Reed valve design

Type - reed valve - into a search engine.

Why a reed valve anyway, a simple spring loaded plate valve is more reliable?

I don't know if this will be of any use to you but having designed many refrigeration compressors, all of which use REED VALVES, I thought the following may be of some help.

A REED VALVE is a thin peice of spring steel (a special steel made only for REED VALVES) it can be shaped to suite any design, it flaps open and closed over a corresponding port with pressure changes, thus forming a ONE WAY VALVE, it can be firmly located on one edge allowing the free part to spring closed or it can fully float inside an appropriate cage sealing off the port when the pressures on either side of the valve equalise. The valve material can be purchased from most compressor repairers and water cut to the shape and size you require.

Try to get one from a 2-stroke engine. It's cheap and available. Also see the thread on high-performance Check Valves: http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/9899 - You migh find some helpful info in there.

The heavy duty trucking industry has relied on air compressors for decades. The air compressors run from about 15 to 32cfm. the air systems have three or more air reservoirs. for redundancy. They are interconnected by spring loaded check valves that are basically a free-floating round disc that is held against a round opening by a soft spring. most of these valves are fitted with pipe threads on either end. Sizes vary between 1/4" to 3/4". One manufacturer that I am familiar with is Bendix.You can reach them at www.bendix.com . good luck

Try

www.metalimprovement.com/reed_valves.php - 31k -

Thankyou gentlemen - I am busy checking those leads.

Reed Valve Hmmmmmm. Well the company I work for uses reed valve methodology in and around the 787 program, the technology is "sweet" unfortunatley I cannot share the deign, but I my be able to point you out to the manufacturer. Let me confirm this with my ITAR representitive. I dont know if this is propreitary or not.