I bought a dubro kwik fuel valve system. I still do not quite understand how it works. If someone could provide a quick drawing and or explanation it would be appreciated.
Also, how reliable are these systems? Can you defuel with the Dubro system?
I''ve heard stories concerning stuck plungers, etc. I''ve got a lot tied up in plane and if it''s going to be another thing that goes wrong I might just skip it.
I also heard using a "fuel dot" instead, however, I don''t know what a fuel dot is.

Do yourself a favor - hang it on the wall as a reminder not to buy everything you see that looks like it''s a good idea

Yes, they leak, they get plugged etc, etc, etc,

If you can''t get at the fuel line where it connects to the needle valve (Which is the easiest method) a fuel dot is the way to go.

A Fuel Dot is just a plug for a third line that goes to the tank which is used for filling and emptying the tank

Like he says, don''t bother with them...

They are problematic.

The fuel dot is the way to go.

What I want to know is, how do you get all that brass tubing going in all kinds of directions into the tank in the first place .

(I hate putting together fuel tanks, and I've taken to using a normal clunk line for the fill/drain instead of brass tubing going to the bottom of the tank. Other than that, I tried a dubro fill thingie once, and one other brand of fill thingie years ago, and I quickly decided that they just aren't reliable enough for me).

Sorry, it's an old drawing

Better?

I'm bad enough with fuel tanks that my wife will leave the room when I tell her I need to put one together... "oh, here comes the cursing and swearing" or "I was upstairs, and it sounded like you were dealing with a fuel tank down there"

I sometimes will bend one line down for filler and one up for vent. To get them in the tank turn both in the same direction and turn them where you need them after they are inside. (it helps to mark the side of the tube on the outside with a marker so you know which direction it is in if you can't see inside the tank)

Yeah, I've done that. I've even put a small bend on the external end to give me some leverage, which makes turning the turbing in the stopper easier.

It still drives me crazy though, I always feel like I need 4 hands and x-ray vision . I find I do tanks faster and easier by just buying another clunk and putting in two identical lines.

(which also avoids the problems with hookup up the carb to the fill line... I get a 66% chance of getting good fuel flow to the engine )

And yes, I'm joking around here and making what is really not a big deal sound worse than it is.

But I still hate fuel tanks

I have a couple of the dubro kwik fuel valve systems & they all have worked fine for me so far, 1 is two years old & the other is about one year old.

Stick with the fuel dot, keeps it rather simple and fool proof.

Minn, I like the second diagram better.

Same here DuBro fuelers and have them in every glow plane i have. It is a hassle to use a fuel dot or my neighbor who is using his first thinks so anyway. Every guy at our flying field uses the DuBro system. Not one uses a fuel dot. I have seen 1 plunger stick though. But it was unstuck very easily. And if it sticks it is not going to suddenly stick in the air or anything of that sort. It will stick when you remove your fuel tube. Then just unstick it if it does very simple to do. Directions should be with the fueler. Make sure that if you mount it to the cowl you try to use something to stiffen the cowl a little though. Or your cowl could crack around it, from pushing the fule tube into it. a small piece of plastic works well just cut it about a 3/4" around and epoxy it to your cowl where your going to mount the fueler. Putting it onto a wooden suface works well if you can do that. And yes you can defuel with them just turn handle on hand pump backwards or put elec pump in reverse. Good luck however you go. Making a third hole in the fuel tank stopper for me is not what I want to do. Like you they are difficult enough just as is lol.

here's my fuel dot planes they all have em none leak,if you notice them getting a little sticky a little denatured alcohol cleans the gunk out none of the ones I fly have had any sticking issues,might be because I use fuel with low castor content,you can fuel, and defuel,through them.
if you let them sit in fuel for long periods, I can see where they might get stickey, but as long as you clear the fuel lines after flying there trouble free,I happen to like them for the hidden feature they can be mounted behind a cowl and the hole just needs to be the size of the probe to fuel the plane,as for leaking if you use a zip tie around the fuel lines going into and out of the EZ fueler there not coming off or leaking there.
Hangar-9 P-51 Mustang
Hangar-9 P-40 Warhawk
Top Flight,spitfire
Top Flight P-47 Thunderbolt
the P-47 should be getting its maiden wings pretty soon looking for a calm weekend.

like was said here hang that thing on the wall, get the fuel dots they are very simple and you don’t have to worry about sticking plungers or cracking your cowl. fuel dots compared to kwik fuelers in price are almost 5 to one.

Have used the Du-Bro and Dots both. I use the Dots on my gassers since you can't flood a pumped carb and I don't need a third line. I like the fueler valves for my glow planes as they cut the fuel off from the carb when filling or draining, again removing the need for a third line in the tank. The only problems I've had or seen with the valves is sticking(mine always popped back out after a light tap) and I think I now have an older one that is sucking a little air past that outer O-ring, causing some leaning problems. Should be able to fix that with a new O-ring.
I did watch a guy one day trying to start his new Ultimate for about two hours before he noticed that the reason it was getting no fuel was that the valve had stuck.

I've used Du-Bro fueling valves for 15 years or more- they work just fine! Clean, simple installation. Fuel dots are too much trouble!

what I'm still wondering is......how do you know when your tank is full with the fuel dot? Fueling regular allows you to see fuel come out the vent line but I don't see how you could tell when it's full.

I have both, and I gotta tell you, I hate to cut up a cowl to put in a fueler or a dot. Most of my recent planes have just been equipped with a third tank line, and I plug the line with a short copper wire plug.

The plug can have a loop, if I want to hang it inside the cowl. Mostly I cut the line to just clear the cowl, and leave it hang.

My problem with every one of my fuelers is the O-ring. One got sticky, but it's easy to pop into place. The O-rings are easy to replace, but difficult to find (don't buy Butyl, get Neoprene or Viton.)

My problem with dots is cutting into the cowl to mount them. I'd just rather let the line hang down.

To each his own.
Dave Olson

When fuel runs out of the muffler.

I disconnect the pressure line from the muffler and let it hang, so fuel doesn't go into the muffler.

I also disconnect the line to muffler and when refueling I connect that line to an aditional tank that I bought for the purpose, when I see that the fuel is coming to this aditional tank then I stop my electric pump and I do not make a mess and save some fuel.

I have used Kwik Fills for a long time now with no problems what so ever. I don't like fuel dots because I think they are messy and when you get fuel on them they are slippery. I have seen people spill fuel on the ground because they can't get the plug of the fuel dot back into the line. I also have a friend that is elergic to the methanol in the fuel and the kwik fill allows him to re-fuel his plane without getting fuel on his hands. I like them and will continue to use them because they are easy to fill the plane with and there is NO mess.