SpudFiles

Gurus, lend me your ears. My question is whether and how much you destroy the structural integrity of PVC pipe by drilling a hole in its side.

The pipe is 3 inch PVC S1 DN80 PN12. It is chamber pipe. I want to mount a schrader valve.

Photo 1 shows a mount into the wall of the chamber. Photo 2 shows another, into the PVC fitting on the chamber. Both mountings are not complete. Assume that I will screw in the valve with teflon tape and lock it with a nut from the inside (I have not yet cemented the end cap of the chamber, so I still have access to the inside of the chamber).

If I go with photo 1, will the PVC chamber still be able to handle 100psi? Or has drilling a hole in its side spoiled its structural integrity?

If I have to go with 2, how do I reinforce/repair the damage I have done to the chamber where I drilled the hole noted in 1? Do I sleeve it, or do I start again with new pipe and fittings and only drill the hole in 2 next time?
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@Will_U_Phistme,

Nice user name. heh. Welcome to the forums. Thanks a bunch for using proper grammar and spelling; we like newbies that write properly around here.

Personally, I'd definitely go with #2. I avoid putting holes in the chamber whenever/wherever possible, and prefer to tap holes where a fitting and pipe overlap, to avoid compromising structural integrity any more than absolutely required.

In your shoes, I'd go with setup #2 and fill the hole in #1 with epoxy or JB Weld. Good epoxy or JB Weld will hold more pressure than the pipe is rated for; just use plenty of it and make sure you get a fair amount of it on the inside and outside of the pipe wall, to give the "plug" something to "grab" onto.

What kind of valve are you using?

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

Pete Zaria, I am using a 1 inch Rainmaker solenoid valve. I have modified it. The solenoid is removed. The blowgun is adapted into the solenoid brackent with plastic threaded adaptors.

I did not mount the blowgun directly onto the valve cap. This was because I was concerned that if I had done so, the mounting would suffer wear and tear from kickback on firing. Eventually the blowgun might come loose, leaving a compromised valve cap.

To ensure rapid depressurisation of the valve chamber, I have enlarged the port between the valve chamber and the solenoid to about 1/8 of an inch. If the port needs to be enlarged further, it will be simple.

I have put a shrader valve on chamber before and it was perfectly fine at 120psi+. If you are realy worried about it then I would put it in the endcap and fill the existing hole with epoxy.