Fluid sampling vessel and system

A fluid sampling vessel comprising:

• a bottle having a mouth;
• a cap for the bottle, the cap comprising
• a rim sealingly engageable with the mouth of the bottle,
• a sampling port through a top of the cap fluidly connecting an interior volume of the bottle with an external environment,
• an open-ended conduit extending from the sampling port at an underside of the cap into the bottle when the cap is engaged with the bottle so that fluid entering the sampling port from the external environment can flow from a first end of the conduit to a second end of the conduit into the bottle, the conduit comprising a guide portion proximate the first end and a valve retaining portion proximate the second end and longitudinally aligned with the guide portion, the guide portion separated from the valve retaining portion by a valve seat;
• a spring-loaded ball valve situated in the valve retaining portion, the spring-loaded ball valve comprising a ball and a helical compression spring, the ball seated on the spring and biased by the spring toward the valve seat, the ball preventing fluid from flowing between the guide portion and the valve retaining portion when the ball is seated on the valve seat and permitting fluid to flow between the guide portion and the valve retaining portion when the ball is pushed away from the valve seat against the bias of the spring;
• and
• a removable retainer mounted proximate the second end of the conduit, the retainer preventing the spring and the ball from exiting the conduit through the second end while permitting fluid to flow out of the conduit into the bottle, the retainer comprising a tension clip washer having a perimetrical raised edge mated with an internal clip groove in the valve retaining portion of the open-ended conduit, the retainer comprising at least one aperture therein to permit fluid flow between the interior volume of the bottle and the valve retaining portion of the open-ended conduit, the valve retaining portion of the open-ended conduit comprising opposed slots in a wall thereof to facilitate insertion and removal of the tension clip washer from the open-ended conduit.