Conducting routine maintenance on your equipment’s engine can sometimes be a cumbersome ordeal. And yet we know that frequent maintenance is essential to the performance and longevity of the equipment and its engine. Engine maintenance involves various tasks to perform, some being simpler than others. Changing the engine oil is probably one of the simplest of these maintenance tasks but can also be one of the messiest, and most frustrating of jobs to perform. An oil change on a major piece of equipment can have oil going everywhere; and what if you simply want to take a sample? Good luck! Sometimes, the drain plug location is in such a weird spot, that when you drain the oil it shoots out sideways, hitting other various engine components before finally draining all over the ground; the only thing its actually missing being the catch-pan you’re trying to get the oil it into.
Many ask the question “Why don’t the engine manufacturers make an easier, more efficient way to change the oil?”
WHAT IS A FUMOTO VALVE?
Almost 40 years ago, Fumoto Giken Co. Ltd., a company based out of Japan, engineered a way to solve the tedious and messy job of an oil change with its invention of the Fumoto Valve. These engine oil drain valve are specifically designed to replace the OEM oil drain plug on your equipment’s engine, screwing into the oil drain port with ease. This simple, yet ingeniously designed ball valve has a lever to open and close the flow of the oil, making changing your oil so much easier and giving you the option to take a sample. Some of the Fumoto Valve models even have a nipple-barb on the exit-end of the valve so that you can conveniently attach a hose for an even more customized oil draining experience. There are Fumoto valves to fit just about any engine oil pan application out there and they are currently installed and trusted on heavy-duty trucks, construction equipment, light-duty cars and trucks, generators, boats, and motorcycles at the OEM and aftermarket levels around the world.
HELPS TO PREVENT COSTLY REPAIR
The Fumoto Valve makes it effortless to change your oil; it actually helps prevent the costly replacement of your oil pan due to stripped out threads. Consistently changing the oil on your engine(s) is a good and right maintenance habit, but in doing so you are naturally increasing the risk of stripping out the oil pan’s drain port threads. A stripped out pan is a common problem in fleet maintenance and a headache to deal with. By installing the Fumoto Valve, you will no longer have the constant strain on the oil pan’s threads which is caused by reinstalling the standard plug over and over with each oil change. By only needing to be installed once on your engine’s oil pan, the Fumoto Valve essentially eliminates the risk of a stripped out oil pan. Imagine not having to worry about an expensive repair or replacement to your engine’s oil pan saving you literally hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of dollars. The Fumoto Valve also helps prevent oil spills on the ground, which can be environmentally harmful, and again, a tedious job to clean up. By utilizing a nipple-barbed Fumoto Valve with a hose attached, you can funnel the engine oil right into a desired container without spilling a drop of oil. Fumoto has recently introduced a valve that even fits your DEF fuel tank.
MADE WITH QUALITY ENGINEERING
These handy engine oil drain valves will last the lifetime of your equipment’s engine without ever needing to be replaced. The Fumoto manufacturing plant in Japan has exclusively constructed valves for more than 80 years. They manufacture in addition to the world famous Fumoto Valve: compressed gas, LPG, fire extinguisher, specialty gas, ball valves, and many others. The experience of the engineering and the quality of the manufacturing are one of the main reasons these valves have stood the test of time. When speaking of the Fumoto Valve’s quality, and the precision of the manufacturing process, president of Fumoto Engineering of America, Richard Harder, had this to say: “They live, breathe, design, test, and create only the most precise and reliable valves that millions of customers rely on every day. They are partners and part owners of Fumoto, people we can trust, not an outsourced factory. We’re proud to stand behind the work of our world-class valve fabrication facility.”
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The new, patent pending and trademarked Fumoto® SX-series allow for a 360-degree orientation of the valve body, utilizing the through bolt and banjo-join design for a fully customized installation.

According to Fumoto Engineering of America, “The engineers that build our valves, unlike those that build imitation products, are the primary source of our quality; they have a deep fundamental understanding of the product design and high quality materials we use, as well as why we use them. This is why they’ve elected to keep true to the ingeniously straightforward original drain valve concept that requires no special knowledge, tools, or attachments to operate. The quarter turn ball valve is self-cleaning, double-sealed, and does not rely on spring tension to prevent failure.”
LATEST FUMOTO NEWS
Fumoto introduces another innovative engine oil drain valve to its lineup, the SX-Series. See a close up of this valve on the opposite page. This new design features a banjo-joint and through-bolt technology to allow for a fully customizable orientation of the valve body. The Fumoto SX Series valves are designed to fit into those extra tight spaces and also have less of a profile, which is great for lower clearance applications. Once again, Fumoto is leading the way in engine oil draining innovation and is constantly looking for ways to increase the end-user’s experience and convenience.
With more than over 10 million of these ingenious engine oil drain valves sold and circulating in the market, they are the undisputed industry leader and set the gold standard for quality and longevity. ■
About the Authors: Matthew Benjamin is the associate director of marketing, manager of inside sales and customer care, and Fumoto USA’s public relations manager. Matthew has worked for Fumoto Engineering of America, also known as Fumoto USA, for almost 2 years and is involved in many of the daily aspects of the company’s operations. For more information about the Fumoto Valve, visit www.fumotousa.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions – October 2016
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