Gas Sediment Bowl.

[KRH/MO]

First of all, thanks for taking time to read!
I have a 1950 8N, excellent running shape, could"nt ask for any better. My Question to you"all is, the gas sediment bowl with the "on" "off" valve, how do YOU work it? Such as, when you turn it on, how many rounds do you do or, is it nessecery to turn it "off" when you"re not using it? I"ve heard some people say turn it all the way on and, others say to turn it a 1/4 way on. And then others say, "If it don"t leak, don"t worry about it". You"all know what you"re talking about, so thats why I came to you. Thank you very much for any information! Kevin...

 

[Dell (WA)]

Kevin........believe it or not, the round turn'em-off valve above the glass bowl is actually engraved "2-turns" ON. It is a 2-stage valve, and 2-turns is correct to drain 9-gals of the 10-gal fuel tank. When you run outta 9-gals, just turn yer roundy valve 4-turns and you can drive back to the barn on the remaining 1-gal of gas. Isn't that interesting?

We recommend you completely turn yer valve OFF at the end of the day so GRAVITY doesn't drain past yer sometimes ineffectual float bowl valve in yer carburetor which will FILL yer engine pistons with gasoline and cause damaging "HYDRAULIC LOCK", breaking pistons and rods. (frown) ........Dell

 

[NOXJohn]

What Dell says about the original sediment bowl is correct. However, some after market bowls are just either on or off. They do not have the reserve function. You may need to play with yours to determine if you have the reserve feature. You should always turn off the valve when you put the tractor away after use. If you leave it on there is the possibility of the carburetor flooding, spilling gas or filling the cylinders with liquid fuel.

 

[souNdguy]

I turn the valve off when not in use, and some of my tractors have the oem valve. some have repalcements. the repalcements usually don't have the reserve.. si it's full on for them.. the ones for reserve get about a turn and a half.. or so..

soundguy

 

[Kenster]

The thing you need to remember is, if you open it up all the way, you are sucking fuel from the reserve, which is the bottom of the tank. Therefore, unless your tank is very clean, you will be sucking dirt and rust fines from the bottom of the tank, which can clog up the three fuel filter screens, and also do a number on your carb.
So, open the valve no more than the recommended two full turns. Mine seems to really like it at only a turn and a half.
And yes, turn it off every time you shut it down. Some people like to shut off the gas but keep the tractor running until it burns off the gas still in the line and the carb bowl.

Ken in Bellville, TX

 

[George NJ]

Hey; Dell How do you flood a non running upflow carb engine,when carb is lower then intake ports.THE MAIN REASON TO TURN OF GAS IS TO AVOID FIRE! 9 or 10 gal of gas on barn or tractor shed floor is not a good situation.

 

[Dell (WA)]

No George........the gravity fed fuel tank is HIGHER than the engine and iff'n the carb float don't seal the gas will DRAIN partway up the slanted airtube and all the way up the carb throat and manifold into enny intake valve that is open. This will HYDRAULIC LOCK yer piston when you try to start the engine and will BREAK pistons and rods. Its the LAW, Law of Gravity

ALWAYS turn of yer roundy-round valve under yer gastank at end of day.......respectfully, Dell

 

[KRH/MO]

Thank you"all for your response!

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Nope, like Dell sez, you turn the gas off to keep from filling up the crankcase. Check out tip # 9 at the link below. Here is a quote from a mechanic:

"We just had an 8N in the shop that the owner wanted us to fix the carb leak and replace the starter because the engine wouldn"t turn over. Turns out the base had more gas in it than oil and the bearings didn"t get enough lube from the diluted oil and seized the engine. I think of that tractor every time I park my tractors now and don"t forget to shut the fuel off.



(YT Post 10/10/07)
50 Tips

 

[Kenster]

(quoted from post at 16:17:23 01/20/09) Hey; Dell How do you flood a non running upflow carb engine,when carb is lower then intake ports.THE MAIN REASON TO TURN OF GAS IS TO AVOID FIRE! 9 or 10 gal of gas on barn or tractor shed floor is not a good situation.

I'm not a mechanic but I see it like this: Suppose you fill up your kitchen sink with water, then pull the plug. Gravity will push the water through the lowest spot (P-Trap/Carburator) and back up to drain pipe/engine. Both the sink and the gas tank work on a gravity system.

Did that make any sense?