Moeller Marine Fuel Tank Three-Way Valve (3/8", Brass)
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In these versions there will not be an off setting, so I blew air out of the outlet port and noted which port came out of the outlet for each position. In other versions there may be no off setting but just input selection, depending on the valve you have.
The connections need to be made in three ways. Item #1 The suction line leading to the gas tank looks like this. The #2 spot In order for #3-to run it needs a gas discharge to the first motor There is a discharge here for the second motor for which gas is needed. There is no need to disconnect the fuel line from one motor and hook it up to the other motor, as this valve won't discharge to both at the same time. I used this on my boat (main motor, trolling motor) and it would not discharge on both at the same time. When you remove the gas line from one of the motors, gas shoots out. In a boat, it can be a very dangerous situation!
As the valve is designed to handle pressured and vacuum pumping systems, it should work just fine. The valve was designed to be used with dual tanks, but it can also be plugged on one side to work with a single tank.
Selected User Reviews For Moeller Marine Fuel Tank Three-Way Valve (3/8", Brass)
I like this valve a lot. In addition, I drew arrows at the valve to demonstrate that it will draw water from what tank on my boat, depending on where the handle is positioned. * to the left pulls from the left side tank (the way the arrow points on two settings). The middle pulls from the right tank are indicated by the *. By turning to the right you stop all flow through the middle outlet and the two tanks will be off. As far as I am concerned, the outlet is in the middle. In order to seal the threads, I used thread Teflon thread sealant and 3/8" barbs separately.
Although the valve appears to be working, the pointer handle does not seem to be properly positioned when you select the other gas tank. The selection of tanks is divided into three positions Those in the left tank, those in the right tank, and those in In case of a leak, the valve handle position does not isolate the other tank to prevent the other tank from coming into contact with the valve handle, so switching tanks is not possible, thus defeating the purpose of having the valve on your gas line. My problem is that there is no flow at all, or it is pulling from both tanks at the same time, and the engine ends up starving for gas when one tank is empty.
When one tank is eventually empty, you will have to draw air from that tank to blow air into the system. If there is still fuel left in the tank, this would prevent the fuel from being withdrawn properly. Unlike a 3-way valve, the valve only allows one tank/port to be drawn from at a time, not both at the same time. The other two positions are set to OFF. In order to address this issue, the pointer on the handle must be pointing at the port, or tank, to which it is being drained. This can be accomplished by clearly labeling which tank/port is being drawn from where the pointer points. There is no problem with the valve it is of good quality and performing.
Having bought this 3 way valve to connect 2 fuel tanks to my boat engine, I assumed the engine would be connected to the middle port and the tanks to the side ports. the valve came with 3 ports, so I assumed they would be connected to the engine and the tanks respectively. It is not possible to do that because the valve design does not permit it! At 90 degrees, the ball port of the valve only allows flow from one side to the center port, then when it's turned 90 degrees, both side ports are connected. Since there are only two flow passages, this is why it only allows flow from one side to the center port. Even though the flow is now for the opposite side, the handle that was pointing at one side is now pointing only at the center port. The pointer on the handle does not point correctly, because that's the bottom line. While scrutinizing the valve, I noticed that I could drill a hole in the ball so when the pointer is pointing toward the second side port, the center port is connected to the side port. In essence, the ball of the valve is now communicating with the center port.
Exactly what I needed. However, I wish the selector had been aligned so that the corresponding outlet could be opened. I wish the selector would open the inlet that is on the right when the selector points to the right, although it's hard to explain. When the selector is pointing left, the left side opens, but when it is pointing up, the right side closes, and when it is pointing down, the right side opens. Having left be for the left tank, and right for the right tank, would be wonderful.
My boat motor will dump all of its gas if I trim it up just a little too much. It was a common habit for me to disconnect the fuel line and let the motor run out of gasoline itself. Instead of disengaging the engine in order to let it run out of gas every time, I can now simply switch over from the fuel source to a filtered vent and let it run until it runs out of gas.
So far it has not leaked and has worked properly. I have not heard anything about it, so I am assuming it is working fine.
Although the body and shaft of this valve are brass, the indexing plate and spring on the inside, as well as the handle screw, are just As the handle is made of pot metal, it is doubtful whether the assembly could withstand saltwater atmosphere for an entire year. I find it hard to believe someone would assemble a valve in a manner like this I think.
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