LF: Tank valve removal tool

[Pao]

Something like this:

Add Helium has one but I'm not sure if they are still "alive" after the recent lawsuit.
NESS has one but their only payment provider is PayPal and they wont ship anywhere but your billing address.
I live in the Philippines and want it shipped to CA.

Thanks!

 

[Akimbo]

Buy a stainless DIN plug and have a local welder add a piece of tubing for a handle. Or, just find a wrench that fits the valve.

Edit: Like this:

 

[Wookie]

Buy a stainless DIN plug and have a local welder add a piece of tubing for a handle. Or, just find a wrench that fits the valve.

Some valves, specifically OMS and Blue Steel don't have flats, so that tool (or a din plug with a handle welded on it) are the only way to remove the valve without scarring it.

I have no idea of the status on AH, but if they have them in stock and the website still works, you might give it a try. If you don't get it, all you are out is some time.

 

[Akimbo]

Some valves, specifically OMS and Blue Steel don't have flats, so that tool (or a din plug with a handle welded on it) are the only way to remove the valve without scarring it...

True, but a couple of pieces of wood and a clamp works. I saw one fixture that was pretty nicely made. I don't have a photo but it resembled a set of wooden tongs on steroids. The two long pieces were spaced apart by a block that was about the thickness of the valve at the valve level. The open end of the tong was clamped in place at the valve. The wood was soft enough not to scar the chrome.

The two outsides on the "tong" looked like 1x2 (3/4"x1.5" actual) and about 16" long. They need to be able to flex at the open end about 1/4" with a little clamp pressure and without cracking. The spacer block looked like the same material about 2" long, but may have been planed-down from thicker stock. A small bolt held the sandwich together at one end. A C-clamp completed the assembly.

Edit: This fixture works on a yoke-only valve too, but you could modify an old first stage regulator by adding a lever. The ones I have seen were brazed together so the regulator body didn't unscrew under rotational force.

 

[Tug]

Narked at 90 has a valve tool. I've ordered things from them shipped to the US and haven't had any issues. I ran a quick quote and shipping to CA is £14.

DIN Valve removal tool

 

[Wookie]

True, but a couple of pieces of wood and a clamp works. I saw one fixture that was pretty nicely made. I don't have a photo but it resembled a set of wooden tongs on steroids. The two long pieces were spaced apart by a block that was about the thickness of the valve at the valve level. The open end of the tong was clamped in place at the valve. The wood was soft enough not to scar the chrome.

The two outsides on the "tong" looked like 1x2 (3/4"x1.5" actual) and about 16" long. They need to be able to flex at the open end about 1/4" with a little clamp pressure and without cracking. The spacer block looked like the same material about 2" long, but may have been planed-down from thicker stock. A small bolt held the sandwich together at one end. A C-clamp completed the assembly.

Edit: This fixture works on a yoke-only valve too, but you could modify an old first stage regulator with a lever. The ones I have seen were brazed together so the regulator body didn't unscrew under rotational force.

Sweet. I could have avoided paying whatever I did for the Add Helium tool.

 

[Akimbo]

While on the subject: You can use a cam band, rubber pad, and a stanchion (or fence post on the beach) as a cylinder vise. Sometimes corrosion makes it difficult to break the valve loose from the cylinder threads when held with your knees.

 

[Pao]

Buy a stainless DIN plug and have a local welder add a piece of tubing for a handle. Or, just find a wrench that fits the valve.

Edit: Like this:

I like the din plug idea. Do you suggest I cut down the end or add some brass spacers so as not to apply pressure on the O-ring sealing face? Thanks!

 

[Akimbo]

... Do you suggest I cut down the end or add some brass spacers so as not to apply pressure on the O-ring sealing face?...

Why not just put the O-Ring back in the plug after welding and screw it down against the seat? The one in the YouTube video above looks like an off-the-shelf BSP (British Standard Pipe) plug welded to a piece of scrap pipe. I don't think they screwed it down hard against the valve's O-Ring seat. I would guess that a BSP plug is as hard to find in the Philippines as it is here in the US, but a stainless DIN plug should be more available through a dive shop or the Internet.

You might look for someone who can TIG weld the pipe or tubing handle to the plug. A stick or MIG welder usually produces larger fillet welds. Larger welds will transfer more heat into the plug, making it harder to clean up and more likely to warp. I would look for a piece of scrap for the handle that is 20-25mm OD (outside diameter) since the hex on a DIN plug is about 25mm (1") across the flats. 300-400mm long is a nice length.

 

[Wookie]

Or, use the business end of a junk DIN regulator. It's brass and won't be as hard on the valve. Braze a piece of brass pipe to it.