Shower pump repair

[Sea.dog]

It's been a good while since I posted anything, so here goes. A small repair.

My neighbour's 24yo Stuart Turner shower booster pump packed up and I was asked if I wanted the old unit. Stupid question 
I suppose after 24 years it should have been laid to rest, but it seemed too good to junk.

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It transpires that there is a shuttle valve in the pressure vessel that allows the pump to run-on until sufficient pressure is built up to switch it off. This is what was not happening. Looking at the shuttle I think that you'll see why.
 
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Not only had it started to crumble away, but the O-ring was hard and deformed.
Hunting around the workshop I found a piece of Delrin, originally bought to make a new handle for my mill, and the offcut was just about the right OD to attempt remanufacture of a replacement, and a search in my O-ring stocks found something that should "Do the job."

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I guesstimated most of the dimensions and got the point, after some lathe work, of machining the legs.
This all went swimmingly until I forgot which way I was turning the rotary table, and promptly removed one of the legs instead of the waste material between them. Of course, it was the last of the three... 

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Attempt No.2 didn't get quite as far since I got a little too blase with the depth of cut and promptly snapped off a leg. Fortunately it was the second leg this time, so definitely improving 

Attempt No.3, well, what can I say? It doesn't look the prettiest of jobs, but it fits and, once I'd cobbled together some fittings and a reservoir, found that it's functional. I needed the reservoir since I discovered that it's a negative head pump and will not work under mains pressure.

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If anyone has need of a negative head booster pump I have one. It's of no use to me since I run mains pressure everywhere 

[awemawson]

Nice repair Graham, sorry about the difficulties along the way but you triumphed 

Stuart Turner are pretty good with spare parts even for ancient stuff and for most pumps they do spares kits. Good solidly made stuff until they decide to 'off shore' production.

But who needs spares when you have a workshop !

[Sea.dog]

Thanks Andrew. Not quite up to the standard of your work, but functional, nonetheless.  Hiccoughs along the way are all a part of the fun, are they not? 

[awemawson]

You're too quick to praise Graham 

Examples - the two holes I blew into that Hodge Clemco pot lid while welding and the fact that over 24 hours later I'm still waiting for the first top coat to dry, mid it has been pretty cold in the welding shop. Much longer and I'll pop it in the kiln to bake at a low temperature  - that'll teach it !

[ddmckee54]

Much longer and I'll pop it in the kiln to bake at a low temperature  - that'll teach it !

Careful with the temperature, too hot and it'll blister - which'll teach you instead.

Don

[awemawson]

When I've done this in the past I've set the kiln to 100 C and let it reach set point and switch it off. Inevitably it will have over shot to about 110 or 120 at that point. Only then do I put the painted items in and let the hole lot cool back to ambient (usually over night)

I last used this trick on bits of the panel work of the tool turret on my Beaver CNC lathe and it worked well but as you say, too hot and it'll blister - after all hot air paint strippers work this way !

[howsitwork?]

Andrew

Got to ask  - Have you ever been tempted to use the kiln for heat resting eg gauge plate or tooling ? I make some carbon steel hook tools etc for green wood working and have been thinking about a small kiln as SWMBO might not be too impressed at her oven being pressed into service .

[awemawson]

I’ve only ever used it for lost wax burn out and accelerating paint drying. Iirc it’s 15 kw maybe 18kw and these days I think carefully about turning on expensive loads like that.