1980's Bauer Capitano/Mariner Safety Valve

[kiwi_diver]

Does anyone know the correct assembly sequence for the 13 spring washers that make up the final safety valve on an '80's unit? This is the saftey valve that sits on top of the triplex filter housing. It's got a grey anodised aluminium cover that has "Bauer 225 BAR 3200 PSI" written on it. Under the cover is a threaded spindle with a locknut. The spindle goes down through the centre of 13 spring washers and acts on a ball which is the actual valve. Of course, we've had it apart and can't remember how the washers were packed in. Pretty sure they oppose each other in curvature to form a spring but if we set all 13 in alternating curvature, the group is too long to fit back in!

Help!

Thanks, Ray.

 

[rjack321]

Belleville washers. They go like this:
)()()()

They will be under considerable spring tension for a 3rd stage compressor safety valve. If you don't put them in like that they will vent too easily. I imagine they all fit you just aren't pushing hard enough.

 

[kiwi_diver]

Cheers mate, I think you're right about having to alternate the full stack. I had a go this afternoon with all 13 like this )()()()()()() but did not screw down hard enough on them with the steel cap and it vented way too low.
I tried a few variations like )()))()))))) but it either vented in a continuous blast, or not at all. When I get it right, it should go "psst....psst....psst" up around 220 bar.

Thanks, Ray.

 

[CraigAClark]

It quite possibly might not be the washers at all but the poppet and seat. This is located in the body and must be pushed out from the underside. Make sure that you mind how it comes out as there is a small spring that can easily get lost. BTW, Bauer does not sell parts for safety devices, so if anything is worn out, you are out of luck.

Craig

 

[oxyhacker]

I went through this with my Bauer relief, but was smart enough to make a diagram of how they went when they came out. Unfortunately, I was not smart enough to put it somewhere where I could ever find it again. But it was the opposite to opposite layout, though I can't remember what side the out the two end ones went.

BTW Bauer regards this assembly as non-servicable, and does not sell the seat, so you cannot rebuilt them, and a replacement valve from Bauer is very expensive. Usual practice when they go bad is to buy a BSPP/ISO-to-NGT adaptor and run a replacement relief such as a Swagelok R-3A, which can often be found reasonably on ebay, and uses easily replaced O-ring seals for the seat.

 

[pescador775]

Craig raises a point, here. Why was the relief disassembled in the first place? Was there a leak? While you are troubleshooting the valve don't forget that the threaded ball stem (spindle) must be adjusted as well. There are two adjustments, a mass adjustment with the plate and a fine adjustment with the threaded stem. You seem to understand the mechanics and rjack explained the washer stack. What's missing?

 

[CraigAClark]

Craig raises a point, here. Why was the relief disassembled in the first place? Was there a leak? While you are troubleshooting the valve don't forget that the threaded ball stem (spindle) must be adjusted as well. There are two adjustments, a mass adjustment with the plate and a fine adjustment with the threaded stem. You seem to understand the mechanics and rjack explained the washer stack. What's missing?

Very true Pesky. I have seen what I call the poppet and seat get stuck from lack of use or corrosion from not draining the tower in a timely fashion over an extended period. The poppet tends to jam in the seat housing and no adjustment on the stem will make a difference. This is true in both the separate safeties and the triplex heads. Sometimes the poppet can be removed, ultrasonically cleaned and then polished. I have done this with success many times. Better that than a $450.00 replacement triplex safety or $250.00 replacement safety (These are usually seen on older machines or used as the safety on the final separator of new machines).

If his machine has auto shut off and he doesn't need a slow venting safety, he could replace with AE 504 and that ISO adaptor can be gotten from Swagelok. I believe the part number is SS-4-A-6RS and the gasket is an S-6-RS-2. I don't know if the adaptor is readily available in steel, which would be an S-4-A-6RS.

Regarding the safety from Swagelok that Oxy mentioned, the springs are sold separately and when ordering the range must be specified.
Craig

 

[oxyhacker]

However the springs are quite reasonably priced, at about $3 for a little kit, so if one can find a used or surplus valve in the wrong range it is a trivial job to modify it. I bought a batch of used SS ones on eBay a couple years ago, for a about $8 each, which have come in very handy. The adaptor is also available from M-C and August Ind. for about $10, which is probably cheaper than from Swagelok.

Regarding the safety from Swagelok that Oxy mentioned, the springs are sold separately and when ordering the range must be specified.
Craig

 

[kiwi_diver]

Thanks for the responses guys, I beleive I have enough info to restore the valve. We tore the valve down becasue it was venting at 180 bar and we could not adjust it with the centre spindle. Having stripped it, we now understand how it works and we should have increased the spring tension as well. We've ultrasonic cleaned the ball and seat insert and checked the o-ring that the seat insert seals against.

I intend to stack all the washers alternately and screw down hard on them as the max movement the seat has before coming out of the o-ring is only 5mm or so. If I take some measurements before assembly, I should be able to set the spindle just 1 or 2 mm above the ball and that might be a good starting place. Then just back the spindle off untill it's venting at 220.

I've had a response from Steve Burton, of Scubaengineer.com and he has never seen a 13 washer Bauer assembly, only 5 washer ones. He suggested using just 5 in a spring config and I may fall back on that.

BTW, it's a diesel powered unit, no auto-shutoff.

Thanks again all.

Ray.

 

[oxyhacker]

That's sort of like telling someone who has an Indian 4 that has been running great for 70 years that since YOU've never seen anything but twin Indians before, he ought to throw away two of the cylinders. If the damn thing has had 13 washers in it, and worked until now, odds are pretty good it isn't going to be happy with 5.

Just dug up my old one. Turns out it has 10 washers, arranged in nested pairs, so two face one directon, then another pair of two face them. But then mine is gold, and tullip shaped, if that makes a difference.

I've had a response from Steve Burton, of Scubaengineer.com and he has never seen a 13 washer Bauer assembly, only 5 washer ones. He suggested using just 5 in a spring config and I may fall back on that.

BTW, it's a diesel powered unit, no auto-shutoff.

Thanks again all.

Ray.