Reefer 170 gate valve swap

swolfe78 · Nov 30, 2019

I’ve asked about this before and a lot mentioned the reefer 250 video which is helpful but the 170 plumbing is very different so has anyone actually made the switch to a gate valve on a 170? If so please share. Thanks!

JasonC80 · Dec 1, 2019

Yes i did it. Used a 1" spears gate valve, 1" slip to 3/4 male threaded adapter. I used ABS transition cement on the threaded adapter to the red sea fitting, instead of teflon tape. No leaks.

Quietman · Dec 1, 2019

I've been thinking about this as well...so far the stock diaphragm valve seems to be working ok. Did you change over as a prevent

JasonC80 said:
Yes i did it. Used a 1" spears gate valve, 1" slip to 3/4 male threaded adapter. I used ABS transition cement on the threaded adapter to the red sea fitting, instead of teflon tape. No leaks.

I've been thinking about this as well. So far the stock diaphragm valve on my 170 seems to be working fine. Did you or the OP do or consider this because of failure, operating issues or just preventative because there is a limited life on diaphragm type valves? Does it control better?

JasonC80 · Dec 2, 2019

The stock valve did not have any major issues. I found it was sticky though, leading to a lot of fiddling. The spears valve is buttery smooth.

Not sure what servicing the stock valve would be like long term, but i know i can get seals for the spears valve.

Quietman · Dec 2, 2019

Thanks...I'll keep this in mind.

swolfe78 · Dec 15, 2019

I got the gate valve installed on my Reefer 170, little better than the Red Sea valve but still requires tinkering.

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FishDoc · Dec 16, 2019

swolfe78 said:
I’ve asked about this before and a lot mentioned the reefer 250 video which is helpful but the 170 plumbing is very different so has anyone actually made the switch to a gate valve on a 170? If so please share. Thanks!

I swapped my Red Sea valve out for a Spears gate valve and like it for the most part. I will say that the RS valve is a huge pain to adjust and KEEP adjusted but a gate valve can be equally finicky if you don't make your adjustments slowly and wait for flow to equalize. Overall, I would suggest it.