MTFCA Forum

I bought a new brass Model T sediment bowl from one of the vendors to install on my 1912 Flanders 20 (it has a generic round steel replacement gas tank). Lately the car has been sputtering and dying on uphill climbs, so today I went through the carb and fuel system to check for blockages.

When I removed the outlet from the sediment bowl, I found that the brass screen had fallen out and was sitting down in the bottom of the bowl. Isn't that screen supposed to be soldered to the fitting? Anyway, I fished the screen out and soldered it to the fitting so that it will stay where it belongs.

If you purchase one of the new sediment bowls, take it apart and check for the presence and correct attachment of the screen!

Yes, the screen is supposed to be fastened in place.

I like to add the accessory Model A screen on top. It's a much finer mesh.

I bought a new brass sediment bowl from Snyder’s a few months ago and all was good with the one I bought. I just tired of occasionally repairing the one I had.

Thanks Steve, I think I'll get one of those Model A screens and install it the next time I have the sediment bowl out.

I saw a drawing of the OEM sediment bowl elsewhere on the forum that showed an internal extension (red arrow) that guides the fuel down towards the bottom of the bowl. Has anyone seen an OEM sediment bowl with such an extension? My reproduction bowl doesn't have it.

I can say everyone I have had apart did not have the extension. Maybe its an early bulb feature. I have only worked with original iron units.

How the heck did you guys get that outlet unscrewed, looking at the “square” nut, it mustn have been easy…I’ve been staring at one for years trying to figure it out!

Use an open end wrench that fits well.(no channel locks) Secure in a vise. Try to unloosen. Stop if the brass starts to nacker or twist. Apply the blue wrench enough to burn off the varnish holding it together, Not necessarily hot enough to melt the lead gasket on this try. Let cool, try the open end wrench again. If still no joy, heat again until the lead gasket starts to let out small beads. Let cool & apply some Kroil.

I have had success using these methods & not needed to go to dynamite.

To remove the lever, remove the cotter pin, spring & washers & use a tubular punch that clears the post(drill out a piece of steel rod) & contacts the base of the lever post.
Do not strike the post.

The valve taper can be lapped with tooth paste to improve/eliminate it's leaking.

You can put the square end in a vise with a rag around it then use a wood mallet or rubber hammer and tap on the body. That usually does it.

For whatever it is worth.

A few years ago, at a swap meet I bought what I suspected was an original brass sediment bulb for my 1915. It was in pretty nice condition overall, not complete, and had some minor damage where the front piece threads in. I managed to straighten the damage, but the front piece that came with it would NOT thread in all the way, in spite of everything looking so good after I straightened it.
So I decided to try a couple other front pieces. I grabbed the box of mostly junk sediment bulbs and pieces I had left over from previous restorations. I needed it anyway because the shutoff lever (and tapered piece!) was missing. One of the loose front pieces threaded in just fine, but it looked so bad I didn't want to consider using it! The other two loose pieces did not want to thread in, and one of them was also pretty ugly.
So I decided to take apart a couple other ones, ones I had given up on years earlier.
All those tips and tricks to take them apart mentioned above? I did them all and then some! I soaked those sediment bulbs in mild acids to remove rust and corrosion for a couple weeks! Mild heat (about 400 degrees F!) and cool cycles. Clamped the front piece square into my big blacksmith vise, and double hammer tapped the "potato" to try to knock it loose. After a couple hours, one of them came loose. A day later, and another couple hours, and more heat, another one did. Oh, and that time? the lead gasket flowed away from the heat!
Finally (well, not quite yet?), I had two front pieces that would thread all the way into the brass "potato". And one of them looked alright.
You know? I never did figure out WHY two of them would fit in, and four others would NOT! All of them would fit fine in a couple decent iron "potatoes". I suspect some minor imperceptible distortion in the brass "potato"? I did have to straighten it slightly and very carefully?

The "not yet" finally? One iron sediment bulb never did give up its front piece. After too much time spent trying to get the pieces apart without ruining them? It I also got really hot, tried a whole bunch of tricks I knew of. But the front piece still looked really nice. No known flaws in the "potato". So, as much as I hated to do it? I hack sawed the iron "potato" and split it off the brass front piece. I do not like to destroy a good piece, but I do have a couple yet for future restorations. And that front piece ended up being the one I used.

As for that longer lower cast tube inside the "potato"? The brass one I bought doesn't have that. Most of the iron ones I have had over the years did not have that (according to my recollection?). However, I do recall at least one years ago that had that. I thought it was odd at the time. The five or so iron ones I had in my junk box and spent so much time getting apart? ONE of them has the long tube as part of the original casting. So they are out there.
What that means? Or when which were used? I have no idea.

I've had good luck buying used sediment bulbs. Usually out of 5 I can come up with one good one. I soak the bulb in carburetor cleaner and dry it out, then, I heat the cover to melt the old lead washer, and remove it. After that I dry out the cover and stick anything I can in the outlet to loosen the crud inside. I shake as much out as I can, and then put it back in the carburetor cleaner. I have to do this several times. I blow out the outlet with compressed air several times to get everything out.

Odd that the method I learned here years ago has not been mentioned.
When I fixed my tater, "potato" for you folks, I was instructed to place it in the freezer and the 2 different metals shrink at different rates and this helps in breaking them loose. I cleaned mine and soaked it in Kroil and put it in a plastic baggy and then put it in the freezer for a couple days. It took twice to make it work and get the fitting out intact without damage.

On that subject, I asked one of our fine vendors about a new sediment bowl. Are the shut-off valves tested? No.
I was having issues with an original shut-off that was not cooperative, thinking about a new one and found the answer interesting.

The reproduction bowel I bought was tested with water, however with gasoline would leak and I had to fit a shutoff valve between it and the tank.