1928 Model A

[broommaker]

I have a leaky zenith 1 carburetor. Has anyone tried the viton tipped needle for the float valve and seat?????????

[Ron in Quincy]

With the gas available today, with ethonol, suggest you not use the viton float valve.

Is it possible your float may be set too high ? If so, the fuel in the bowl is higher than the tips of the cap and main jets and will run out; will come out the small hole in the bottom of the carb and collect and drip from the housing bolt.

Check the float to determine if it contains fuel, caused by a small hole somewhere in the float; if so the float gets heavy and will not rise and shut the fuel off.

If the housing gasket gets wet its probable leaking at the inlet line connection.

Ron

[glenn in camino]

I've been using modern float valves from Brattons with good results.

[Ron W]

I have been useing the viton tip for 15+ yrs with good results. Ron W

[John LaVoy]

I just had a subscriber complain about the fuel eating up his float valves. Ethanol is much more caustic than plain gasoline and will attack anything not designed to be used in that environment.

[Keith True]

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All the tips that were supposed to be Viton I have used are now junk.They turned to goo.I think it is the additives in the gas.We've had alcohol here at one station since 1980,it was sold as gasohol.That never bothered.Also,things would be fine for a couple of years,then one day the car floods and won't run.The tip turns to goo overnight.I've gone to metal in everything now.The ball type valves have worked well for me,although I did just find a defective new one in a customers car.I take the old metal valves out of rusted up old junk carbs and if they lap in they work perfect.Another thing I think about is,are we really getting Viton?The vendor sells you Viton,the supplier says it is,maybe the first 20 are,but who actually does a test to see what it really is?Who can spend hundreds of dollars to test every $2.part?

[Ron W]

Keith, You may have something there. Your comment made me look in my book. It say Viton is NOT for use with acetates, ketones, METHYL ALCOHOL, brake fluids, hot water or steem! Seems it's good for gas but not much else. Now I'm wondering when mine will go bad? Ron W

[Uncle Bob]

Methyl alcohol is not the same as ethanol, they are different chemically. M is typically made from natural gas, e from plant material.

[Keith True]

When it was first mandated one of the chain stations in town could not get enough ethanol,so methanol,(methyl alcohol??) was used until they got up to speed.They paid for a LOT of problems.The biggest problem was with brass.It ate brass and some types of rubbers.Since they got with the program there have been no problems with the brass.The oil company rep told me that if my brass parts were turning green in the gas,It was the M stuff,not the E.I melted the floats in a couple of Wisconsin engines,with the first batch they had.They've been fine after that.He also told me the rest of the gas was junk however,and any form of alcohol just makes it worse.He said to use it in two weeks if at all possible.We have all been out of power here now for three days and I have been out getting generators running for some old folks.Some haven't been run for two or three years but I got a half dozen running on the old gas.If they start on the old gas I top them off with fresh,now all of them are running on fresh gas.I've been putting the Seafoam right to them,figuring that if the power comes on they will have some in the system to help until the next time.I've used about 25 gallons of gas in my own generator this time.