Fuel shutoff solenoids

A fellow boater asked me tonignt if we had fuel shutoff solenoids on our engines, and if so were they energized to be held on or held off? He wants to install a solenoid fuel shutoff on his older Volvo diesel but has had no luck finding one to use.

Our Lehman 120s have their original Teleflex cable controls for the shutoffs. But I told him that many Lehmans have solenoid fuel shutoffs but I don't know if they were installed by Lehman, by Ford when they built the engine, or are aftermarket installations. And of course many, if not most, other brands of marine diesels have shutoff solenoids as well.

If they are available as aftermarket installtions does anyone have a suggestion as to a brand or a supplier this fellow could contact? I don't know what model of Volvo engine he has, but if anyone on this forum has an older Volvo diesel with a shutoff solenoid, any suggestions they might have for the installation of a similar setup would be appreciated.

I'll pass whatever information is supplied onto this fellow along with a suggestion he might enjoy participating in this forum. Thanks much,

-- Edited by Marin at 01:56, 2007-12-12

My 120 Lehman has the electric shut off which uses electricity to shut down the engine. If the key is off, the solinoid will not operate and shut off the engine. Key on, it pulls the lever and shuts off.

Ken Buck

The cable units are more reliable, tell him to stick with what works.

If the fellow has an interest in safety he might consider the USCG requirement for boats that can kill over 6.

That is a remote shut off for every fuel tank.

Fuel grade ball valves are cheap , as is an outboard shift cable (43 series not 33) and its only a couple of hours of work.

Fighting FIRE was the USCG use , but today with the USCG now the Federal Marine $heen Police , the chance of a tank leak, being pumped automatically overboard , is too e$pensive to contemplate.

PS ,

Murphy the folks that make the best marine gages sell an electric cable pull to work with their system or just a 12v push button.

Marin, I am curious as to why he wants to add a solenoid.* Does he want to change from the manual engine shutdown to electric or does he just want a safety shutoff for his fuel supply?
He already has an engine shutdown device...?

Some diesel engines do not cut off the fuel supply to stop the engine.* Mine uses a manual pull to close off the air supply in the intake.* The fuel never gets shut off...the mechanical*fuel lift pump stops when the engine stops.*

A solenoid fuel shutoff system employs a relay as well and both parts are readily available from many suppliers with differnet fittings on the solenoid.*

I would advise him to contact Volvo before adding a new device..to be safe.

Most fuel shutoff solenoids fail open which would make sense. I did have a buddy who had an Islander sailboat with a Pathfinder diesel(VW) that would fail closed...and it did on ocassion. In fact Sea Tow Cancelled him as an "unlimited" towee because he got towed in regualrly before he found the cause....he wasn't that sharp. In any event, you are gonna need some sort of mountin pad for the solenoid on the engine if that iw where he is gonna do it. I like everyone else's answer....if it aint brok, why fix it. I have had to replace a shutoff solenoid before. Manual cable types are almost fool proof.

Guys - it's me that has Marin looking for shut off valves and here is the reason for my thinking.
I have an older Volvo diesel that uses a cable control for shut down. I have a bridge deck set of controls for everything BUT engine shut down.
As the years go by I find that my arthritis causes me to not be as nimble as in years past and I suppose its only going to get worse so I want a means of shutting down the engine from the fly bridge to save having to rush to get back into the pilot house in an "emergency".
It would be mainly as a safety device should the alarms go off or should something else fail such as the clutch control.
Given the age of my engine she does not have any option standard for such a control and looking at some pix of other engine rooms I have seen Lehmans with what looks like a solidoid controlled fuel valve/injector pump control and because Marin seems to have a real grasp on these engines I was prompted to ask him the question originally.
This proposed electric control will in no way control the actual fuel supply from the tanks - that is taken care of by the fuel selector valve in the main cabin where it can be accessed in a moment should the need arise.
Thanks for any input you can give me.
John Tones "Penta"
Sidney, BC

Bob--

My interpretation of his e-mail is that he wants to change his Volvo engine from a manual shutoff to a solenoid shutoff. He did not say why he wants to do this. I don't believe he's looking for a remote fuel feed shutoff as he said he recently saw a writeup on a boat with a Perkins diesel that has a solenoid engine shutoff. So I'm assuming he's looking for an engine-mounted "stop running" solenoid.

I told him I'd posted his query to this and the Grand Banks owners forum and suggested that he might want to monitor the forums in case there were follow-up questions he might have for somebody, so perhaps he will come on line and answer some of the questions that have been raised here.

FF---

Thanks for the suggestion of Murphy. I will pass that along.

PS-- It seems I can't write as fast as John can, so he is already here.* John, sorry I did not recognize you as already being a participant in this forum.


-- Edited by Marin at 11:54, 2007-12-12

John---

There have been several suggestions on the GB forum to check with American Diesel. While you have a Volvo, they may have a solenoid setup that will work for your application.

Thanks Marin - I should have thought about them before I bothered you and everyone else.

Cheers
John

No worries. Boating isn't a bother and neither is being asked for information by a fellow boater.

For the Lehman 120 the Optional Electric Stop and Throttle Connection Kit is #D-1266. The kit contains the solenoid, rods, ball joints, brackets, bolts, nuts, etc.

Now the $64,000 question is if you could find an NOS kit anywhere. This appears to be the kit that is installed on my engine. As always, if you need a picture of the kit from the manual, or want actual measurements, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Ken Buck

Ken - thanks for the info. I will scan the internet now and see what I can find. Bob Smith may possibly have at least the solenoid used or new so I think I am on the right track now.
Again - thanks
John

A couple of pictures for John.

Notice there are 3 wires- should be a negative/ pull-in/ hold. Ran across this a few years ago.
Steve

Thanks for all the input guys. Turns out that the Bosh injector pump on my engine has a shut-off lever that has to be pulled such that the shaft rotates through about 20 degrees. The first 10 or so don't seem to do anything but I would not want to leave the arm in that "mid" position as I can't see what is happening inside from the manuals. Solenoids just don't have enough throw to accomplish this no matter how I arrange the leverage.

Looks like my electrically operated shut - off control just flew out the window and I have bought a long control cable off a Ford tractor for the upper helm shut-off.

I guess the big advantage to this outcome will be reliability as there sure is not much to go wrong.

Happy Holidays

Penta

I can't picture why it wouldn't work. If the solenoid only pulls let's say 3/4" then the pull point on the lever should be 2 1/8 inches from the pivot. If the solenoid only pulls 1/2", then the pull point is 1 3/8" from the pivot.

As for a solenoid have you looked into a door solenoid off of a car door latch, or a modified starter solenoid from a GM starter? Both work on 12v and should work fine in your engine room.

ken

any pictures of the solenoid mounting on the 120s