Bongo Fury

Just wondered if this would be an idea, i have very high pressure rated on /off ball valves for my hight pressure paint plant, These are all stainless and high precision bits of kit rated for 2200psi for paint and thinners. Would it be an idea to fit one to the end of the bleed hose for easier bleeding as you would only need to turn off rather that try and put a bung in with 100 degree water in the funnel. Once bled up the on/ off lever can be taken off as a safe guard. once clipped securly would be out of the way.
Any thoughts?

It's been mooted as an idea before, I think I'd still want the bung in after it just in case, but I don't see a problem as long as you can be sure it won't vibrate open.

I did do something similar when I made a self-bleeding system as an experiment (which worked very well). However, once the bleeding is done, I clamp the pipe & put the original bung back it as I would not want to risk a valve failing.

Wow, that looks very good. Give us a run through what you did from the beginning and what you used. I know we can see from the pictures but some will be very interested in this as it is really a one person job with little or no stress from what i can see. Does the washer pump keep up with the flow rate ok as you would need to rev the engine to get to the required temp to open the stat properly.
Could you write up a fact sheet for others to follow perhaps. Really interested in this as ive had a hell of a time bleeding mine recently ( although with great advice from others) i have a better understanding of the system now.
Thanks
Ron
PS what valve is that it looks really neat and tidy.Did it cope with the temp ok?

Hi. a standard steel ball valve 3/8th bsp with tails is all you need i have had one in place for 12 months or more the ball is always stainless and the seat is PTFE (plastic tape for engineers non of this poly watsit stuff )you can as i have fit a standard 3/8th solid plug into the outlet. works for me.

Could you not just put the extended bleed hose to the header and negate the washer pump? let it tick over and bleed away itself? start with the header fuller than normal so when the stat opens it falls back to normal. Or is this too simplez

A few quick replies regarding the self-bleeding thing I made:

The valve & fittings are John Guest push fit which may or may not be rated for the temperature / pressures involved, hence why I would not want to leave them in-situ after bleeding.

Plan A was to extend the bleed pipe up to the header tank, but there is not enough flow to cause it to flow uphill. That's where the washer bottle reservoir & twin pumps come into use, so I can open the valve & adjust the flow such that I can leave it open for as long as I want & the coolant is being recirculated back into the system. The pumps work fine & the washer bottle allows for variations between the coolant coming in & being pumped out.

Although it looks rather 'Heath Robinson' it does what I intended it to, although I plan to modify it slightly to make it look tidier & include a clear sight-glass to check for the presence of bubbles. A non-return valve is also on the to do list. At that point I'll take some more pictures & write-up my notes

Nice one simon,
Keep us posted

Good Idea.
My bung is just about knackered.
It's been out more times than it's been in and
my last bleed broke a bit off and Iv'e often thought theres got to be a better bleeding way than this !!