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Homemade petcock...?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

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Do you guys think it would be possible to make a petcock and adapter plate? I was thinking some 1/4" or 1/8" steel for the adapter plate, then a brass elbow out of that, with a brass ball valve on the end with a nipple on it for the fuel line. I bet I could put it together for about $20, maybe less. Instead of the $100 for the pingel setup..?

Does this sound stupid, or just cheap?


Are there certain flow characteristics to the pingels? I really think it would work...

Any opinions?
 
I think you probably wouldn't get a good return on your effort building a petcock, but if you have the tools you might get ahead with a homemade adapter plate. If you have good metal-working tools it shouldn't be that difficult.

IMHO
 
It would be really easy to do. The only tricky part would be attaching the filter screen to the new baseplate. Parts would be 1/4" thick steeel, 2 M6 bolts, 2 leather washers, 1 homemadge gasket, a bit of pipe, and a shutoff valve. You wouldn't have a reserve doing this.

Steve
 
Screw the Pingel for $100, get an original Suzuki part for $75 or so.

I put one on my GS last weekend...it's very nice and works perfectly.

~Adam
 
AOD said:
Screw the Pingel for $100, get an original Suzuki part for $75 or so.
~Adam
Click to expand...
Adam, that doesn't make sense to me. I bought my Pingel for $90 including adapter and shipping. That's only $15 more than your stock unit. The Pingel is bulletproof and has no diaphragm to fail. The stock petcock can start failing and it can take a long time to realize you have a leaking petcock and all the problems that can create. The Pingel is peace of mind.
It operates much smoother/easier than the stocker. You should remember to turn it on and off though, which is easy to remember.
 
well, I am gonna start fabbing it up tomorrow. I have a friend that is a machinist that is going to take care of the adapter plate for me...I'll post some pics, and let you guys know how it goes, along with how much it cost...

I really dont care if it looks like crap anyway...as long as it works. I dont see how a pingle valve (just a elbow with a ball valve built in) can outflow a 1/4" elbow with a 1/4" ball valve after it...We'll see...
 
The only reason I don't like the Pingel is becasue of the adapter plate. It's really cheesy the way it just threads into the flat plate, and there is no recessed gasket on that plate. While the actual fuel tube and valve is very high quality and works great, the primative design of the mount and adapter plate makes the Suzuki petcock the better unit. My Pingel is still sitting on my bench, becuase I couldn't get the mount to stop bleeding gas. And now the threads on the adapter plate are stripped, becasue it's a cheesy mount. To add to my dislike of Pingel, when I called to get a new adapter plate, they told me to measure the distance of the mounting bolts. Now, even though this process would take all of 30 seconds, these guys should know exactly what plate I need for my bike. Does not inspire confidence... :?
 
Jethro said:
The only reason I don't like the Pingel is becasue of the adapter plate. It's really cheesy the way it just threads into the flat plate, and there is no recessed gasket on that plate. While the actual fuel tube and valve is very high quality and works great, the primative design of the mount and adapter plate makes the Suzuki petcock the better unit. My Pingel is still sitting on my bench, becuase I couldn't get the mount to stop bleeding gas. And now the threads on the adapter plate are stripped, becasue it's a cheesy mount. To add to my dislike of Pingel, when I called to get a new adapter plate, they told me to measure the distance of the mounting bolts. Now, even though this process would take all of 30 seconds, these guys should know exactly what plate I need for my bike. Does not inspire confidence... :?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry you had trouble with the Pingel adapter. I didn't have any trouble with the adapter. You just have to read the instructions and follow them exactly. Always read instructions through with anything, then start an installation.
How did you strip the adapters threads? Do you mean the hole that the valve threads into or the smaller bolt holes? The valve is only supposed to go in hand tight. About 6 full wraps of teflon tape on the valve threads seems to work perfect.
 
JxxxOxxxE said:
I really dont care if it looks like crap anyway...as long as it works. I dont see how a pingle valve (just a elbow with a ball valve built in) can outflow a 1/4" elbow with a 1/4" ball valve after it...We'll see...
Click to expand...
My Pingel valve is 5/16". The stock fuel line is 5/16".
Don't care what it looks like!? 8O :lol: It's all in the details! The GS1000E deserves it.
 
The Pingel came on a tank I bought for my 81. The previous owner must have munged it up. I'll admit I didn't have the directions, and if I did, things might have worked out ok, but I still like the one piece design of the stock petcock better. How can you set the valve to sit in the adapter at just the right angle unless there is a lock nut on the threads of the valve itself? And I thought that gas would eat teflon tape pretty good, just assumed that though, maybe not.
 
Adam, that doesn't make sense to me. I bought my Pingel for $90 including adapter and shipping. That's only $15 more than your stock unit. The Pingel is bulletproof and has no diaphragm to fail. The stock petcock can start failing and it can take a long time to realize you have a leaking petcock and all the problems that can create. The Pingel is peace of mind.
It operates much smoother/easier than the stocker. You should remember to turn it on and off though, which is easy to remember.
Click to expand...

Well it's nice you don't have to shut the stock units on and off...and prior to this year, I've had no problems with my past two 25 year old petcocks...

Does Pingel make a petcock for 77-79 550 tanks though? There are NO rebuild kits available that I could find...

~Adam
 
Jethro said:
How can you set the valve to sit in the adapter at just the right angle unless there is a lock nut on the threads of the valve itself? And I thought that gas would eat teflon tape pretty good, just assumed that though, maybe not.
Click to expand...
Just the right number of wraps with teflon tape allows the valve to face out correctly and still be tight. If it's tight, the teflon will seal perfectly. I haven't leaked a drop in 2 years.
 
Adam, I'm pretty sure Pingel makes a valve for your model.
You just measure in mm, the center to center distance between the two mounting holes for the tank bolts. With this info, you look up the adapter plate you need, such as 44mm or 50 mm. Then choose a valve with a reserve feature and the fuel nipple facing the correct direction, and style of valve you want to thread into the adapter. The valves come in chrome or polished aluminum, hex shaped, round shaped, etc.
 
*shrugs* some 1/8npt 1/4 turn ball valves. A 1/8npt tap, drill, brass tube, and some solder... ;-) you could have one very sweet, very large ID petcock. I say ball valves... so you can still have reserve. Hmm... I have all of those materials around the house.......

I'd be more apt to reconfigure the stock petcock to remove the vacuum function.
 
Teflon Tape ?????

Teflon Tape ?????

You guys use Teflon tape in your fuel system ?????

EEK ! 8O

I can't count how many carburators I've seen messed up with strands of that stuff in them......

-D Payne
 
KEITH KRAUSE said:
AOD said:
Screw the Pingel for $100, get an original Suzuki part for $75 or so.
~Adam
Click to expand...
Adam, that doesn't make sense to me. I bought my Pingel for $90 including adapter and shipping. That's only $15 more than your stock unit. The Pingel is bulletproof and has no diaphragm to fail. The stock petcock can start failing and it can take a long time to realize you have a leaking petcock and all the problems that can create. The Pingel is peace of mind.
It operates much smoother/easier than the stocker. You should remember to turn it on and off though, which is easy to remember.
Click to expand...
My GS went 20 years on the original petcock. I replaced it 5 years ago with a new one. I have no reason to believe it should fail any shorter time than the first. What are you burning pure alcohol??
 
Re: Teflon Tape ?????

Re: Teflon Tape ?????

C7Z said:
You guys use Teflon tape in your fuel system ?????

EEK ! 8O

I can't count how many carburators I've seen messed up with strands of that stuff in them......

-D Payne
Click to expand...
I use it for the Pingel adapter threads. Never had a problem.
 
No adapter threads required with the original hardware. :)

My bike sat for about 1.5 weeks now without running (weather and yardwork prevented riding), almost a full tank, and it didn't leak a drop through to the carbs. Meso happy! :)

~Adam
 
You could get a used part. There is a motorcycle junkyard in Tewksbury, Ma. that I get cheap parts from. Check your area or do a internet search.
 
AOD said:
Well it's nice you don't have to shut the stock units on and off...and prior to this year, I've had no problems with my past two 25 year old petcocks...

~Adam
Click to expand...
This is why I don't go with Pringle. I simply would not remember everytime I shut down to turn off my petcock. I haven't had to for over 25 years, and my instincts could not be that easily reprogrammed. The consequences of the gas overflowing can be both harmful to the bike, and very dangerous, not worth chancing to me. I have the original petcock on my 850, working for 25+ years. The one on my 82 GK stopped working on reserve sometime before I purchased it at 27000 miles. It is a different, smaller unit than the one on my 80 850. This may have been another instance when a later part was inferior to an earlier one. I went ahead and replaced it with stock; I was on the road; the shop had one in stock, and I needed a reserve. No real decision at that point.
 
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