Journal: Peter Cummins

It is very simple to make. I took the old valve off and using a hacksaw cut though it . See pictures. Then drill out the hole with a 7/16" drill bit. Thread the hole with a 1/4"N.P.T. tap (go to Harbor Freight for that tap. N.P.T. stands for "National Pipe Thread". It's totally different than regular nut and bolt threads. It is specific to plumbing fixtures. The outside dimension of the pipe nipples is really 1/2", but the 1/4" refers to the inside diameter of the pipe.) All fittings are 1/4"NPT.Get a 90 degree fitting, male and female threads. Thread the male end into the old valve base. Thread a short pipe into female end of angle fitting. Thread the ball valve onto that pipe. Thread another pipe into other end of ball valve and clamp the heater hose to it. You are done. I used Permatex non hardening gasket paste when mounting the assembly to the block. Sure you can't open and close it from inside the cockpit, but in cold climates who cares? You want it on all the time. My Florida friends actually came up with this fix and they used it in Florida where you never turn your heater on. Plus you can tell at a glance if it's on or off just by the handle position. I got rid of my stock valve because it had finally decided to leak constantly on to the distributor. It held up as long as it could I guess. It was 8 years old. After hearing all the horror stories about the cheap, inferior replacement valves I decided to make my own and not have to worry about springing a leak. I probably could attach the old control cable to the valve handle and mount it solid somehow so it would move the handle. Right now though I've done enough. I'll worry about that later.