Trouble with stuck deadheads

[Crosfire]

Assembled and tested a couple elbows, tool marks and all. Installed the right deadhead to check for leaks. It was a little snug fit. After testing I could not move the female fitting sleeve and the deadhead won't budge.??? Okay, tested the deadhead on the left easy fit... held pressure. However, deadhead and female sleeve won't budge either. Please advise (on bended knee).

 

[nervoustrig]

May be a dumb question but are you pushing down on the deadhead plug as you are attempting to slide down the collar? If not, do so. Might even apply a small clamp across the assembly to free up your hands to move the collar.

 

[Franklink]

wiggle wiggle wiggle.....wiggle some more, all while making sure you're pushing/pulling the knurled retaining ring away from the dead head, to "open" it as much as possible.

Tolerances across all these pcp fittings are horrible. Even with the good stuff (non-ebay/amazo).

If you get it out of there, don't ever test this combination again cuz it'll just get stuck again.

 

[Crosfire]

May be a dumb question but are you pushing down on the deadhead plug as you are attempting to slide down the collar? If not, do so. Might even apply a small clamp across the assembly to free up your hands to move the collar.

Tried to push down. I'll try it in a vise tomorrow. My friend "Arthur" isn't helping at all.... arthritis.

 

[Crosfire]

wiggle wiggle wiggle.....wiggle some more, all while making sure you're pushing/pulling the knurled retaining ring away from the dead head, to "open" it as much as possible.

Tolerances across all these pcp fittings are horrible. Even with the good stuff (non-ebay/amazo).

If you get it out of there, don't ever test this combination again cuz it'll just get stuck again.

I won't do the deadhead again.... I just wonder will it do the same on my PCP , oil/water separator, or compressor?

 

[scottg0814]

Did you test them under high pressure? If the male fosters have a check valve installed, the whole thing could still be under pressure. I believe the pressure would lock the deadheads. Just a thought...

 

[Scotty1]

I bet on check valves in the male fosters. I’ve done that…

 

[Crosfire]

Did you test them under high pressure? If the male fosters have a check valve installed, the whole thing could still be under pressure. I believe the pressure would lock the deadheads. Just a thought...

Snap!!! Holy crap!!! I forgot to pull the valves. Doh!!! How would I release the pressure? @me:

 

[Crosfire]

I bet on check valves in the male fosters. I’ve done that…

How did you relieve the pressure. I really hate to leave those elbows under pressure all night. Yeah 4200 psi.

 

[Heavyopp]

There’s not a lot of volume in there so not much of a hazard if you where to unscrew something.

If it where me I’d put the elbow in a vice and start backing out the male foster fittings. Might even throw a towel over the it while unscrewing.

 

[Scotty1]

Mine were straight, so using two sockets, I hit it with a hammer and fired it off. I agree, unscrew until it leaks down.

 

[Heavyopp]

looking at the pictures again — How are the female foster fittings sealed?

Might be better to unscrew them if sealed on a tapered face, they’ll leak easier

 

[Crosfire]

looking at the pictures again — How are the female foster fittings sealed?

I forgot to take the valves out. Sealed with plumbers tape. Trying to figure how to de-pressurize without losing a finger/eye. Tired and hungry.....

 

[Heavyopp]

The females, they don’t have check valves. I don’t see any thread sealant so they have to be sealed to the elbow some other way.

Unscrew them. keep it pointed away but I bet the pressure will release way before your out of threads

 

[MI_Yeti]

I depressurize airguns with my handpump. Pump till hear the check valve open, then crack the bleeder. Let it drain real slow. Drains all the air outof my airguns well. dunno aboubt for these but maybe worth a shot.

 

[Geezerhood]

I have reached in with a small diameter allen wrench or punch to depress the spring loaded valve in the one way fitting to release pressure. With such a small volume of air, not much worry about a huge jet of air coming out, but still go slowly. You can just tap it a few times to release small bursts.

I try to remember to never release a QD connector unless the sliding collar is very loose. Fortunately none that were under pressure ever gave way when I tried to release them when under pressure!

As for male QD connectors that are too tight of a fit on some female QD connectors, I spin them in a drill with some wet dry sandpaper to radius the sharp edges until they connect easily in the difficult connectors. None have ever leaked on me in the connectors that were not a difficult fit before the modification. Go slowly and stop as soon as they connect smoothly. Clean off all sanding residue and give a light coat of O-Ring grease.

 

[Ca_Varminter]

They are Deadhead pressure plug!!!!
No Check valves..... no passage for airflow......
If the pressure push them out to the point of jamming...
Without the a little finger power.... Use a screwdriver between the socket and deadhead.
See if you can un-jam the collar to release them....

 

[Crosfire]

I have reached in with a small diameter allen wrench or punch to depress the spring loaded valve in the one way fitting to release pressure. With such a small volume of air, not much worry about a huge jet of air coming out, but still go slowly. You can just tap it a few times to release small bursts.

I try to remember to never release a QD connector unless the sliding collar is very loose. Fortunately none that were under pressure ever gave way.

As for male QD connectors that are too tight of a fit on some female QD connectors, I spin them in a drill with some wet dry sandpaper to radius the sharp edges until they connect easily in the difficult connectors. None have ever leaked on me in the connectors that were not a difficult fit before the modification. Go slowly and stop as soon as they connect smoothly. Clean off all sanding residue and give a light coat of O-Ring grease.

PROBLEM SOLVED! Followed @Geezerhood recommendation. Allen wrench and a few taps of a mallet and a quick mini WOOSH! I'll pull the valves tomorrow.

The little project from hell. 3 weeks to make 2 elbow fittings. Returned all parts at least once for either poor machining, wrong size, or to chase threads. Cancelled orders for elbows once before reordering due to failure to deliver. Finally got the parts and forgot to pull the valves.

Thanks all! Tired Chile....Tired!

 

[rcs9250]

As franklink stated, there is no “standard” dimension and tolerancing that manufacturers use. It appears they reverse engineer the fittings by measuring a sample and then assign their own tolerances. Works fine for their product line, but mating to other brands is hit or miss.
Unfortunately for the airgun community we source things like fosters from any number of vendors and God only knows who made them.
I have several that won’t mate.

 

[nervoustrig]

As I understand it, Foster is the de-facto standard. Not Foster in the generic sense of "tissue = Kleenex", but actual Foster brand fittings. In which case anything incompatible with Foster can be thought of as nonstandard.