Relief valve assemblies

摘要

An improved relief valve assembly includes a metallic housing which is connected with a wall of a container of pressurized liquid. A plastic liner is disposed within the housing cavity and has external thread convolutions which engage internal housing thread convolutions. An outer seal is provided to prevent exposure of the threads to foreign particles in the atmosphere surrounding the container and an inner seal is provided to prevent leakage of liquid between the liner and housing. A valve member within the plastic liner is movable against the influence of a biasing spring from a closed position to an open position under the influence of excessive fluid pressure in the container. To enable the liner and movable valve member to be preassembled and then screwed into the housing cavity, the valve spring and valve member are held in the liner cavity by a base member. The base member is held against movement relative to the liner by a plurality of resiliently deflectable fingers which extend from one end of the liner. In one embodiment of the invention, the relief valve assembly is advantageously cleaned by connecting a socket assembly to the housing of the relief valve assembly and then flowing cleansing fluid from a source of cleansing fluid through the relief valve assembly.