Model 50 Uniflow Valve

I’ve searched this topic in TF and online, and I think I know the answer. But I thought it was worth asking again.

Does anyone know of an alternative/replacement for this valve? It is part of our Capilano hydraulic steering system.

I have never seen a replacement. Not even a kit to rebuild one.

I am off on a ski trip right now. When I get home I will post an alternative valve that is still available.

Research Vetus for possible replacement valve.

I have the same basic set up (the older Capilano models with 3 lines). When I originally researched replacement options, there were some on-line references to a Vetus k30/140 non-return valve as being a possible option. The fittings are in metric so would probably also need some conversion. Never progressed beyond that so can't be sure how viable it would be. Contacting Vetus would probably be your best option.

tiltrider1 said:

I am off on a ski trip right now. When I get home I will post an alternative valve that is still available.

Research Vetus for possible replacement valve.

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I read a post on T&T from 2006 that says Vetus K30/140 is a replacement. However, I have seen nothing from anyone saying they have actually used it. The configuration is different in that there are two lines in and two lines out. The post refers to a second Vetus part that may be part of the set-up. I’d sure like to hear from someone who has used the Vetus parts.

Mike what's the actual problem? Has the valve failed or is it leaking? Have you considered asking a hydraulics shop to rebuild? I'll follow this thread with interest as I also have this valve (and no doubt the same overall system as Robert....sister ship).

Aquabelle said:

Mike what's the actual problem? Has the valve failed or is it leaking? Have you considered asking a hydraulics shop to rebuild? I'll follow this thread with interest as I also have this valve (and no doubt the same overall system as Robert....sister ship).

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The valve has apparently failed. The steering pumps were rebuilt and tested. The lines were flushed. The valve was flushed with ATF. The technician was unable to recharge the system because the valve is either stuck or leaking by.

Boatyard disassembled the valve and had a well-regarded machinist look at it. The conclusion is that the valve body is worn. It would be hard and costly to rebuild.

So if there is no substitute for the Uniflow valve, the only option is new steering pumps.

Sounds like this outfit has a workaround. If you do call them please let us know the outcome:

https://www.seatechmarineproducts.com/teleflex-model-50-uniflow-valve.html

Aquabelle said:

Sounds like this outfit has a workaround. If you do call them please let us know the outcome:

https://www.seatechmarineproducts.com/teleflex-model-50-uniflow-valve.html

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I talked to them for quite a while this morning. The guy sounded very knowledgeable, but they don’t really have a work around. There isn’t one. If the U50 is really bad, the only answer is new helm pumps.

He did question whether the valve was really bad though. He says they rarely go bad and suspects that the technician was not bleeding the system properly. The technician was very experienced and quite knowledgeable, so I don’t know what to think about that.

SeaStar Solutions || a global supplier of marine equipment for sports and leisure boats.

This outfit bought Capilano and Teleflex. American. Maybe give them a call?

Mike I'm sure you have seen the various other online discussions around this. Consistently those say the U50 can be rebuilt by a good machine/hydraulics shop....just a matter of seals and o-rings. Teleflex itself was apparently still selling seal kits....have you confirmed with them these are not available? I'd be spending some time calling outfits like Great Lakes Skipper & similar for a used replacement before I shelled out for 2 x new helm pumps not to mention the labor costs of the change over.

That thing looks like it may be just two relief valves that vent into the center port. The non return valves must be in the helm pumps as otherwise if you use two helms, one wheel will turn if you turn the other.

Have you taken the thing apart to see what the internals are like? If just relief valves, then you could just use the one from Hynautic which are available.

Also, could not imagine the thing preventing bleeding (???).

From post #6 in a thread by obthmas started 07-01-2014 by rduval: TheUniflow valve is a set of shuttle valves so the cylinder has a return path to the helms whether going to port or to starboard. The helms do not have checkvalves as the uniflow eliminates the need.


And from obthomas post #13 in that same thread: the purpose of the univalve isto eliminate check valves at the helms.

obthmas also posted a number of very useful Capilano documents in that thread, which explain exactly how the Uniflow valve is to be installed and how it can be used to simply & easily bleed the system. The key point I think is that theCapilano/Teleflex 250V-based systems are not true 3-line, but 2-line systems; the 3rd line from the Univalve is not pressurized for steering, but 'just' provides a return pathway back to the helm pumps. These systems were regarded as best-in-class in their day and were installed in many commercial vessels doing hard service.


There is also the mysterious, recurring reference to a Vetus solution: I think most of these are in fact quoting the one 2006 online source (details below),which says:


"What to do if your Univalve fails? I have found a company by the name of Vetus Den Ouden, Inc which is a Netherlands company. They have US distribution from Maryland, see www.vetus.com.
This company sells their own pumps cylinders etc primarily in the European market. Their pumps are sold with a built in return valve or without. For the "non-return" pumps, they route expelled steering slave cylinder fluid through a "non-return" valve block (same idea as the Uvalve). This valve
is available as part number K30/140 for $US260. The drawback is that the entire Vetus line of steering components is plumbed in metric fittings. With a little creativity, this speed bump can be circumvented. You could save your old sytle Capilano pump which use the 3 line system. Vetus [also] offers another valve which will serve as a Non-return block. This one also has a by-pass valve built into it which will allow for system bleeding and in the event you need to put a tiller onto your rudder in an emergency steering situation. This non-return/bypass valve is over $600,..."

[source: http://lists.trawlering.com/pipermail/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com/2006-April/103867.html]


I think it would be worth following up this Vetus reference, which isvery specific. And if not Vetus, another generic bypass-valve solution. I suspect Ski (Eric's)post could have the answer. While Teleflex & Seastar don't provide direct replacements, it doesn't seem like what the U-50 is doing is unique in the hydraulics world. SeaStar & others have a commercial interest in 'upgrading' customers to the newer...but not necessarilybetter....1250 (and equivalent) helm pumps. At around $1,000+ for each pump before the skilled labour involved in removing not just the 250V pumps but univalve and 3rd line (yes, it could be just capped off), those with 2+ helms who think they need to go this route might want to evaluate jumping even further along the technology chain to even newer solutions from other vendors

a marine engineer froend of mine suggested you just take it to a really good hydraulics shop and they will know what it is.with a little dialogue.

They should be able to fix or replace it with a common valve setup, non marine, but for a couple hundred bucks.

Thanks for the replies. We’ve been in this Boatyard for 4 months suffering through a very bad Virginia winter. So we are taking the path of least resistance and buying new helm pumps. They are on their way.

MikeM said:

Thanks for the replies. We’ve been in this Boatyard for 4 months suffering through a very bad Virginia winter. So we are taking the path of least resistance and buying new helm pumps. They are on their way.

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I agree with PSneeld. Go to an ag hydraulic shop. Once the mechanical function of the device is understood, they should be able to assemble a replacement from parts on the shelf or repair what you have. Farmers are constantly dreaming up new ways to use hydraulics, so these shops are adept at innovation.

MikeM said:

Thanks for the replies. We’ve been in this Boatyard for 4 months suffering through a very bad Virginia winter. So we are taking the path of least resistance and buying new helm pumps. They are on their way.

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Mike....did you order the 1250's? As you can tell there's a lot of interest in this topic so i hope you will continue to post and report on the installation experience.

Aquabelle said:

Mike....did you order the 1250's? As you can tell there's a lot of interest in this topic so i hope you will continue to post and report on the installation experience.

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Yes the new helm pumps have been ordered. As I said earlier, we’ve been here a long time and are anxious to leave. So we went with the yard’s recommendation to buy new pumps.

I’ll provide an update when the work is done.

Update: Both helm pumps were replaced with model 1275s. The technician was able to use the existing copper tubing to connect them. So no additional plumbing was required. Took about 12 man-hours.

We left Deltaville three days ago. Pilothouse helm, which seemed fine during sea trials, is not completely right. It is a bit harder to turn to port than it is to turn starboard. And it doesn’t move as smoothly to starboard. We are hoping that the problem is air in the pump, we continue to try to bleed the air out of the system.

Mike

Mike....thanks for providing the feedback. Given no lines had to be replaced, what took up the 12 hours of labour?

Aquabelle said:

Mike....thanks for providing the feedback. Given no lines had to be replaced, what took up the 12 hours of labour?

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PM sent.

MikeM said:

PM sent.

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Hi Mike,
Can you share with me as well? I have a slight leak in mine and may go the hydraulic shop route but curious about the new pumps option.

Mike: no PM received yet.


rgds


Aquabelle

Aquabelle said:

Mike: no PM received yet.


rgds


Aquabelle

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Forwarded my original PM again. Pls let me know if you receive it.

Arthurc said:

Hi Mike,

Can you share with me as well? I have a slight leak in mine and may go the hydraulic shop route but curious about the new pumps option.

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New pumps work fine. Just expensive.

I do have two newly rebuilt model 275s if you are interested.

MikeM said:

New pumps work fine. Just expensive.

I do have two newly rebuilt model 275s if you are interested.

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Hi Mike
Since it’s only my manifold leaking I’d go with new pumps that can bypass it if I swap them. How many hours did the yard charge to install new 1275s and eliminate the manifold/valve? I have the same question about where the labor was spent. Looks like pumps are about 1000 each and should be a pretty simple swap at the helms but you would know much more about what the swap took.

Thanks!

Total bill was about $3500; which included the new helm pumps, 12 man-hours of labor, and all the other connection hardware. They were able to reuse the existing copper lines. If they had not been able to do that, the bill would have been significantly higher.

Super helpful, I’m guessing my kk54 has a very similar setup to yours. Any chance you have details of how they bypassed the valve?
Based on this I don’t think it makes sense to try and rebuild my uniflow valve, considering I have replaced a majority of the boat systems better to have the steering in a similar spot/age.

AC

Arthurc said:

Super helpful, I’m guessing my kk54 has a very similar setup to yours. Any chance you have details of how they bypassed the valve?
Based on this I don’t think it makes sense to try and rebuild my uniflow valve, considering I have replaced a majority of the boat systems better to have the steering in a similar spot/age.

AC

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They removed the valve completely. Then added a crossover between the two remaining lines.

I’m not so sure I’d replace everything if you just have a leaking Uniflow valve. You can buy a seal kit for them. I talked to very knowledgeable guy out in San Diego who told me the Uniflow valve rarely fails completely. I think I’d try replacing the seals first if your problem is just a leak.

uniflo 50 replacement

I amwondering if using the FPS8 adapter with a new autopilot pump would achieve replacment of the uniflo 50. It looks like in the diagram its set up for the multiple helms where the fluid always moves in the same direction. Anyone ever looked at this? I need to replace my autopilot pump any way so I am pondering if this would work. Its still expensive but less than 3 new helms.

https://www.furunousa.com/-/media/s..._and_700_series_installation_instructions.pdf