Remote controlled seacocks

[chrstmar]

We all know the value of knowing where the seacocks are and operating them from time to time to make sure they haven't seized up.

But, sometimes they are really hard to get at or you just want to close one or more of them off in a hurry.

Does anyone make such an item?


Chris Martin.

[sailingdog]

I'd imagine someone does make them... but they'd probably be quite expensive and far more maintenance than regular seacocks. Besides, do you really want to rely on an electrical/electronic gizmo to tell you that the seacock is closed, when it reality it might not be... I'd rather shut the seacock manually, and know for sure.

[Valiente]

Drill a hole in the handle and through-bolt a yoke of the same type as found on Morse or Teleflex throttle cables. Get a length of threaded rod and screw it onto this yoke. Get some sort of tie-down for the rod.

Now, you can use leverage to open and close the seacock through 90 degrees from some distance. I came up with the idea because my cockpit drain and engine seawater intake seacocks were side by side behind my Atomic 4. Frequently, I risked a burn closing off the seawater intake (my custom before leaving the boat) after running the engine, so I started to use a boathook. This is like a bulletproof, cheap boathook. It would work particularly well from directly above.

[Sasha_V]

Actuated valve controls are common in mining and materials processing.

they are most often pnuematic (because if those fail they let you know how and where) but are also available in electrical.

I disagree with relaibility being their drawback. Expense and bulk is. Also, in your case, they do not solve anything....You now just get to worry about whether they are working or not when you press the button, instead of diggin down to do it by hand.

It's a nice idea, it is possible, but you shouldn't, is pretty much the summary of my answer.


Sasha

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by Valiente

Drill a hole in the handle and through-bolt a yoke of the same type as found on Morse or Teleflex throttle cables. Get a length of threaded rod and screw it onto this yoke. Get some sort of tie-down for the rod.

Now, you can use leverage to open and close the seacock through 90 degrees from some distance. I came up with the idea because my cockpit drain and engine seawater intake seacocks were side by side behind my Atomic 4. Frequently, I risked a burn closing off the seawater intake (my custom before leaving the boat) after running the engine, so I started to use a boathook. This is like a bulletproof, cheap boathook. It would work particularly well from directly above.

This idea is not all that different from the way both seacocks and fire main valves are operated on larger ships:

You remove the handle from a globe or a gate valve and bolt a metal rod extension shaft to the spindle, off to wherever it is you want to operate from and re-fit the handle on the end. You can even go though 90degrees if you need to by using a geared shaft and you can buy flexible shafts with plastic casings (think speedo cable but more rugged) for really awkward spots.

I must admit it's very "old school", but this system is very practical on larger boats and has fewer maintenance issues than using electrical solenoid valves.

[LifeWorthLivin]

Forespar makes them out of Marelon