Just had TWO parker solenoid valves die on me in one day!

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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Best I can figure is something in the coil crapped out. I bought two, when the first one died I just swapped the coil. That worked again for a while and now that one is dead too. Crap.
 

Gerryd

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That's wierd AND stinks...

Do you have a third, or what are you doing now?

Knock wood, I have never had even a bad solenoid..... YET :)
 

Left C

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Gerryd;51168 said:
.... Knock wood .... YET :)
knocking.jpg
 

hbosman

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Oct 22, 2008
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I had one go bad but that was a Clippard. It really never did work properly. Anyway, I bought one of those Ebay Parker Solenoids and it has been absolutely rock solid. I was convinced it was way better than the Clippard but, maybe not. I was thinking of buying a spare Parker since the price is right but, maybe I'll just take my chances with the one I have.
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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Gerryd;51168 said:
what are you doing now?
I'm using a magnet to hold the valve open. I'll have to manually control the thing till I figure something out.
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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I just noticed this in the ebay listing for these parker solenoids we're all buying:

As is the custom at such sales, most of the box labels were removed prior to the time we received the shipment. Thus, we never found a comprehensive label that we could photograph, and we do not know the exact "Parker" part number. Somebody missed enough label shreds, however, so that we can tell you the maximum ambient operating temperature for continuous duty is 68F, maximum fluid temperature is 180F, response time is 8 to 16 milliseconds, cycles per minute is 600, body is 303 Stainless, and the coil encapsulant material is nylon. The seals are Buna-N (aka Nitrile and NBR) which would make them compatible with air, inert gases, water, alcohols, and petroleum-based oils and fuels.
68*F max ambient temp for continuous duty?! That's no good. Tells me the coils can't deal with heat well at all or aren't really meant to be used in continuous duty they way we need. Just based on my experience, I gotta give these valves a thumbs down for us.
 

gillt

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May 1, 2010
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Is it even worth wiring the Parker or should I just look for a new solenoid?
 

Left C

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Oreo;51152 said:
Best I can figure is something in the coil crapped out. I bought two, when the first one died I just swapped the coil. That worked again for a while and now that one is dead too. Crap.
I forgot to mention this. But have you tried contacting the seller, sherrodsurplus? He made good on someone's that went bad on TPT.

What do you think of the Bürkert solenoids?
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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I haven't bought a burkert yet. I also haven't contacted SherrodSurplus yet either. I probably should on both accounts but I've been kinda busy around the house lately and with family obligations. Haven't had a chance to sort this one out yet. I did buy a replacement coil with a proper power cord (not a heat-shrink home-brew job) on ebay. I'm hoping that works. Truth is, I completely disassembled one of the faulty valves just to see the internal build quality. The "pressure vessle", aka the stainless valve is constructed beautifully. GLA's valves have nothing on the Parkers. We're just buying the wrong coil.
 

gillt

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Oreo;51492 said:
I haven't bought a burkert yet. I also haven't contacted SherrodSurplus yet either. I probably should on both accounts but I've been kinda busy around the house lately and with family obligations. Haven't had a chance to sort this one out yet. I did buy a replacement coil with a proper power cord (not a heat-shrink home-brew job) on ebay. I'm hoping that works. Truth is, I completely disassembled one of the faulty valves just to see the internal build quality. The "pressure vessle", aka the stainless valve is constructed beautifully. GLA's valves have nothing on the Parkers. We're just buying the wrong coil.

Do you have any more information on the proper power cord and coil for these Parkers?

Thanks
 

Left C

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That's very interesting. Do you have a link to the coil and powercord that you ordered? What do you look for to find replacement coils for them? Are Buna-N seals long lasting with CO2 use? I'm lost. LOL
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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Yes, Buna-N is fine with CO2. They use Buna-N O-rings on paint ball CO2 bottles.

Well I did some research on Parker solenoid valves and found that their current product line uses a modular design. Basically, they have different "pressure vessels" depending on what inlet / outlet size & PSI requirements you have, and then they have different coils depending on what electrical requirements you have. For any given pressure vessel there are a selection of probably five or so different coils that will work. I just need to figure out which ones will physically fit. From the catalog it wasn't 100% clear so I tried calling one of Parker's distributors but never got a return call. During the first conversation though the rep couldn't find any listed info on the valve we're buying on ebay. None of the numbers come up in their system. I suspect it was a custom designed coil (not pressure vessel) for a commercial customer and not part of their normal product line.

Anyway, the coil I bought on ebay is a total gamble. I bought it because I'm going out of town for a few days and if I get that replacement coil in time, and if it fits, I'll feel a whole lot better leaving my CO2 system running while I'm gone.

Long story short though, the valve we're buying on ebay comes with a 6 watt coil. When I look up that particular pressure vessel though (1/8" npt inlet/outlet, 1/16" orifice, stainless) the catalog says it takes a 10w coil. The 10w coils look a little taller then the 6w coils in the picture though so I'm concerned the 10w coils won't fit. I just need a rep to tell me whether to order a 10w coil or something else.
 

Left C

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Thanks!! That's some great info. I've been looking for a while and I haven't had any luck. I hope your ebay coil works out.
 

S&KGray

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Nov 18, 2009
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I'm pretty sure the 10w coils are for Skinner (Parker) 7000 series valves. The valve being sold by SherrodSurplus is a 3000 series valve, and the coil type most likely M1S1 Integrated Molded, 1/4” Tab, 6W, Class B, 110/50 Hz, 120/60 Hz AC as listed on pg 126 of the pdf linked below. The seller states that there is 3M1S1P3 stamped on the coil and shows it in a couple of the pictures, I don't know what the 3 stands for.

Also it looks like all 3000 series have a maximum ambient temperature of 68F for continuous duty cycle.

http://www.parker.com/literature/Fluid%20Control%20Division/FCD%20Full%20Line%20Skinner%20Valve%20Cat%2003_08.pdf
 

hbosman

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Oct 22, 2008
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Oreo,

Are your solenoids attached to the regulator via brass fittings or are you running them inline? The reason I ask is I noticed that when I was running a solenoid inline, it was much hotter than when I attached it to the regulator via fittings. I guess the regulator acts like a big heat sink. My Parker solenoid is still working very well.
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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hbosman;51577 said:
Oreo,
Are your solenoids attached to the regulator via brass fittings or are you running them inline? The reason I ask is I noticed that when I was running a solenoid inline, it was much hotter than when I attached it to the regulator via fittings. I guess the regulator acts like a big heat sink. My Parker solenoid is still working very well.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Inline = attached with brass fittings. The solenoid valve & any regulator I've seen both have female NPT ports that will require a brass nipple to plumb the two together. Besides that, the valve isn't the part that gets hot. The coil is the problem and the stainless valve itself isn't connected to the coil in a way that allows any kind of efficient heat transfer.

Anyway, I got back from Canada last night. The 10w coil I ordered was waiting on the door step. It's HUGE by comparison to our little parker solenoid valves. So the 10w coils are definitely a no-go. S&KGray is on to something though so I'll have to go back and look at the catalog again. I'll spend some time on it tonight & see what I come up with.
 

hbosman

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Oct 22, 2008
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Oreo;51720 said:
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Inline = attached with brass fittings. The solenoid valve & any regulator I've seen both have female NPT ports that will require a brass nipple to plumb the two together. Besides that, the valve isn't the part that gets hot. The coil is the problem and the stainless valve itself isn't connected to the coil in a way that allows any kind of efficient heat transfer.

Anyway, I got back from Canada last night. The 10w coil I ordered was waiting on the door step. It's HUGE by comparison to our little parker solenoid valves. So the 10w coils are definitely a no-go. S&KGray is on to something though so I'll have to go back and look at the catalog again. I'll spend some time on it tonight & see what I come up with.

What I meant by inline is using 2 brass hose barbs attaching it to the tubing vs. a brass nipple attaching it to the regulator. If it is attached to the regulator, it does make a difference on how hot the solenoid gets. I tried a clippard inline and it got so hot that the tubing was getting really soft. When I attached it to the regulator with a brass nipple, the valve part stayed much cooler. But you answered my question. I was just trying to figure out why you had such almost immediate failures since my Parker with 6 watt coil has been great for 2 months so far. The coil on the Parker is energized 9 hours a day.
 
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fischman

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May 18, 2010
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Just to add, my brand new parker solenoid seems to be having some issues. This being my first pressurized setup, I'm not sure if they are typical. About 50% of the time when the timer clicks to on the solenoid emits a buzzing noise that is very annoying. The only way to get rid of it is to turn it off and back on. Sometimes it takes a time or two before it'll switch on with no noise. Not sure if this is due to the weak coil or what not. Are they any other reasonably priced options? I really would like to not spend another $40-50 if I can avoid it. Thanks!

Josh
 

Oreo

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May 6, 2010
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hbosman;51723 said:
What I meant by inline is using 2 brass hose barbs attaching it to the tubing vs. a brass nipple attaching it to the regulator. If it is attached to the regulator, it does make a difference on how hot the solenoid gets. I tried a clippard inline and it got so hot that the tubing was getting really soft. When I attached it to the regulator with a brass nipple, the valve part stayed much cooler. But you answered my question. I was just trying to figure out why you had such almost immediate failures since my Parker with 6 watt coil has been great for 2 months so far. The coil on the Parker is energized 9 hours a day.
OH, OK now I understand. Still, if your coil is getting so hot that brass plumbing is needed as a heat-sink then the coil isn't rated properly for the task. Neither of my coils got more then luke-warm before they died. Both had been on for a few hours.
fischman;51732 said:
Just to add, my brand new parker solenoid seems to be having some issues. This being my first pressurized setup, I'm not sure if they are typical. About 50% of the time when the timer clicks to on the solenoid emits a buzzing noise that is very annoying. The only way to get rid of it is to turn it off and back on. Sometimes it takes a time or two before it'll switch on with no noise. Not sure if this is due to the weak coil or what not. Are they any other reasonably priced options? I really would like to not spend another $40-50 if I can avoid it. Thanks!

Josh
Inexpensive solenoid valves aren't hard to find on ebay. Try Clippard and Burkert brand also. The only strict requirement we have is that they be "normally closed". Some will have different size pipe threads but that's no big deal, and some will have other electrical requirements- 12vdc, 24vdc, also no big deal if you have a wall-wart transformer you're willing to sacrifice. The nicest thing about these parker valves we've been buying is that they are so small. Many of the other solenoid valves are 2-3 times the size. Hence, I really just want to find a replacement coil if I can.
 
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