Dacor manifold overhaul, o-ring questions.

[FlyernDiver]

I acquired a set of doubles recently. The cylinders have passed hydro, so I need to put it all back together now. I've never had to touch a valve before.

It looks dirt simple, but I'm curious if the little black o-ring looking things in the photos are in fact o-rings. They are squashed so flat and so hardened and broken-down, that I cannot tell if they are o-rings or some other specialty seal. Also, what is the purpose of the small nylon washers, and is it necessary to replace them? They look fine, do they have any sealing purpose?

Any help is sourcing these parts, other than a best guess at the hardware store?

[luis]

Dacor valves were made by Sherwood and looking at your pictures, it looks like the inside of Sherwood manifold.

Yes, does old O-rings are probably flat. They are now replaced with Teflon sealing washers. The stem sealing kit uses two washers and it is sold as a replacement kit.

You should be able to download a service manual for the Sherwood valves and get all the parts from any Sherwood dealer.

The overhaul kit for the valve assembly is part number 3506-20 and it includes both the thick and the thin Teflon washers, the copper gasket, a new valve seat, and one tank O-ring.

The reserve overhaul kit is part number 3506-40 and it contains both O-rings and the sealing Teflon washer.

I would not use O-rings (or washers) out of a hardware store. The O-rings in a hardware store are 70 durometer and you never know there quality. I buy a lot of generic O-rings and washers (and lots of other hardware) from McMaster Carr, but they are very specific about the material and specifications of the hardware and O-rings they sell.

For this application I would go directly to a Sherwood dealer.

Good luck

[antique diver]

All the parts you need can be found in the VDH store. See "Valve Service Kit", "Thick Teflon Washer" and "Thin Teflon Washer".

The valves originally used the orings in addition to the teflon washers on the control shafts, but some time in the past the use of the oring on the shafts was considered superflous and was discontinued. This did not sacrifice the sealing qualities, but the shafts and teflon seals do require a good coating of silicon grease for a good initial seal. You are right that the valve is fairly simple, and you should have no problem with the assembly. If you have any problems, help is available here for the asking.

[luis]

Thanks, I missed that.

Here is the kit for the valve portion.
http://vintagedoublehose.com/index.php? ... id=8459746


It looks to be the Sherwood part number 3506-20 or equal.


I was looking for the diagrams under the “Manuals and Catalogs” section, but there seems to be a problem with the section.

[Bryan]

I was looking for the diagrams under the “Manuals and Catalogs” section, but there seems to be a problem with the section.

It's working for me....Files anywhere changed the format a bit but I think all the files are still there....

[FlyernDiver]

Okay, so I can see how the kit referenced has what I need to get the center valve rebuilt. But not sure about the j-valve side. Would I need just one thick and one thin washer? What about the larger o-ring on the j-side?

I'm glad someone mentioned the copper washer, I didn't even see it lurking in there.

I just put in an order with Bryan, that is held up for a back-ordered backplate. Hopefully I can get this stuff added in on time.

Thanks again.

[captain]

Most valves only need a cleaning and lubrication and replacement of O rings. As long as Teflon seals look OK and are replaced in the same position on the same stem 99% of the time they will be fine. I have never had a case with generic hardware store O ring being a problem on a valve. If you don't replace them every 5 hears at hydro you might have a problem 20 years down the road but you would have the same problem with any other O ring after 20 years.