Noswizard
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Feb 2005
Posts: 8881
Location: Doncaster
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 Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:28 pm Post subject: Compare solenoid designs and quality |
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The solenoids are the most important part of your nitrous system for reliabillity and performance, so you should make sure you get the BEST!!
EVERY other company offers generic solenoids which are NOT specifically designed for nitrous use.
Solenoid features compared
Here are a few 'key' comparison factors;
1) Pulsoids have relatively larger clearances between the plunger and bore, so there is no contact and hence no wear!!!
Most other solenoids run close tolerances which when pulsed result in accelerated wear that produces magnetic particles, that get trapped in the magnetic field and cause the plunger to seize.
2) Pulsoids have a one piece CNC machined billet alloy core / body, so there is no welding and no bore distortion. Combine this with the fact that the bore to plunger clearance is much greater than US made solenoids in the first place and you should be able to see why a Pulsoid will never wear out whilst other solenoids wear very rapidly (especially when pulsed).
Most other solenoid cores are made from three pieces of stainless steel friction welded together, during the welding process metal runs into the bore causing those close tolerances to become “contact” areas which suffer high wear (especially when pulsed).
3) Pulsoids due to their 'alloy' bore (alloy being a bearing material unlike stainless steel) and CNC billet construction would not produce magnetic particles, even if the plunger rubbed in the bore, because the bore not the plunger would wear and alloy is non-magnetic, so any particles would flow out of the outlet rather than be held in the magnetic field. However since the plunger does not rub on the bore no particles are produced and so Pulsoids DO NOT WEAR.
4) Pulsoids have a perfect magnetic circuit. This results in the plunger being held centrally in the bore of the Pulsoid, which means that when the plunger lifts off the seat and moves up the bore, there is 'no contact between the two parts therefore there is no wear (just as is the case with the levitating Japanese trains that are now being introduced, which were based on a British invention).
Most other solenoids have a less than perfect magnetic circuit, resulting in uneven magnetic forces acting on the plunger pulling it off centre and increasing the wear rate.
5) Pulsoids use a unique plunger seal materials which has the benefits of both the materials used by most other solenoid companies, without the disadvantages of either. It resists particle embedding and seals well, it is also elastic so it does not compact and it will never wear or tear.
Part of the reason it will not wear or tear is because unlike other solenoid companies we use a similar material (a hi tech thermo plastic) for our outlet seat. This means that both parts have similar molecular structures (spherical) so there is no wear.
Other solenoids on the other hand have a stainless steel seat that has a sharp molecular structure which tears into the softer seal materials used in the plungers.
There are 2 main types of material used for the plunger seals in other solenoids Viton & PTFE. PTFE is a good seal but it picks up dirt particles (that have got through the filter) and then they get permanently embedded in it, resulting in a leak and the need to service the solenoid. PTFE also has no elasticity so it gets compacted which increases the risk of solenoid failure due to an increased gap between core & plunger. The 'only good thing about PTFE is that it does resist wear & tear from pulsing.
Viton on the other hand resist particles embedding in it and seals well but because it is softer, it easily tears and wears when pulsed.
So to sum up, most (if not all) typical solenoids used by other companies, are made from the wrong materials, with the wrong tolerances and manufactured using the wrong techniques (all so they can keep themcheap). The wrong manufacturing techniques result in the plunger rubbing against the distorted bore (due to friction welding), generating magnetic particles that get held in the magnetic field around the plunger which aggravates wear and result in plunger seizures.
In contrast my Pulsoids revolutionary & unique design means the plunger is held centrally in the bore with large clearances preventing the plunger from rubbing on the bore and preventing it from wearing or seizing. Unlike other makes of solenoids, Pulsoids are made for superior 'quality' NOT superior 'profits'!!
Solenoid pulsing:
If you intend to have a large power increase from nitrous you'll end up "needing" a pulsed progressive system, or you may just "want" the extra safety of a pulsed system. Either way there is only one solenoid that is designed to be pulsed and that is our Pulsoid!!! Any claim from any other company that their solenoids are as suitable for pulsing as Pulsoids are is FALSE!!!
Sure ANY solenoid will respond to PWM (pulse width modulation) but there are many more factors to it than that, when you need TWO solenoids to work at the same rate, whilst working at different pressures (nitrous @ 1,000 psi - fuel at less than 100 psi). Consider bouncing a ball on Earth and another on the Moon and trying to make them move at the same time and the same speed. There is no way they would respond at the same rate due to the different forces they'd be subjected to. One would be up whilst the other was down on one cycle then on the next, one would be starting whilst the other is about to stop and so on and so on. Well that's about the same problem when trying to match a fuel solenoid and a Nitrous solenoid working at different pressures but being triggered by the same pulse.
Contrary to the false claims made by some 'experts' it IS NOT just a matter of getting a couple of solenoids out of a catalogue with the appropriate working pressures and suitable seal materials and saying they respond to PWM.
Although our fuel and nitrous Pulsoids 'look' the same (apart from colour), there are in actual fact 4 internal differences (in mechanical, magnetic and electric parts), that 'we' developed to make the two Pulsoids more 'matched' in their response rates than any other solenoids.
Solenoid servicing:
Why would any company offer solenoids that need to be serviced regularly when there are alternative materials available that would prevent the solenoids needing servicing?
We don't offer service kits because our Pulsoids will never need servicing and unless you do something accidently, they will last longer than you'll live (and that's a promise!!!). If you 'cooked' one due to incorrect use or wiring, we will strip, inspect and repair the unit, as required within 24 hours (for a small charge) and then extend your warranty. We do not think it's a good idea for anyone to take our responsibility for the construction of our Pulsoids.
Tested capabilities of the Pulsoids;
Consider the following;
1) I tested a number of Pulsoids at 1,500 psi connected to a Maximiser. I pulsed it for 15 minutes and then gave it 5 mins to recover whilst it was striped and inspected. The test was then repeated over and over until I got fed up inspecting for some sign of wear or some kind of failure. Every time it was inspected the seat materials were actually "polishing" each other and improving the surface finish. After 1/2 million operations I decided that I could give a lifetime warranty (meaning the life time of the original purchaser, although I've yet to have one returned that has worn to any degree through normal use), without fear of there ever being a claim.
2) When we first manufactured the Pulsoids we had a few independently tested to 9,000 psi by Kingston Medical Gases. They gave up at that point as there was no sign of a failure being imminent and it was far in excess of the required safety margins.
Bearing in mind that the most important part of a Nitrous system is/are the solenoid/s, I'm 100% confident that my claim that my systems are the best in the World stands!!!
I know which I'd rather fit to my engines.
Regards
Last edited by Noswizard on Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:14 pm; edited 7 times in total |
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