- Oct 4, 2006
- 2,335
- Boat Info
- 2003 280DA and 1995 Sea Ray 175
- Engines
- Twin 4.3l and 3.0l, all w/ AlphaI GenII drives
A long time ago, fellow forum member Stray Cat wrote a post about this little gem, the Parker electric fuel valve that exists on many Sea Ray boats (http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/23308-Parker-Skinner-Fuel-Solenoid-Manual-Overide, picture below).
The 3 that are in my 280DA, while they all seem to work, are incredibly rusty and in otherwise terrible shape. I went looking to replace them and had a hard time finding them. Eventually I found them on Ebay for a little over $100.00 for one. I wondered why they were so hard to find. I thought that maybe they are no longer used (my boat is a 2003), and maybe there is something simpler and better out there.
So I wrote Mercury Marine and they got back to me the same day with a phone call. The person said that they are no longer used...now they use the standard mechanical valve; the traditional anti-siphon valve that are readily available everywhere.
Is this true? Or is it that Sea Ray does something on their own, other than what Mercury recommends? What do you guys with newer boats have, say > 2008?
If I can find something simpler, I'd like to get rid of them. As you may recall, I've had issues over the years with vapor lock, and these, having what looks to be a 1/4" NPT inlet/outlet are a restriction to my 1/2" hose that I'd rather do without, if I can. Not to mention they look so bad on my boat, they shouldn't be working!
The 3 that are in my 280DA, while they all seem to work, are incredibly rusty and in otherwise terrible shape. I went looking to replace them and had a hard time finding them. Eventually I found them on Ebay for a little over $100.00 for one. I wondered why they were so hard to find. I thought that maybe they are no longer used (my boat is a 2003), and maybe there is something simpler and better out there.
So I wrote Mercury Marine and they got back to me the same day with a phone call. The person said that they are no longer used...now they use the standard mechanical valve; the traditional anti-siphon valve that are readily available everywhere.
Is this true? Or is it that Sea Ray does something on their own, other than what Mercury recommends? What do you guys with newer boats have, say > 2008?
If I can find something simpler, I'd like to get rid of them. As you may recall, I've had issues over the years with vapor lock, and these, having what looks to be a 1/4" NPT inlet/outlet are a restriction to my 1/2" hose that I'd rather do without, if I can. Not to mention they look so bad on my boat, they shouldn't be working!
