WestPak

The wand valve is the part the operator holds all day. Trigger weight, how cleanly it shuts and whether it weeps onto the hand are felt on every pass, and they matter more over eight hours than any specification on the box.

Westpak's Soft Touch range is built around that trigger feel, in two pressure ratings and two materials.

The range covers the Soft Touch brass wand valve rated to 1200 psi and the Soft Touch stainless steel wand valve rated to 1500 psi, with the Soft Touch valve repair kit and a 1.75 inch bolt-on bracket for the 251-30 valve.

How to choose

Rating first, always. Check what the pump actually delivers before choosing between the 1200 psi brass and the 1500 psi stainless. Fitting a valve below the machine's working pressure is a safety issue, not a durability one.

Brass or stainless is a chemistry decision. Brass is fine for general use. Where acidic rinses or oxidisers run regularly, stainless lasts appreciably longer and does not discolour the line.

Diagnose before ordering the kit. Weeping at the jets points to seals; a spongy trigger or a leak at the stem points elsewhere. The Soft Touch kit is a bench job either way and far cheaper than a replacement.

Bracket size follows the wand tube. The 1.75 inch bracket is one of several fits for the 251-30. Measure the tube rather than working from the valve.

Complete valves are in Valves & Regulators, rebuild kits in Valve Repair Kits, wand parts in Wands & Tool Parts, and glides in Wand Glides.