US Divers Valve Question

[pasadenatim]

I'm new to the Vintage arena, and have done some DIY with other equipment. I have a US Divers J valve that apparently has an older Overpressure relief plug. According to the schematic, it appears to be an pre 1966 valve plug and is Large. Much bigger than the 3/8th standard. Is this 1/2 inch? It measures like 9/16 at the threads. Also, any tips on getting out the brass/copper washer? It appears stuck or corroded. I didn't want to pry too much on it for fear of damaging it,
Thanks for any help. I've enjoyed and learned a lot from this forum.

[EHowe]

I can't speak to the valve you have. But, I do have A couple of later model j-valves that I got parts for from Bryan. I would be willing to send you one for the price of shipping if your interested.
Ed

[Ron]

It looks like a 1/2" burst disc. I use a dental pick to get the copper burst disc out. I think Bryan sells these in the store.

[captain]

It is probably not a brass or copper washer, it is most likely a phenolic gasket. You probably will not get it out in one piece as they stick to the valve and become brittle with age. Use a pick to break it up. You can replace it with a nylon one or leave it alone and put the nylon on top of it.

[pasadenatim]

Thanks to all for the information. I'll try the 1/2 in. plug from Brian. The gasket looks good so I'll leave that alone for now.

[captain]

If you are going to leave the old gasket in place I highly recommend you put a new nylon one on top of it because if it leaks with just the old one you will have to empty the tank to replace it.

[pasadenatim]

Hmm, well, the 1/2 inch is too small. Measures more like 5/8th. I've never seen one this big on a US Divers J Valve? The nut has multiple ports and the disc appears copper and is concave. Another PIC attached. Not sure if I can find a source for a replacement disc and reuse the nut. Oh, well. should of checked this first before cleaning up the valve. A good learning experience though. Thanks for all the input.

[Ron]

What do the rest of the valve guts look like? I have never seen a USD with a burst disc this large. It can't be a European one, because they don't have burst discs. Can you take pictures of what the rest of this thing looks like?

[luis]

US Divers did have a large burst disc for a while. The bad news is that there are no replacements available, as far as I know. Others in the past have searched dive shops, industrial gas supply companies, etc. with no luck.

I would just look for a different valve. It is easy to replace the valve. Even if you did find some NOS disc from some old dive shop, the supply would be limited.

Good luck

[antique diver]

Hmm, well, the 1/2 inch is too small. Measures more like 5/8th. I've never seen one this big on a US Divers J Valve? The nut has multiple ports and the disc appears copper and is concave. Another PIC attached. Not sure if I can find a source for a replacement disc and reuse the nut. Oh, well. should of checked this first before cleaning up the valve. A good learning experience though. Thanks for all the input.

Can you make an accurate measurement of the disc diameter? Thickness would be helpful too. I will be glad to look around for something that fits. Sounds larger than anything I recall, but it's worth a try looking.

[captain]

I would suggest you try at a commercial gas supplier such as Airgas, Air Liquide or Praxair. Some of the commercial gas cylinders use a large burst disc.

[simonbeans]

Does your burst disc assembly look like the one on the left? The right one is the standard 3/8".






If it is contact me at [email protected]

Allan

[SeaHuntJerry]

I might have one used on surviv air USD

[SeaHuntJerry]

Yes I have those burst plugs contact me,USDivers used them on the1r Survivair firefighting line also!

[1969ivan1]

Thanks for the help Jerry MOOOOOOO!