One more part I need to find for building a submarine. I need 2 valves to control air flow. One to let air in from a pressurized tank and one to let air out so water can flow in. People keep mentioning sprinkler valves, but I can’t find any that will work for air at the local Home depot. We disected them. They have a bladder that is controlled by a solenoid. As the bladder fills, it cuts off water flow. It is very slow and will leak air. Is there something elsewhere that will work that I missed? Maybe an input valve off an old washing machine?
how about air suspension parts?
http://www.avsontheweb.com/home.php?cat=27
or solenoid valves that are used in robotics?
http://team358.org/files/pneumatic/
although it’s not to easy to figure out what you need without knowing more about your system design
I have pipes surrounding a 5 gallon bucket with the open ends down. The bucket will weigh about 40 pounds to sink on its own. The pipes will be connected to two valves. One will be connected to an air tank with enough air to fill the system 2x. The other will be pointed upward so that air can flow out and water can flow in. The tank will have about 120 psi in it. I am using 1" pipe for the ballast tanks, so 1/4" valves are a little small. FRC valves are too small (and expensive).
How fast does it have to let the air move? 1/4" valves might be fine…althought they would require you to add reducers
We made a 1" valve using a pneumatic cylinder and a gate valve…but that was to launch T shirts, so it had to move a lot of air almost instantaneously. If you have a few seconds to move the air, then a small valve will work
Doesn’t have to be too fast I suppose. 1/4" might do it. FRC valves are a little expensive, however. I was trying to find sprinkler valves because they are only $10-$15. I hear so many people say they use them on air cannons, but I can’t figure out where they get them. Every soure I see says local hardware store.