As far as I can tell, there are three ball-valve design drain valves that can replace my failed compression-type drain valve on my Porter Cable pancake air compressor.
If your air compressor has 1/4″ NPT and have max. 150 psi, you may be able to use this drain valve as well.
*National Pipe Thread Taper (NPT) is a U.S. standard for tapered threads used on threaded pipes and fittings. In contrast to straight threads that are found on a bolt, a taper thread will pull tight and therefore make a fluid-tight seal.
AVAILABLE VALVE DRAINS
Three ball-valve drains I liked the best are:
- BOSTITCH Part # BALLVALVE;
- BOSTITCH Part # BTFP72327;
- Black & Decker / DeWalt / Porter Cable Part # N072023;
Although they have different brand names, they are all under the Stanley Black & Decker umbrella (read more about brand decoding here) so the parts should be interchangeable.
All have been hydrostatically tested and have similar warranty periods.
BOSTITCH Part # 688-BALLVALVE
Although BALLVALVE has been discontinued and replaced with BTFP72327, BALLVALVE is still widely available.
The main physical difference between BALLVALVE and BTFP72327 (as well as N072023) is that BALLVALVE has a bump out on the side whereas two others do not.
Is there any significance to this design? I am not an engineer, but that bump out is where the torx / hex bolt is located (this bolt can be removed for cleaning) and I feel that having additional material makes the unit more sturdy.
I contacted BOSTITCH customer service and was told that BALLVALVE was made by Taiwan and that it was a supplier’s decision to machine it with a bump out and that there is no performance difference between units.
Also, I think there are some confusions about the warranty period (Amazon says it has 7 year warranty but BOSTITCH could not confirm this) and I think that is caused by BOSTITCH’s 7 year warranty period for its pneumatic tools.
BOSTITCH Part # BTFP72327
This is the current version sold by BOSTITCH, made by a new supplier in China without the bump out found in BALLVALVE.
It has a square design where torx / hex bolt is integrated into ball-valve.
Please note that some units come in bulk packaging (soft vinyl bag) and retail packaging (protective hard plastic shell).
Black and Decker DeWalt / Porter Cable OEM Part # N072023
I believe this unit is identical to BTFP72327 made in China and only comes bulk packaging.
CONCLUSION
BOSTITCH BALLVALVE is about $10-13 dollars (higher than others) but ended up buying it anyway because I felt that:
- extra material used to support the torx/hex bolt makes it more sturdy;
- fit and finish by Taiwan supplier is far superior than others made by a supplier in China;
- retail packaging protects threads better than bulk packaging;
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