# A little "direction" on the Y-valve...



## chappyonice (Jul 30, 2006)

To this point, we've been using just the marina restrooms when docked and pinching tight when out on our short daysails  . That got me thinking, I had better understand how to effectively use the head on our new used boat (1999 Bene 311). Read through the manual for the Jabsco head, no problem there. There is one catch however - we have a Y-valve in the system which directs the flow to either the holding tank or the overboard discharge. In the spirit of making sure we do things responsibly, I need to figure out which way the Y-valve goes before we ever have to use it. I'm linking to a picture of the valve and was curious if someone else had the same model and could explain which setting is which direction. If the red lever points up, does the flow go up? Or would the flow go down because the set of arrows pointing down is exposed when the lever is up? In the pic at the link below, is the flow up or down?

Picture of the Y-valve

Thanks!


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## bsfree (Oct 25, 2001)

You could always give a couple of clean flushes and see which direction gets water into the holding tank.
All the best


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

I can't tell by the picture either. I'd close the overboard discharge thru-hull and then try and pump fluid through the head in each y-valve position. Should flow in one position and meet resistance in the other position. They you'll know.


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## trantor12020 (Mar 11, 2006)

I was in similiar predicament. My Y-valve is different make. I found out that when the handle covers one of the arrows, the 2 displayed indicates direction of flow. Maybe you could disconnect one outlet hose to confirm.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It is probably designed so that whichever arrow set is uncovered is the functional setup for the given handle position. If you knew who made the valve, it would be simple to ask the manufacturer if they're still in business. 

Many of the newer valves have the arrows on the handle, to make it very clear what is going on.


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## chappyonice (Jul 30, 2006)

*Found the answer*

Just to close out the thread and provide some documentation for those who might look it up in the future, I went down and did some experimentation today. The exposed arrow path is the path which works. So in the picture, that would be down. I also found that flow down is the through hull and flow up is the holding tank (therefore it is now in the FLOW UP position  ).

Thanks to those who replied and happy sailing!


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## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

*Re: Found the answer*



chappyonice said:


> ...The exposed arrow path is the path which works. So in the picture, that would be down....


I am resurrecting this old thread because I'm dealing with a similarly confusing Y-valve situation now. Every Y-valve I've ever used (35 years as a chemical engineer) had the handle pointing in the direction of the OPEN discharge. But after looking at the breakdown schematic of the Jabsco 45490-1000 Y-valve (page 3 of this manual), it appears that the hidden arrow corresponds to the blocked outlet port, and the visible arrows indicate the flow (like chappyonice said). It's explained very clearly here - too bad it's not in the actual manual:


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

On my Y valve, you can only attach a nylon tie when the handle is directed to the tank. I think it's a Jabsco, but I'm not really sure.

All the best,

Gary


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

Pour a cup of milk in the toilet bowl, have yer mate observe the outside discharge thru hull while yer pumping away, no white, then you know where it's going...then you can figure out how and where the arrows point.


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