# Goodall Valve suggestions?



## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

Several years ago, I picked up a couple of Goodall valves & a squirt bottle with a short piece of small diameter (maybe 1/8"?) copper tubing as the filling probe. Although it works, it's not what I would consider *great*  in operation - *lots of leakage & squirting of HOT*  water when trying to refill the boiler (plus I've also damaged the soft copper filling probe to the point where it doesn't fit the valve tightly as well) - & I often wonder how much of the water actually gets *into* the boiler vs. being wasted. I know I've seen at least one style of Goodall that has a nipple on it that the filling probe latches solidly onto (although I wonder if it would clear the sliding cap roof of the Accucraft Mich-Cal #2 Shay's roof in operation?). Any suggestions on where I should look for something better than the Goodall's I'm using currently?

*Tom Lapointe*


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Tom, some years ago saw a guy that had a very small O ring at the bottom of the Goodall Valve that sealed it when he put the copper tube into the fitting, but didn't lodge the pipe as happens at times in and made it easy to remove, it also sealed the filling procedure and there was no leakage. I don't know what size he used, probably others that are aware of that can chime in here. It will cost you a whole lot less, works just fine, you haven't added to the height of the unit or had to modify the filling bottle. LG


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Tom-
I recommend you contact Jim Sanders of Wee Bee locomotive parts, he makes Goodall valves and will take care of your needs. Typically I use an Accucraft pump bottle with a clear hose that terminates in a tapered brass fitting that friction fits into the Goodall valve, does a decent job. You may only need the tapered brass fitting and a length of hose. 

BTW, Jim's pop valves are great, highly recommended to replace the stock pop valves locomotives come with.

his contact info is:

[email protected]

317-931-8392

Regards

Jerry


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, it fully agree with you about Jim's Wee Bee pop valves. I have them on several loco's and they perform as designed, much better than the manufacturer provided ones. and he does stand behind them. 
I'm not familiar with his version of the Goodall, can you or he post them here?, The friction fit part is what I and other always had a problem with. The little O ring at the bottom solved that as the seal was made at the bottom and not at the sides making removing the tube much easier. Always looking to learn something new, thank you. nick jr


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks, Jerry, just e-mailed him a query.  Tom


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Nick

Yes I agree the friction fit of the feed tube is an issue. I usually have no problem fitting it in and pumping in water, but by that time the brass has expanded and it won't come out. So I carry a small pair of needle nose pliers to pop it out.

I mentioned Jim in the context of Goodall valves because my first live steamer was an Aristo Craft 0-4-0. It had no Goodall, so he made me one and it had a locking pin arrangement on the tip that mated with the valve and worked like a charm. I sure wish I could retro fit all my steamers with that system, but I have not investigated that option yet. I see that on others steamers now and then but have not asked where they got them.

Regards

Jerry


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry If Im not mistaken the retrofit is something like a Rectus fitting, a bit expensive and IMHO more than is needed for this simple application, I do use them for high pressure water or steam feeds and some have a one way valve so when disconnected they seal. 
please share his reply and pics of his design, always looking to learn. nick jr


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## hcampbell (Jan 2, 2008)

I just use the flexible tube without any fitting. The tube expands under pressure and seals quite well.

Harvey C.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Harvey, do you use any kind of lubrication on the flexible tubing? and does it deform from the heat? or does the cool water you are pumping in keep that from happening?? Sounds good to me.


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

*E-mail address "bouncing".*



Jerry, Jim's "[email protected]" e-mail address is getting "bounced" by the server as "the user is unknown".  Anyone else have any suggestions? Tom


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

hcampbell said:


> I just use the flexible tube without any fitting. The tube expands under pressure and seals quite well.
> 
> Harvey C.





Nick Jr said:


> Harvey, do you use any kind of lubrication on the flexible tubing? and does it deform from the heat? or does the cool water you are pumping in keep that from happening?? Sounds good to me.


If the bore of the Goodall valve has a slight taper, then the flexible tube alone works just fine. After a seasons use or more, I have found the tubing tends to shrink a little on the end, but I just snip off a 1/4 inch or so and it's good for another year.


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## seadawg (Jan 2, 2008)

Tom Lapointe said:


> Jerry, Jim's "[email protected]" e-mail address is getting "bounced" by the server as "the user is unknown".  Anyone else have any suggestions? Tom


I noticed that a few weeks back when I wanted to get a couple of pop valves......

Is Jim still making parts?


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Tom/Dave

I found another email address, FWIW maybe this will work?

[email protected]

Jerry


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

The ultimate Goodall Valve is one with a Quick Disconnect:

The Train Department, Jason, sells a Goodall with a quick connect. One point,, with some loco's the standard goodall valve with a QC added is too tall for the cab roof to close completely. The solution is to cut down the knurled portion by about half. I believe the one in the picture has been cut down. Jason would need to confirm, buy he's out until the 12th per his website. (Picture at bottom of webpage.)
http://www.thetraindepartment.com/live-steam-parts-accessories/goodall-valves/


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## hcampbell (Jan 2, 2008)

Nick
Like John says, just stick it in. One of mine uses silicone tube, the other is a Regner bottle that has a stiffer tube of unknown material. Both have held up well.

Harvey C.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

John, Harvey looks like that is the way to go FOR ME, no more struggling to get that metal tube out of the fitting, very easy and best of all no purchase.. I lost the O ring that was graciously given to me. LG


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

Try this email for WeeBee: [email protected]

That is the latest I have for Jim. I use both his pop valves and goodall valves in all my locos. The goodall valve is a quick connect type so you do not have to hold the tube into the valve and have both hands free. Very nice.

Hope this helps.


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## rwjenkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Chris Scott said:


> The ultimate Goodall Valve is one with a Quick Disconnect:
> 
> http://www.thetraindepartment.com/live-steam-parts-accessories/goodall-valves/


^^^ What he said.

I ordered one of these from The Train Department about a year ago, and I can't recommend this thing highly enough. Love it love it love it! No mess, no hassle, no burned fingers or backspray in the face, just snap it on, pump your water, unhook it. No muss no fuss. Nice quality pump bottle too.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Rich, if you have both hands free, what extremity are you using to manually pump the water or control the electric pump??, I'M JUST FUNNIN', I'm sure you mean both hands not needed for the procedure. I still most like the idea that I can make the most of what I already have. 
Never experienced what rwjenkis described no matter how careless I was, learned at a young age not to put my face over hot things. I will admit to something that is really DUMB, Attempting to add water through a Goodall Valve while under way is not a good idea Only did that once.. Making mistakes is a learning experience, and I wouldn't want to have missed any of them. LG


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## steve.ciambrone (Dec 27, 2007)

hcampbell said:


> I just use the flexible tube without any fitting. The tube expands under pressure and seals quite well.
> 
> Harvey C.


I use the same setup, no fitting needed, the tube is not in long enough to burn or melt, besides pumping the cool water in will cool it anyway. No need for fittings or a locking connector. It just takes one hand to keep the hose in place and the other to pump.

Steve


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

After whats been posted, a Rectus, or any locking fitting added into a Goodall valve is just an unnecessary expense. By design the Goodall valve should not allow hot water or steam to exit through the top opening, even while filling. And it seems the brass/copper tubing that goes into the valve isn't a necessary part either. Thank you for all who contributed, MY path is clear. LG


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

I have my goodalls custom made for me and the are a reamed fit for the tubing from the bottle. For those that have trouble with holding it tight for one reason or another then the addition of the quick disconnect is best as its then a one handed operation. 

No brass tubes, Orings, seals or tapered nipples to get jammed in there. When the hose hardens over time you just trim it back an inch and its just as new.


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## rwjenkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Nick Jr said:


> Never experienced what rwjenkis described no matter how careless I was, learned at a young age not to put my face over hot things.


I have had good experiences and bad experiences with Goodall valves. I bought my first Goodall valve and bottle from Norm Saley, and I have no complaints whatsoever there, it worked exactly as intended for a good few years, and probably spoiled me for all other traditional Goodall valves. 

As my fleet expanded, I bought a few cheap Goodall valves on Ebay. Then, after accidentally dropping and breaking my pump bottle, I bought a new one from Accucraft. That combination proved troublesome an alarming percentage of the time. Either the brass fitting on the end of the hose wouldn't form a tight enough seal in the top of the valve and I'd end up with a lot of back spray, or the trigger on the bottle would start to bend before it would overcome the pressure. Either way, I would be left wondering if any water was getting into the boiler at all. Because it's a metal-on-metal connection with the Accucraft bottle, if the water isn't flowing properly through the hose, the brass fitting starts to absorb boiler heat from the valve body until it gets too hot to hold with bare fingers, and then the heat expansion has it wedged in so tightly that I need to get the pliers out and give it a twist (clockwise of course, so as not to loosen the valve) to get it out again. By the way, I don't hold my face over the engine while I'm pumping water, but human arms are only so long. The back spray only got enough distance in the right direction to get a few drops of water on my face once or twice, but it did happen. The main frustration, however, was not being able to pump water into the boiler effectively.

Now it could well be that Jason's regular Goodall valves are just that much better than the cheapo valves I bought on Ebay a few years back, and it could well be that his pump bottles are of a significantly better quality than the Accucraft ones, and that combination alone would have solved all my problems, but when I saw the quick-disconnect option on his website, I decided to give it a try, and I wasn't disappointed. Your mileage may vary, of course.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

John, Harvey, Steve and others that have advised to just use the plastic end and the pump bottle supplied from the manufacture, THANK YOU, now that the running season has started and I have had the need to use them it has worked just fine. I'll use my $$ for other enhancements. LG


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