Issue:
Our pneumatics vendor has recently informed us that the Parker valves used on RAPID Transplanters will be
discontinued as of June 2008. This part can and does fail, causing downtime for your machine.

Machines Affected:
Owners of machines with Parker valves which are black in color are affected by this.
Transplanter models: 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000.

Valve part numbers: F31VXBK023A, F31VXBJ023A, F36VXBJ023A
If you are unsure as to which valves are on your machine please call us, we will help you determine if
your machine is affected.

Availability of parts:
The discontinuation of these valves is being done at the manufacturing level, and we are unaware of any other vendor that will offer replacements after June 2008.

Currently; gaskets, manifolds, and solenoid kits are discontinued and unavailable. Replacement valves are
available now on a built to order basis with approximate lead time of 2-3 weeks. However, these valves WILL BE DISCONTINUED AS OF JUNE 2008. Don’t wait until then to purchase spares for your machine - it could be too late.

After June 2008, we cannot guarantee availability of replacement Parker valves. We will only have minimal
stock at that point available on a first come, first serve basis and when they are gone, they are gone for good.

Therefore, we are recommending you purchase spare valve(s) to put on your shelf.

What happens after June of 2008?
Should a failure occur after June 2008 and replacements are no longer available, you would need to replace the entire valve pack with the current design valves. This will have a substantial cost and require several hours of work including some wiring to retro-fit the new valve system into the machine.

If you have questions or would like to order spare valve(s), please call us. We sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this will cause, however this issue is beyond our control. The best way to guard against future lost time due to valve failure is to have spares on your shelf ready to go.