Fumoto Fact(s) You Might Not Know

Was checking if you included yourself in "you" reference

 

Irwin™ part #1773627 or equivalent.

It has a "detents" (if that's the right word) that allow gripping of the "ears" on larger spring-type hose clamps so they can be put on/taken off without the hose clamp "flipping sideways" and out of the flat jaws of a normal pair of pliers. Note also: while not shown in the picture below, it also has similar cut-outs/detents in the END face of the plier jaws, allowing the tool to be used in either side-on or end-on orientations, as may be required for tight access spots etc.

As I mentioned in my other post, it is possible to take the Fumoto F-clamp OFF the valve with ordinary pliers or Leather-man type tool, but after trying 15-20 times to put it ON with regular pliers I gave up. The spring is stout and when it suddenly flips sideways out of flat pliers it is moving fast enough to cause serious eye damage or skitter 15 feet across the garage floor. Basically it's required have hose-clamp pliers to put it back on. I carry this tool in my on-truck fix it kit.

https://www.freertool.com/products/irwin-8-hose-clamp-pliers-1773627-dipped-1-1132-ca

 

There's your problem my friend. Very little to do with the type of drain plug or valve installed in the pan. 10K OCI is asking a lot of the oil. 5K much better. 3K-4K for the obsessed or hard-drivers/hard-towers out there.

 

Perfect, thanks! Was looking for pliers exactly like this so that the clamp can’t move relative to the pliers but I couldn’t find anything. Your post about using normal pliers is exactly why I held off on the spring clip because I wasn’t sure what pliers would actually work. With this, I think I’ll buy the clamp and pliers and finally install the valve, oil change is coming soon but I’ve still got time to accumulate the parts.

 

I don't have access to any hard data at all on this, and there must be at least SOME instances somewhere, at some point in time, of Fumotos failing and leaking from the valve (not the washer, which is mainly a user error, not the valve's fault) -- but I haven't heard of any.

Fumoto company released the first iteration of the drain valve in 1976. They currently offer a valve to fit tens of thousands of different makes/models/years from all the major vehicle manufacturers, for everything from small pax cars to very large industrial machinery/earth movers etc. It's not a niche product for enthusiasts, it's an efficiency product for large fleet maintenance.

No doubt the accountants at 1000s of large companies/institutions globally ran the numbers over the years and figured out that on average, the risk of a solid drain plug being carelessly cross-threaded or stripped out was higher, probably a lot higher, than the risk of someone forgetting to close a Fumoto valve. That, plus the other benefits of being able to easily take samples for oil analysis, remove excess/overfill oil as needed, do clean and accurate partial-drain-and-fills for certain use cases, etc.

As far as I can tell, that is ALL they do, so 100% of their company reputation rides on the product reliability.

The valve itself is a simple ball valve, no doubt of very high quality stainless steel, with some kind of very durable heat & solvent-resistant seal.

https://www.fumotousa.com/about-fumoto

 

the thing i still can't understand is why a valve of a similar style isn't factory-standard in any industry. sure, it costs more than a standard bolt, but most industrial equipment is built for preventative maintenance schedules. and changing the oil is the most common thing anything that moves needs doing...

 

It doesn't just cost more than a bolt -- it probably costs about 50 times more. Case closed.

If any additional reason is needed, it would be that a plain plug puts the maintenance liability 100% on the mechanic, vs. selling the vehicle with a drain valve that has the potential to have defects/leaks from the factory.

 

Shavings? Install a filter and you’ll be just fine.

 

Of course.

 

On the submarine, we used high speed centrifugal purifiers to clean the main engine and turbine generator oils. It came out of the purifiers looking like honey. I think we actually changed the oil in the sump every 5 years. Oil is tough stuff!

 

Might I ask what class of subs you were on? Fast Attack, Boomers? I’ve built a few back in the day? Also, which sub in particular?

 

I rode a Squadron 8 LA class fast attack boat out of Norfolk, the USS Cincinnati SSN 693. I think it's a shopping mall now.

I was also qualified on the Trident boomer nuke plant but never sailed on one. Had I stayed in, I was headed for a boomer out of Kings Bay Georgia.

 

Nice. That one is a little earlier than I had begun. I started on the Albuquerque. That Ohio class are some big boys. That's what they had down in Kings Bay.

 

I do have to chuckle at this one.
Every male kiddie will age to this point.
No exceptions unless they die young.
Then he will hear the young ones laughing at him, cuz they literally don't know any better.

Every man will also get prostate cancer if he lives long enough.
The good news: if you catch the cancer early, and remove the prostate, you can pee like a 20-year old once again.
Been there, done that.

 

Got my pliers and spring clip today. The Irwin pliers are not available, however I found a nice alternative on Amazon that works perfectly. They will go in my truck so I don’t lose them when it’s time for an oil change. Thanks for the suggestion.



Powerbuilt Multi-Directional Hose...

$28 Powerbuilt Multi-Directional Hose Clamp Pliers, Hold Clamps, Fuel Lines and Radiator Hoses, Gripping Plier Jaws - 647868M

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TH864JL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

Perfect solution for the few here who think a Fumoto lends itself to someone slinking under your truck to either steal your oil or simply vandalize it I suspect. How disappointed they’d be after expending all that effort to find this stout clip.

 

Scary to me something that could fail and drain my oil. Unscrewing the drain bolt takes about 10 secs!! Guess I don’t get it but I’m glad I don’t.

 

I guess I wasn’t clear what my point was. The point was few here, albeit likely very few, believe because a Fumoto valve can be opened WITHOUT a tool makes it susceptible to naughty things by evil doers. I guess a the evil doer could be a scorned ex-gf or ex wife?

The stout spring changes the game a bit.

 

The push/turn action has good tension...I'm not worried about mine somehow lifting itself/or breaking to the point where oil leaks out.

The plastic "Fumoto" clip was still attached during my recent oil change.

 

True ignorance is fearing what you don't understand