"No Spill" Funnel Turns Itself Off

"No Spill" Funnel Turns Itself Off FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 31-4-35 Pouring fuel into a lawn mower or other small engine can quickly get messy if you overfill the tank. This new "Auto Stop Funnel" automatically stops the flow of fuel as it reaches the full level, preventing spills and overfilling. It lets you pour what's left back into a container. "Other funnels indicate when the tank is getting full, but this is the only one that I know of that stops the flow," says inventor Jennifer Gruber. "Otherwise, by the time you stop pouring it may be too late to avoid overfilling the tank and spilling onto the floor." The bottom of the funnel is equipped with a magnetic float valve that's closed by the rising fluid in the tank and opened by a control rod located inside the funnel. You place the funnel in the tank and push the rod down to open the valve. As you pour liquid into the funnel, the valve automatically closes as the tank fills. To pour the liquid back into the container, you place the funnel in the container and press the rod to open the valve. "The key to making it work is that magnets attract each other," says Jennifer. "There's a magnet inside the float and another magnet inside the funnel. As the float starts rising the magnets get closer together, and when they get close enough they attract and pull the float valve all way up into the stop." The funnel is made from polypropylene and holds 1 1/2 pints. It's expected to be on the market later this summer. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George and Jennifer Gruber, 3845 Abercrombie Lane, Stillwater, Minn. 55082 (ph 651 338-3386; GeoGru2@Gmail.com or george@gpg2.com).

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