Bull Run Septic Valve Repair Parts

thingiverse

If you have a septic system using a Bull Run brand diverter valve, typically you will change over between the two septic leach fields every 6-12 months. Does the core of yours look like the first picture? And doesn't it seem like the OEM version is designed to fail? The problem is that when changing fields eventually you will hear a "crunch" noise and then it is time to order replacement parts. We have had to order replacement core parts twice for ours, and both times I was annoyed at the very, very thin plastic they were made from. So when it failed for a third time recently I decided to do something different. The top-most outer ring typically does not break. It may develop small cracks, but they are very easily repaired with PVC cement. For that reason I did not design a replacement for it. The problem is that the adjustment knob and everything beneath it are made from paper thin plastic that simply disintegrates with age. As shown in the photos, that was all that was left of ours (other than small shards), and this is after only about 8 years of service..! A new Bull Run core repair kit is nearly $50 at this time including shipping and tax and can be hard to find in stock at times. However, this time around I have a 3D printer and so I built the one shown for about $1 in material and had it the same day I discovered the problem. This new design is much thicker on the vertical valve wall than the original, and is doubled to form a smooth interior contour rather than having ribs that will catch sediment. The doubled wall also forms an extremely strong box section. There is a connector piece to align the top and bottom when bonding them together. And finally, a robust knob is then bonded directly into the top section of the valve cylinder. The original had a paper-thin blade on the valve cylinder that floated inside a cosmetic cap. Both the blade and cap were molded from fragile material and were somewhat marginal even when brand new. The new design handle knob protrudes through a thick floating cap and is very strong. Two versions of the top cap are included, one with screw holes and one without, just print one or the other of them (please refer to the "post printing" section for details). I chose to make the one with the screw holes (refer to the post-printing section below). There was an o-ring on the original cap but this time around I decided to leave it off. It is a seal for odors mainly, but with the new parts in place odors were very minimal. Because the valve is buried over two feet in the ground with a capped off access tube, it really is not a big deal at all. If you have liquid coming up through the "seal" then sorry to say you have much, much bigger problems to deal with (clogged leach fields). So either way the o-ring is largely irrelevant. The parts all fit perfectly and it works nicely as far as I can tell. Because it is made from greatly thicker material it should last far longer. And of course if I ever need to replace it again, I can just print another set. I do hope this helps you. Thanks for looking at it. **Slight Addenda** If you prefer, mount the original top ring (the Bull Run marked top ring) 180 degrees from what is shown in the photos so that the indicator depression in the knob will align with the arrows on the top ring when in service. Or, bond the knob in the other way around (see below). The top ring should easily rotate to either position because it has symmetrical screw holes. That being said, ours was originally installed in the configuration shown in the last photo, so that's the way I re-installed it. If you bond the knob extension so that the indicator is toward the "wall" side of the valve body parts as shown you will always know which direction will be blocked. That was the way the original OEM parts were installed in our system and it makes more sense to me. However, if you prefer to have the indicator toward the open side, the knob is designed to fit either way. Regardless, be certain to install the valve assembly into the valve body oriented so that it will block one or the other of the "exit" tubes when adjusted and can NEVER block the "inlet" tube. **03FEB2023**- I have added two new versions of the top ring that have larger recesses to save material. They should work exactly like the other two as they are identical in every other regard. I also added the .stl file for the earlier top ring without the screw holes. I had included the wrong file for it earlier, sorry about that. Again I hope these help you.