Broken Valve
This is a recent valve that I made. It was a bear to get working. I fought to get it working for a long time, but it finally worked. It shot very well while test firing without a barrel. The valve was based in a 2" tee, with an 1.25" seat, the seat having a 1.364" inner diameter. I think that this is close to the same flow you would get with dual 1" sprinkler valves. I realized a flaw in the design, and in attempting to remove a section of the guide pipe with a soldering iron and screwdriver : ), I broke the valve. I threw the piston away (actually shot it out of a spudgun) so there are no pics of it. I think the valve was a good first valve, and taught me much in the process of building. I rebuilt the valve in a 1.5" tee, and it should have the same flow. Here are some pics:
view into valve from the seat
view into the top of the valve
pilot area, it used to have a ball valve and schrader
side view
this is not the plan, but it is is the same setup (note: dimensions and valve
are wrong)