Fuel Tank Valve Question

[coloradosean2009]

My '72 has two fuel tanks. The side saddle was installed by the PO and previously used an electronic valve. The valve has since been removed and the side tank taken out of service. From what I can tell, only the tank in the cab has a return line.

I want to put the second tank back in service but I am not sure if I need a valve that allows for return fuel or not. I am guessing that the PO just burned the main tank first, then switched to the side saddle, then back to the main to burn up the remaining fuel that was returned.

Would this one work? http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/product.php?id=1411

Any thoughts and recommendations are always welcome.

[68gmsee]

I'm not very familiar with the two tank operation other than what I've seen on my BIL's truck. He used the secondary tank as a backup but about once ever few months or so, he would use the secondary tank just to keep the gas from getting stale.

IIRC he had a solenoid operated valve that would shut the supply from one tank and open the other.

Not sure what you mean by return line but his was factory installed an worked real well. That valve you're looking at could do the trick. It's similar operation as the one he had.

[CCCC]

I've had two and even three tanks on some of these trucks and they all have/had the manually operated valve on the floor to the left of the driver seat, with a handle opposite the four position pointer. It merely swivels in a circle. One opening is the outlet and others for inlet. If you have that type of valve, just run a fuel line from the second tank to one of the unused inlets - the one you will remember as the setting for that tank. Might be a really good idea to make certain that the tank is clear of debris/gunk before you begin using it again.

One thing I have found to be handy is to have a sender on each tank and a switch on the dash which enables one to see the fuel level in each tank - because I do not drive some of these very often and forget the fuel level in the tank that does not have a gauge. Sometimes I just run the un-gauged tank until it is almost empty (first sputter) and then turn the valve handle to the gauged tank.