Fuel Valve Mod for two tank system Mac X

[Catigale]

My bayonet fuel fittings recently died from age (9 years) ..I had most of the parts for a planned mod to eliminate 'swapping fuel hoses' and put in a three way valve. I also would get rid of the bayonet connectors in favour of the simple barbed fitting

I decided to enlarge the tank drain hole and use it to route the two hoses in. My configuration for fuel is 6 gallons reserve port and 12 gallon main starboard.

Collection of tools, parts and stuff



I drilled a 1 1/2 hole for the drain/hoses and a 1 1/16 hole for the nose of the three-way valve.
Valve attached with 2x 1/4 x 3/4 SS panheads and nuts.
I thought about bringing the cross over fuel line out the larger hole with a brass elbow on the rearmost barb fitting but decided against it in the end.
Note that each hose has a about 30 cm of strain relief so that if the hose is stepped up it wont pull off the barbed fittings



Closer look




I do need to finish this off with SS hose clamps or zip ties to secure the hoses. I will probably go with zip ties.

>>Parts list
3 Way valve TEMPO model 302WV3 , part number 140030

1/4 NPT by 3/8 inch hose barbs
Hose Barb TEMPO model 405CDB, part number 200060 (total of 5 barbs used)
Hose Barb Moeller part 33405-10

Tank Elbow TEMPO model 436ELB, part number 200160


>>Tool list
Drill
1 1/2 inch Hole saw
1 1/8 inch hole saw
1/4 drill
teflon tape
SS clamps/zip ties to be added
Vice grips for fittings

[Crikey]

Nicely done job!

Kinda reminds me of my old beetle and the reserve fuel tank valve that you could throw some time after you told your date that you'd run out of gas....

[TonyHouk]

Catigale and others,
I did the same for my X. I installed the valve in the motorwell so it is about out of the way like yours is. Looking at yours I was thinking that you might want to put a guard around the valve to prevent someone from kicking it. Just a thought. Tony

[c130king]

Took a girl out on a date back in 1982 in my Dad's Chevy Pick-Up...probably 6-7 years old...clutch with about a 2 foot travel...three speed column shifter. It was what I learned to drive in. But it had dual tanks and a tank select lever by the base of the drivers seat right next to the base of the driver's door. Only the main tank had a guage...the alternate tank did not have a guage.

So was getting ready to drive my date back home and she climbed in through the driver's door and must have stepped on it or kicked it. Drove about 500 yards and the truck died on the railroad tracks. Tank showed as 3/4 full...I had driven it earlier that evening with no problems...at the time I had no idea what was wrong...never even considered the fuel lever as I had really never used it before. Had to have my date help me push the truck off the tracks.

Her parents just happened to be nearby at their friends house and drove by (this was before cell phones) and they picked her up. I walked back to my friends house that we had just left and called my Dad around midnight. He drove over to where I was...about 20 minutes away...flipped the fuel level back to the primary tank and drove home. Didn't yell at me or nothing. But that silence was a killer...man did I feel STUPID!

Oh those teen-age memories...



Cheers,
Jim

[Highlander]

Jim
So was getting ready to drive my date back home and she climbed in through the driver's door and must have !!!!
So Did Ya or Not !!

J

[Catigale]

Kinda reminds me of my old beetle and the reserve fuel tank valve that you could throw some time after you told your date that you'd run out of gas....

Decried by VW owners everywhere as the invasion of high tech into the simple car concept....1962 was the change IIRC....

[c130king]

Jim
So was getting ready to drive my date back home and she climbed in through the driver's door and must have !!!!
So Did Ya or Not !!

J

J,

That would be "Not"...her parents showed up about 5 minutes after the truck died on the tracks and drove her home. She dumped me a few weeks later anyway...I don't think she has ever left that small town...her loss...

Jim

[Catigale]

Follows on Mod

I zip tied all barbed fittings. I cut a small slit in my softopper gas locker covers to let the valve come out. The knob unscrews with a single phillips screw for this.



On the trip hazard....the valve sticks out less than it appears in the first pix....while underway the valve is well under the captain seat so no problem there.....at anchor I usually have some gear on he back deck, like the kids shoes, so a small wash bucket will block the valve from foot traffic....if it becomes a problem, I'll saw off the nose and retap it flush, or perhaps add washers to the backside of the three way valve to reduce the protrusion.

..and another Mod...since my education on the Lifesling throwable distance Ive decided rapid deployment isnt critical, so I have slung it under the Captain seat to keep it out of the way

...clean that seat, Captain!!!

[DaveB]

I see you have cut out a semi round section of the stearn seat. Did you put a larger engine in to be able to get it all the way up?
O'Ya, how did you get that smoke color effect under the Seat?
Dave

Follows on Mod

On the trip hazard....the valve sticks out less than it appears in the first pix....while underway the valve is well under the captain seat so no problem there.....at anchor I usually have some gear on he back deck, like the kids shoes, so a small wash bucket will block the valve from foot traffic....if it becomes a problem, I'll saw off the nose and retap it flush, or perhaps add washers to the backside of the three way valve to reduce the protrusion.

..and another Mod...since my education on the Lifesling throwable distance Ive decided rapid deployment isnt critical, so I have slung it under the Captain seat to keep it out of the way

...clean that seat, Captain!!!

[Catigale]

I see you have cut out a semi round section of the stearn seat. Did you put a larger engine in to be able to get it all the way up?
O'Ya, how did you get that smoke color effect under the Seat?

The cutout actually came that way either from Macgregor in 2002 or Art Reiders did it as part of the Mercury 50 BF install.

On the smoke colour....BRUTAL!!!!

[Catigale]

My configuration for fuel is 6 gallons reserve port

Fonseca is a bit pricy .....

[Catigale]

Bump topic for current thread

One subtlety I left off this thread. The hoses have approximately 30 cm loops on them for both strain relief and to prevent the hoses from kinking and shutting off fuel. I did have this happen once when the tank shifted and pressed the hose against the wall. I blocked it with a spare oil container to prevent that.

I do like the simplicity of this system and the ease of swapping parts for troubleshooting.