Easy fix for sticky end cap valves

[Scott Cruickshank]

There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a really good session and having to battle end cap clog problems. Except maybe having your mom walk in on you. Anyway, here’s something i just tried and seems to be working good so far. Get a piece of sponge. You probably want it about a half inch thick and big enough that you can cut a piece the size of the internal diameter of your end cap. Make sure that the sponge breathes. Hold it up to your mouth and try to blow and suck air through it. The air should go through with little effort, not much more than without it in fr5ont of your mouth. If air resistance is too high, try a different brand of sponge. I got a pack of 10 at the dollar store for a buck. I sliced them down a little thinner with a razor blade until I could blow through them easy. They’re light and pass air pretty good at about a half inch thick.

Cut a piece the diameter of your end cap and shove it inside the cap before you start. The theory being that any small amounts of lube and other liquids will get trapped in the sponge before they can get through to the valve and clog it up. I change the ones I made every session. I have never tried to go more than 1, though I’m guessing you might get three out of it. Changing them regularly, I’ve never had a problem so far.

I can’t guarantee it will work. It might depend on the lube you use, the sponge, the thickness. It works for me so far, that’s all I can tell you. For just a few bucks and not much effort you can try.

[Ian]

Hi Scott, . . . well I can confirm it does work!, many thanks for the tip. I had a roll of foam about 1/4 inch thick so I used that, its working well so I have installed the foam discs in all three of my receivers.

[Scott Cruickshank]

There are a lot of variables involved, but I’m sure no matter what you do, it has to work for some length of time. I Imagine eventually the sponge has to get saturated and stop acting as a blocker. Change them regularly and clean and dry the used ones and it has to work better than no barrier at all.

So far so good for me too. Now a few weeks and still no problem.

[Ian]

Yes and it seems to work well, I just wash the foam out and squeeze it dry and they are good to go for another time. I don’t know how long the foam discs will last for but to be honest I have a 3 yard role of this stuff so its not really a problem 🙂

[Michael]

For a simpler fix, wad up a couple of Kleenex and stuff in the end of the tube before installing the end cap.

[ron2298]

what are the end cap valves for ? i see you can order caps with one or two valves .why are there two choices on how many valves.how do they affect how it works??

[Scott Cruickshank]

The end cap is necessary to get the stroking motion. The cap has to breathe through the valve or you get pop offs, that’s a term you’ll see all over this forum. It means that you were going along nice and the receiver flew off. It’s a real drag. You have to pick it up off the floor, jam it back on and hope it doesn’t happen again. You have to have the cap with the valve or it won’t work properly.

Anyway, the double valve does work better if you like to run at high speed. It lets the air out quicker and prevents a lot of pop off problems when running near the top end of the speed range. Some people like the double valve because with two, one can get one stuck and the other one is still open, but you can cure that just with the piece of sponge or even kleenex as somebody suggested above. And I think for some of the wider diameter receivers for guys who are really thick and/or long, it works better with a double for increased air flow.

A note on speed, one of the reasons why you might want a double vent cap. When you order a Venus you imagine you’re going to run it full blast all the time. Like what could be better than that you’d think. When you get it and try it, you find out it’s way more pleasurable to run it at 1/4 or 1/3 speed. You try it once at full out, and you probably never do it again. Almost everybody who has one will tell you that. I’m sure you’ll find out the same as we all did. I’d say there’s a 98% chance you won’t need or want one. You can always order one later if you do.

[gafferlv]

What I do if the valve gets sticky during a session is just put a drop of lube on the valve from the top as it is stroking. It sucks in the lube and loosens the ball as well as creating a better seal. Works every time for me. I do not worry about interrupted session at all.

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