all of my steam connections with Aflas orings, which are rated the best for steam. Also since they are harder (durometer = 80) they are a tighter fit and need silicone lube plus some gentle prodding to get them to seat - hopefully that will provide a longer term fix. See this thread for part sizes etc. Breville Dual Boiler - fixing leaks and other maintenance



Side note - When opening my swimming pool I use lube on every connection, ball valve, etc. or I will have air and/or water leaks - also keeps them operating smoothly . Hence my use of food grade silicone with the new Aflas orings.

bhennessy wrote:I polished the ball and added a spacer under the cleaned PTFE seal (actually used waterproof gorilla tape and trimmed around it), replaced the shaft seal with an Aflas 008 o-ring, then applied food grade silicone lube to the valve and shaft. No leaks and the valve turns like butter with that lube!

Well listen to Mr. Fancy Pants here. I just flipped the seals and used the ball dirty. (I did use silicone on the shaft and it's o-ring).

In seriousness, by using gorilla tape, you essentially made yourself a spacer so that you could regain pressure of the seal against the ball. And If the seal wasn't PTFE, that would probably be necessary. But since the seal material is PTFE, and because PTFE actually flows, flipping them will not only regain pressure against the ball, but it will re-flow to the shape of the ball. This would not be the case with some other elastomeric seals. So in the case of PTFE only, IMHO, making a spacer was superfluous, (though obviously effective). Am I missing something here?

Next time, I'll polish the ball though. This time, I just wanted to get it all back together to see if it worked. But that was a year ago now and it's still working.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote: So in the case of PTFE only, IMHO, making a spacer was superfluous, (though obviously effective). Am I missing something here?
-Peter

I put the relatively thick tape under the PTFE washer to lift it just a bit since it was in good shape. This brought it a smidge closer to the polished ball, which tightened things up a bit. I figured this would allow me to flip the washers down the road when really needed. Just buying time lol...

However since getting a new valve will be tough, especially up here (~ $150), I am planning on finding a proper steam valve and retrofitting it, in due time.

Re the first paragraph... got it. :thumbsup

Re the second, I found a ball valve that is almost a direct fit. It is just a couple of millimeters shorter. I think it's lower quality than the Breville one though but that's mostl a guess. Here's the issue... Breville uses reverse logic: normally if you align the stem with the valve body, that is open. With Breville it is closed. You would either need to work around that, or get used to up-paddle for closed, and down-paddle for open. But I can link you to the valve if you like. Or you can skim through the ball valve thread. It's in there too.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote:Re the second, I found a ball valve that is almost a direct fit. It is just a couple of millimeters shorter. I think it's lower quality than the Breville one though but that's mostly a guess. Here's the issue... Breville uses reverse logic: normally if you align the stem with the valve body, that is open. With Breville it is closed. You would either need to work around that, or get used to up-paddle for closed, and down-paddle for open. But I can link you to the valve if you like. Or you can skim through the ball valve thread. It's in there too.
-Peter

I'd would like to find an industrial steam valve if possible - these guys are down the road from me; who knows? http://www.icssci.com/catalogs/Legris/section_r.pdf

1. Have you looked at modifying the plastic collar the steam handle fits on to get around the reverse logic?
2. In terms of length, have you looked at modifying/shortening the line from the valve outlet to the steam wand? I wonder if you could pull the brass insert, move the outside brass fitting up the tube as needed, and reinsert the brass insert? Might be easier than grinding down a valve to fit. Could maybe pick up a spare to experiment on - Teflon Tube

Since I am just brewing again, I am a bit reluctant to pull the machine apart again