Prince Flow Control Valves - Love 'Em & Hate 'Em

[Haoleguy]

This past year I purchased a Prince Wolverine flow control valve W-1950-16. Recently I hooked it up to the implement I needed flow control for and found that 2 of the 1/2" NPTF ports leaked. I was able to snug down one but not the other. I decided to reorder and took a closer look between the W-1950 and RD-1950 series since they look identical. Come to find out the Wolverine series W is made overseas whereas the RD series is made here in the USA. I've now reordered the RD-1950 and hope that the female threads are more uniform and easy to seal. The frequency for this kind of problem with hydraulic fittings has increased for me and seems to be associated with cheap fittings found in local stores. This has happened to me from online sales but the specialty hydraulic sellers seem to have a higher quality stock. I now always hand tighten dry fittings to make sure they smoothly match before using them and for any issues I've come across I send them back for an exchange or alternative source.

 

[J_J]

Did you use any kind of thread sealant?

 

[Haoleguy]

Did you use any kind of thread sealant?

I did for some, ahead of time, but not all as I was carrying a fistful of angle adapters to get a stress free orientation of the tubing to and from the sources and that the temperature while doing this was below 40F. Here's a couple of pics. Do you think I can salvage the inlet with some thread sealant?

 

[J_J]

You might try Loctite 545.

What is the purpose of the flow control valve?

 

[Haoleguy]

It regulates flow to a valving system at 1.5 to 3 gpm which acts to extend the weed knife(pic 2) to cut weed roots under grapevines. This system has a control manifold with 2/2-way solenoid and pressure limiting valves which feeds the control valve with sensor which supplies a control cylinder . The knife retracts using the silver wand sensor(pic 2) when it runs into an object. At that point the flow changes through the valve and to the control cylinder. In pic 2 the knife is retracted as there is no flow to the system. Two specifics on setup are to set the flow correctly and secondly to set the retraction sensitivity which is a turn bolt knob on the control manifold(silver box) in pics 1 & 2.

 

[RickB]

I did for some, ahead of time, but not all

Tapered threads with no sealant is just asking for a leak. Country of origin is probably not a factor.

 

[oldnslo]

Use SAE O-ring boss style fittings & valves and you can orient in any direction then lock the jam nut down with no leaks.

 

[s219]

Use SAE O-ring boss style fittings & valves and you can orient in any direction then lock the jam nut down with no leaks.

Agreed. I came to love these types of fittings when doing a hydraulics project recently. They are practically idiot proof, which is good for me....

 

[Leejohn]

Why so much hose? Is that what you had on hand?

 

[Haoleguy]

Why so much hose? Is that what you had on hand?

There are no less than 8 hoses total. Six came with the attachment and I added 2. Part of the length is related to using on different tractors with their SCV locations, of which you need 2.5 pairs, and return to-sump location(s). I'm guessing I will have a few people that want to try the unit and get away from chemical weeding. Longer lengths also help with fluid cooling.