AceHardware sells the parts for a valve-inline bleed system
 

I spent a good 45 minutes in mine today looking at what they have. Unfortunately my plumbing skills are marginal at best.

They have ball valves in both brass and PVC. Futhermore, each type comes in smooth or threaded.

I want zero water loss from this. Thats my first priority. Ideally I should be able to leave the case closed for months at a time. At first I wanted to go all metal so I could solder my parts together. However 3 brass valves are really heavy, although they are much smaller then the McMaster ones in the other thread. PVC on the other hand is very light, and for a ball valve, they are surprisingly compact.

What worries me about PVC is the seal. Will a threaded connection + teflon tape be enough? Keep in mind I want overkill here, the rest of my system will most likely use 500 PSI brass compression fittings.

Also, is it alright to connect brass threads to PVC?

Thanks.

How much is the stuff there and how big are the PVC valves? Threaded PVC + teflon tape should be fine...

The PVC valves were ~ $4 IIRC. They are fairly small. I didn't measure them, but I'd guess an inch wide by 3-3.5 long. The T junctions were a buck or. I didn't look at the prices on the brass parts. One thing I liked about the PVC was that the handles were very compact.

You can use PVC glue for your PVC fittings. It's very good, plumbers use it.
About mixing PVC/brass i don't know, maybe some special waterproof epoxy would do it. If you know a plumber ask him. I know one so i'll ask him tonite.

Ace Hardware sells everything you need to build a Helium Re Compression cooling system! ;) hehehehe


I love that place