Source of 2 inch balls for water pump

My pegsun pump had 3 inch rubber balls in it & it was 40years old & still going strong when I sold it. I suspect that rubber would seat better anyway. Perhaps a hard ball as the type one throws for one's dog to chew on might do the trick

It's very commonly done by using a hard ball (be it turned from Lignum Vitae , a precision stainless-steel, snooker ball or the dog's toy), or a mushroom type valve, on a rubber seating.

I think even Hydraulic Ram Pumps, which use a big, heavy iron ball and close literally with a bang, use that; but here we're looking at something gentler in operation.

These guys are much more reasonable than I expected. A quick email to them gave the response

"We have 50mm diameter nitrile rubber balls (density 1.2g/cc) 70 Shore A @ £7.20 each
Otherwise 50mm diameter Natural Rubber (1.6g/cc) 65A @ £3.00 each" (Plus VAT and p/p, of course)

I was all fired up to go for that Then I tried the dog's ball idea and found just the thing. If they are no good then someone's dog will have a lucky day!

pub.co.uk could be useful later as they are not silly expensive.

Cheers

Andrew

The original balls have lasted sixty years... doesn't that suggest that wooden balls might be good replacements that also won't harm the valve seats?

Neil

Possibly but the worst that can happen is the rubber going soggy or disintegrating. Three s/s bolts undone will allow replacement. I think cast iron beats dog ball rubber.

I’ll risk it - unless you’re volunteering to make me two 2” lignum vitae balls. 😁 lol

How about the hard rubber "super-bouncy" balls - we have two or three around the house (No idea why), and they are very hard, and as near 2 inch diameter as I can measure - they have lots of them all different sizes in a local toyshop, dirt cheap.