I’ve got 2" outlet and 3" inlet on the pumps. plenty of air.
looking for qualified help solving this because it needs to be done right and it needs to be done quickly. I can only manage one of those at I time on my own on this project. Anyone able to collaborate on this remotely? In person?
for the most part i follow cyopaths posts. that exact one im a little lost on. Ill go spoonfeed myself since your post suggests a search could shed light
Some of our actuated valves stick after a weekend of -40C and no use. Not sure I am helping, but we keep a crescent close by on Monday mornings to help them move freely. I don’t know your system, just giving a small spoon I hope you never have to use.
I was referring to infusing the floor… by spilling cannabinoid saturated tincture on it…running joke with my handler.
whomever that happens to be at the time of the spill.
which a quick search around here should have revealed…
Edit: …and if the cement used in bone reconstruction could be “infused” with neuroprotective cannabinoids, the whole “nano infused CBD” might not read like snake oil.
as for the topic of the post itself. I’ve got to automate something I haven’t prototyped. or at least that’s how it feels. although I’ve clearly been playing with many other parts for some time now. it’s just been scaled to the point where I can’t imagine letting anyone else play with my toys till they ARE automagic.
getting the actuators and valves ordered seems like a decent start.
Valveman.com is my first stop for actuators and valves generally. I don’t deal with super cold so can’t make any recommendations there, but I’d be willing to bet they have something on a close at hand shelf that would work.
I’m aiming at -20C right now, but last time checked in on this project someone had replumbed and dropped into the -40C range. Not sure their extraction efficiency was where I left them, but the crude looked phenomenal.
Are you using the cylinder to turn the valve instead of the handle? I’d love to see what you did.
My thought was attaching a double knuckle joint onto the handle and mounting a cylinder by a pivot bracket on the rod collar end. You could use a smaller cylinder due to using the torque provided by the handle. (sorta like this)
Linear actuators are often cheaper, and you can get a spring return cylinder and/or valve so that you only have to provide air to open or close (your choice). This way it also fails the way you want it to. I would also highly suggest putting sensors on any actuator you choose so you know for sure whether the valve opened or closed correctly.
For what’s it’s worth, Valworx normal PTFE sealed 2” valves I have on my prochiller haven’t leaked and are doing well at static temps of -47°F. My chiller doesn’t go lower, but I’m sure they’re actuator valves are just as good.
I had a lot of issues with valworx valves sealing at dry ice temps, other than that they’re fine. Never had one leak out of the box, but we swapped to swagelok valves on our OEM systems because I really just didn’t trust them enough to put my name on.
Their actuators are excellent though. They’re rack and pinion so the way they work is there are pistons in a cylinder and they have a rack gear on them. When the outside of the piston is pressurized, it pushes the pistons in and that rotates a pinion gear between the racks on each piston. Then the handle is just removed from the valve, the actuator is bolted on top (ever wonder why there were four tapped holes around the valve handle?) And the pinion gear has a square stub attached to it that sticks out the bottom and mates to the valve stem with a coupling.
As far as limit switches, they’re a standard option on those valworx actuators. We bought a bunch of westlock limit switches that are SIL-3 for additional safety functionality (they have two channels, each with two pairs of contacts). If anyone wants to buy a pallet of them I think I have like 40 left in dead storage
