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Step 4Open End Details
Notice that a short ring of 4" pipe is inserted on the opening end, just behind the acrylic disc. This serves as a backing because the water pressure wants to push this disc into the housing. In retrospect, it may have been better to mount the disc on the other side of the moulded in stop (hey, give it a shot).
As noted on the drawing, the air gap between the body and the backing ring must exist otherwise the Oring will not seal. I laid the removable cap down on the bench and taped some pennies to this edge to create the air gap. Put a small section (a 1-2" ring) of coupling on the body of the housing with the factory edge facing the closure cap. Then put your O-ring on. Put your housing down into the cap (the pipe will now sit on the pennies). Push your Oring down to meet the coupling. Then push your 1-2" ring down to hit the O-ring. This represents the perfect placement for this ring and should be glued here. By the way, this is much easier said than done. PVC cement gives you about 30 seconds to work. It also gets squished out all over the place. Remember the tip about masking off your non-glued parts? You can't wipe PVC cement off because it immediately starts melting the pipe.
One more note on the O-ring sealing surfaces: Before you glue anything, you have to make sure these edges are beautifully smooth. I used the leftover piece of acrylic to make a large flat sanding block. With a little spray adhesive, I attached some 400 grit sandpaper. Then I rubbed these sealing edges in a random motion, turning it in my hand often, for about an hour each. Sometimes there is writing stamped on the ends. You can remove this first with a file so you don't spend too much time sanding them off. Either way, you might even want to look at this edge with a magnifying glass. Just one pit and your housing will leak.
As noted on the drawing, the air gap between the body and the backing ring must exist otherwise the Oring will not seal. I laid the removable cap down on the bench and taped some pennies to this edge to create the air gap. Put a small section (a 1-2" ring) of coupling on the body of the housing with the factory edge facing the closure cap. Then put your O-ring on. Put your housing down into the cap (the pipe will now sit on the pennies). Push your Oring down to meet the coupling. Then push your 1-2" ring down to hit the O-ring. This represents the perfect placement for this ring and should be glued here. By the way, this is much easier said than done. PVC cement gives you about 30 seconds to work. It also gets squished out all over the place. Remember the tip about masking off your non-glued parts? You can't wipe PVC cement off because it immediately starts melting the pipe.
One more note on the O-ring sealing surfaces: Before you glue anything, you have to make sure these edges are beautifully smooth. I used the leftover piece of acrylic to make a large flat sanding block. With a little spray adhesive, I attached some 400 grit sandpaper. Then I rubbed these sealing edges in a random motion, turning it in my hand often, for about an hour each. Sometimes there is writing stamped on the ends. You can remove this first with a file so you don't spend too much time sanding them off. Either way, you might even want to look at this edge with a magnifying glass. Just one pit and your housing will leak.
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Oct 25, 2007. 2:45 PMRich_D
says:
OK, another question. I'm going to take your suggestion and install my acrylic disc on the "other side" of the molded-in stop, so that the stop itself, and not an inserted ring, supports the disc against the water pressure that wants to push the disc into the housing. If I do it that way, I wouldn't need the inner ring at all, correct? And if that's true, does the lack of an inner ring affect the gap in any way?
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1
Oct 25, 2007. 9:17 PMBobby_M (author)
says:
It introduces a few challenges. Notice the latches will have to be longer so that the screws penatrate into or in front of the acrylic. The backing ring provides more gluing/sealing surface for some piece of mind. Maybe it's not necessary but you'd have to experiment. The gap doesn't have to be exacting by the way, you just don't want the body bottoming out before the Oring is compressed well.
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1
Nov 27, 2010. 11:14 AMChornbeak
says:
couldn't you still glue in a ring behind the molded in step? That way you wouldn't have to use longer latches.
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Oct 25, 2007. 2:30 PMRich_D
says:
Maybe I'm missing something, but here's my question. Where exactly - to which "edge" - did you "tape some pennies"? And, did you do so in a single layer, or stack a certain number to achieve the gap?
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1
Oct 25, 2007. 9:14 PMBobby_M (author)
says:
I taped a few pennies around the circumference at the point where the arrow is pointing to on the diagram where it says "notice gap here". It was a single layer. You need this for when you're gluing the latch ring around the body. You put the assembed cap on the floor (with the pennies attached), put the body on top, put the Oring on, Slide the latch ring all the way down tight to the Oring... that's where it needs to be glued.
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