TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

All the ones I've seen have a one way valve and *are* self-priming.
But they are designed for particular liquids (mainly differing in
polarity and viscosity) and can fail by wear, distortion, debris, or
using the wrong liquid. If you can get it to work by manually priming
it that is good, but if the one way valve fails even when primed then it
still doesn't work. Best regarded as one or two uses only when used
with unsuitable liquids. For instance, I have found that polythene
(mainly) spray mechanisms intended for water soon fail when used with
100% isopropanol.


--

Roger Hayter

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

or squeeze bottle whilst pumping.

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

DerbyBorn wrote on 17/02/2018 :


or squeeze bottle whilst pumping.

You would think so, but no - squeezing only worked whilst squeezing -
my guess the vacuum created in the container, broke the priming as air
was drawn back in. As soon as I stopped, the pump stopped working. I
did rather expect that they would have an air vent to allow air in, as
the liquid was expelled, but again no - the pump top/cap seemed to
provide an airtight seal. I only had two versions to work with, but the
fix worked with both.

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On 17/02/2018 13:35, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to re-purpose
these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a weld down.
Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they get
air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming they
need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

I usually find (with antibacterial sprays and polishes) that they stop
working when they are low, because almost every one is assembled with
the dip-pipe positioned incorrectly.

They are often used spraying downwards at 45° or so onto a cloth or a
flat surface, the liquid runs to to bottom, front, but the dip-pipes are
almost always assembled to the bottom, rear.

Remove, turn 180° and replace.

SteveW

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Saturday, 17 February 2018 13:35:40 UTC, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

I've got 2 that have worked many years over & over. But no idea what makes it keep going, might be handy to know.


NT

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Sat, 17 Feb 2018 23:47:55 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, 17 February 2018 13:35:40 UTC, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

I've got 2 that have worked many years over & over. But no idea what makes it keep going, might be handy to know.

NT

Same here - my best one can be set to Spray or Jet. I use the spray for
damping small areas (I use a filler that needs a damp substrate) amd for
mixing small quantities of filler: spray jently to fix the surface of the
powder, use jet to get water into the heap, start to mix, use spray to add
water all over until the mixture is OK.
It avoids what I call 'Polyfilla ping-pong'.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On 17/02/18 18:09, Roger Hayter wrote:

For instance, I have found that polythene
(mainly) spray mechanisms intended for water soon fail when used with
100% isopropanol.

Can't say I've had that problem. I've got a small (50ml) spray bottle of
the sort you can buy at Superdrug for well under a pound. It's used
nearly every day with 100% isopropanol and has been going for at least
10 years. I didn't expect it to last more than a few months, but it has
certainly surprised me with its longevity.

--

Jeff

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

Jeff Layman wrote:

On 17/02/18 18:09, Roger Hayter wrote:

For instance, I have found that polythene
(mainly) spray mechanisms intended for water soon fail when used with
100% isopropanol.

Can't say I've had that problem. I've got a small (50ml) spray bottle of
the sort you can buy at Superdrug for well under a pound. It's used
nearly every day with 100% isopropanol and has been going for at least
10 years. I didn't expect it to last more than a few months, but it has
certainly surprised me with its longevity.

That seems unfair! Presumably a slightly different type of plastic.

--

Roger Hayter

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

I bought a pack of half a dozen 'commercial quality' spray bottles from
eBay, for something like a tenner. They are used for commercial hand car
washing, things like that.

They are much better quality than any of the 'disposable' types you get, I
think they have better (nitrile?) washers for starters.

I'd have preferred if they had square section bottles (for storing) but
that's not a bit deal.

I would like to get some commercial quality smaller bottles, like the
Superdrug-style perfume ones, but I haven't seen any of those


HTH
Jon N

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On 17/02/2018 13:35, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to re-purpose
these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a weld down.
Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they get
air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming they
need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

are you people allowed to vote ?????

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Sat, 17 Feb 2018 18:09:10 +0000, (Roger Hayter)
wrote:

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

All the ones I've seen have a one way valve and *are* self-priming.
But they are designed for particular liquids (mainly differing in
polarity and viscosity) and can fail by wear, distortion, debris, or
using the wrong liquid. If you can get it to work by manually priming
it that is good, but if the one way valve fails even when primed then it
still doesn't work. Best regarded as one or two uses only when used
with unsuitable liquids. For instance, I have found that polythene
(mainly) spray mechanisms intended for water soon fail when used with
100% isopropanol.

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills? It
breaks my heart when I throw a sprayer bottle (bathroom/kitchen
cleaner, anti-mould spray etc) away, recallling the time when you
could at least buy a refill to fit the same sprayer. Plus, all those
little bits of plastic in the trigger mechanism -- and did someone
mention springs? -- are deadly for marine life if such items find
their way into the oceans.

MM

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Monday, 19 February 2018 10:09:30 UTC, MM wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2018 18:09:10 +0000, (Roger Hayter)
wrote:

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

I tend to save a few of the cheap cleaner squirty bottles, to
re-purpose these for spraying thin oil and even water to spray cool a
weld down. Trouble is they soon seem to fail to spray.

Problem - often they stop spraying or don't spray as well as they did.
Thinking it might be a failing none return valve I spent a bit of time
investigating them and found that the reason they stop, is that they
get air in the trigger operated pump. The pumps or not self priming
they need to be full of liquid to work. Once air is drawn in they fail.

The fix - put a finger tip over the jet outlet, to act as a one way
valve and pump a few times to expel the trapped air.

All the ones I've seen have a one way valve and *are* self-priming.
But they are designed for particular liquids (mainly differing in
polarity and viscosity) and can fail by wear, distortion, debris, or
using the wrong liquid. If you can get it to work by manually priming
it that is good, but if the one way valve fails even when primed then it
still doesn't work. Best regarded as one or two uses only when used
with unsuitable liquids. For instance, I have found that polythene
(mainly) spray mechanisms intended for water soon fail when used with
100% isopropanol.

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills? It
breaks my heart when I throw a sprayer bottle (bathroom/kitchen
cleaner, anti-mould spray etc) away, recallling the time when you
could at least buy a refill to fit the same sprayer. Plus, all those
little bits of plastic in the trigger mechanism -- and did someone
mention springs? -- are deadly for marine life if such items find
their way into the oceans.

MM

You can still get refills. They're called Aldi cheapo handwash or shampoo or some such, 55p a litre.


NT

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:12:30 +0000
MM wrote:

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills?


Buy stuff in 5 litre containers, transfer to dispensing container.

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Monday, 19 February 2018 21:31:56 UTC, Rob Morley wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:12:30 +0000
MM wrote:

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills?


Buy stuff in 5 litre containers, transfer to dispensing container.

I've never seen anything competitive in gallon containers. How much can you get them for for hand soap?


NT

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 14:05:13 -0800, tabbypurr wrote:

On Monday, 19 February 2018 21:31:56 UTC, Rob Morley wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:12:30 +0000 MM wrote:

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills?


Buy stuff in 5 litre containers, transfer to dispensing container.

I've never seen anything competitive in gallon containers. How much can
you get them for for hand soap?

I pay £5.99 plus VAT as one-offs, for 5 litres.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Monday, 19 February 2018 23:38:16 UTC, Bob Eager wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 14:05:13 -0800, tabbypurr wrote:
On Monday, 19 February 2018 21:31:56 UTC, Rob Morley wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:12:30 +0000 MM wrote:

The question we should be asking is, what happened to refills?

Buy stuff in 5 litre containers, transfer to dispensing container.

I've never seen anything competitive in gallon containers. How much can
you get them for for hand soap?

I pay £5.99 plus VAT as one-offs, for 5 litres.

1 litre at Aldi 55p. Gallon containers of chems always seem to be much more expensive, even after diluting to the same rate as retail stuff.


NT

TIP - Fix a liquid spray bottle
 

On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 14:05:13 -0800 (PST)
wrote:

On Monday, 19 February 2018 21:31:56 UTC, Rob Morley wrote:

Buy stuff in 5 litre containers, transfer to dispensing container.

I've never seen anything competitive in gallon containers. How much
can you get them for for hand soap?

No idea - I just get whatever's cheapest in Lidl, and try to live with
my eco-conscience. :-)