Myself and a friend were starting a project and I told him I would help with the control system. Since the project will be using a small air cylinder (1″ bore with a 5″ stroke) and I already have a 10# CO2 cylinder, we decided to use it as the primary air supply. The 10 pound CO2 bottle will last a long time running a small cylinder.
I had seen some information posted on one of the on-line forums but couldn’t remember which one (the mind is a terrible thing to lose). The thread I was looking for contained the information for an ARB type replacement air solenoid at a significant savings. I asked from some help and sure enough, the thread was found on JeepsUnlimited.
I used the contact information in the thread and after getting rerouted to the appropriate “regional” distributor, I was making some headway. The distributor I needed ended up being right here in Phoenix, AZ. I ordered the solenoids from Hei-Tek Automation, LLC. You can reach them at (602) 269-7931. Their address is 21602 N. 2nd Ave., Suite 4, Phoenix, AZ 85027.
The valve I ordered was made by MAC Valves, Inc., 30569 Beck Road, Wixom, Michigan 48393-7011. The part number for the 12 volt solenoid/air valve combination is 35A-AAA-DDBA-1BA. I also ordered a small muffler, part number BMS-18, to cover the vent port so that foreign material doesn’t get inside the valve body. You can see the muffler, with the brass colored material on it, in the above photo.
The solenoid and valve assembly cost $17.50 and the muffler was 80 cents. $10 for shipping and tax got two of them (two valves and two mufflers) to my door for $46. That is nearly the price of one ARB solenoid.
The solenoid comes with no connector on the end of the wires so you will have to either salvage those from an ARB solenoid or just make your own from some insulated connectors you can acquire at your local auto parts store.
On the valve body, Port #1 is the inlet, Port #2 is the outlet, and Port #3 is the exhaust (vent). All three ports are threaded as 1/8″ NPT (National Pipe Thread) female. The ARB units are threaded as 1/8″ BSPT (British standard pipe thread). Although I’ve not tried it myself, I’ve read in a number of on-line forums that they are so close that one can put the BSPT fittings in the NPT body. I’ve seen push-in 1/8″ NPT fittings at the local ACE Hardware store. I have more information about the fittings in this write-up which details my customized air manifold that I use on my ARB air lockers.
If you decided to go this route and save yourself some dollars, this would be the valve setup to use for your air system.