Making Your Own Check Valve That Has "NO" Restriction

[DodgeViper]

UPDATE: I have replaced the 3/8 barb fittings with 1/2" fittings. This allows the entire valve to be oversized to the rest of the fittings and hose's in the system. I also used the second fitting in the top of my Electrolyzer to output two 3/8" lines into a tee fitting that is plumbed to the check valve.

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[bigjim56]

DodgeViper,

Thanks for the video, I believe it was your input on the last discussion on check valves motivated me to make my own also. It seems to be working quite well so far.

I differed in your design by using a dropperhead (dropper bottle rubber piece) instead of the tapered rubber washer in your video. It seals beautifully with the PVC flat bottom. Inside the dropperhead I have a shortened drinking straw (hollowed w/holes) that ensures proper alignment w/the PVC flat bottom everytime the dropperhead is raised and lowered. The straw travels up/down w/the opposing end as its guide, and the hollowing out of the straw center help ensures HHO flowby. This valve has been working out great so far. The only downsides is (1) I had to coil the HHO influent tubing to allow for adaptation to the check valve inlet, (2) my cars spacing is limited, but I found space thru bubbler re-placement.

As far as those ebay check valves, I've been noticing leaks w/them and am losing faith in their adaptation in my setup. I had a foaming problem that caused the check valve to emit foam from the center disk, and since then I have pulled them and have not had a problem. The foaming has been curtailed by the use of a couple drops of deisel fuel added and the addition of
copper brillo pads around the reservoir inlet. No problems since. I want to try the anti-foaming idea from the spa stores, but have yet to go there yet.

Thanks for the video, I hope everyone thats looking for check valves will give a try in making one. They're very easy to make.

bigjim56

[Q-Hack!]

Umm??? What video?

[DodgeViper]

Umm??? What video?

The video that plays automaticly from YouTube... If you cannot see the video you have something on your computer not set right...

[DodgeViper]

DodgeViper,

Thanks for the video, I believe it was your input on the last discussion on check valves motivated me to make my own also. It seems to be working quite well so far.

I differed in your design by using a dropperhead (dropper bottle rubber piece) instead of the tapered rubber washer in your video. It seals beautifully with the PVC flat bottom. Inside the dropperhead I have a shortened drinking straw (hollowed w/holes) that ensures proper alignment w/the PVC flat bottom everytime the dropperhead is raised and lowered. The straw travels up/down w/the opposing end as its guide, and the hollowing out of the straw center help ensures HHO flowby. This valve has been working out great so far. The only downsides is (1) I had to coil the HHO influent tubing to allow for adaptation to the check valve inlet, (2) my cars spacing is limited, but I found space thru bubbler re-placement.

As far as those ebay check valves, I've been noticing leaks w/them and am losing faith in their adaptation in my setup. I had a foaming problem that caused the check valve to emit foam from the center disk, and since then I have pulled them and have not had a problem. The foaming has been curtailed by the use of a couple drops of deisel fuel added and the addition of
copper brillo pads around the reservoir inlet. No problems since. I want to try the anti-foaming idea from the spa stores, but have yet to go there yet.

Thanks for the video, I hope everyone thats looking for check valves will give a try in making one. They're very easy to make.

bigjim56

Yea I want to use a fat O-ring but I have not found a O-ring that fits the inside of the female adapter that has a small enough hole that will not allow the ball to fall through. The ideal size would allow the ball to fit into the O-ring almost to the centerline of the ball of which you would get a complete seal. The check valve I made for the video works great as well...

[Q-Hack!]

The video that plays automaticly from YouTube... If you cannot see the video you have something on your computer not set right...

Ah yes.... apparently my laptop has lost the ability to view youtube videos. I seem to be able to see it just fine from my home desktop. Sorry about the confusion... now off to troubleshoot my laptop.

[bigjim56]

I am going to be building another one for my truck application soon, I like the tapered washer you're using, I will scoure the hardware store for like washers next time. I was just using what I could find around the house for my first one. The dripper/straw works well, but my next one will be the washer/ball method like your video.

I'm still having foaming issues though, keep adding deisel fuel drops, works for a while then returns. Gonna have to try the anti-foam chemical from the spa centers soon. A good flush and refill with fresh electrolite will be done also.

bigjim56

[DodgeViper]

Gonna have to try the anti-foam chemical from the spa centers soon. A good flush and refill with fresh electrolite will be done also.

bigjim56

I installed the check valve today after testing the valve for awhile. The valve works GREAT!!! Once Electrolyzer began to cool off the ball was sucked tight to the rubber washer. All hoses with the exception of the hose from the bubbler to the intake had a vacuum on them and were tight to the touch. I placed a mark on my reservoir and the electrolyte level never increased in the reservoir. Without the check valve my reservoir would overflow with the electrolyte seeping out of the breather hole in the cap.

I use the spa chemical to control my foam. Takes very little.

[Farmercal]

DodgeViper,
I just wanted to say Thank You for you excellent video and instructions for the do-it-yourself check valve. I obtained most of the parts from US Plastics and a few parts locally (Lowes and Ace). It works great. I couldn't get those cheap commercial check valves to work for more than a week without clogging up. There is no way for this design to clog up. It's forums like this that keep this endeavor moving in the right direction. I am now running my booster every time the car is running, so let the testing finally begin. Again, thanks and please keep the ideas coming.

[PeteVamped]

Ah yes.... apparently my laptop has lost the ability to view youtube videos. I seem to be able to see it just fine from my home desktop. Sorry about the confusion... now off to troubleshoot my laptop.

Q-Hack double check to make sure that you have java installed or it may need updated as well. I had that problem on my labtop and that is how I fixed it. This happend when I upgraded to the new firefox. The setting should be under your general internet settings. If you are running windows try getting an upgraded sunjava this should fix the problem for you.

[Q-Hack!]

Q-Hack double check to make sure that you have java installed or it may need updated as well. I had that problem on my labtop and that is how I fixed it. This happend when I upgraded to the new firefox. The setting should be under your general internet settings. If you are running windows try getting an upgraded sunjava this should fix the problem for you.

Not to worry, I got it working. BTW, I run Linux. It turns out that I had installed the VLC plugin for Firefox. It conflicted with the java plugin for some reason. Once I removed it, and went back to the mplayer plugin instead, all was good.