i have the 2 quart Accusump, mounted on the cross member in front of the engine. Like above, i thought about using a manual valve in the cockpit, with the A'sump in the trunk, but i already have a Halon tank back there, and it was going to be expensive to do that.
I would suggest you put the sump in your trunk, not in the cockpit, it really will cramp things in the cockpit. Also, you might consider the smaller sump, it is shorter.
The advantages of the electric valve: it is always open to let
oil return to the accusump if the engine pressure is higher, but it only releases
oil back to the engine when you toggle the valve electrically. With a manual valve, you are constantly flushing
oil back and forth depending on your pressure differential, so that at idle, you will have several extra quarts of oil in your engine, that the engine has to clear out when the rpm increases. Lots of oil foaming and splash and such.
In other words, oil pushed back to the sump stays there until you toggle the valve, or leave it on. I use mine to pre-oil for starting, and only leave the valve on/open when i am on a race track, as otherwise the cylinder moves back and forth all the time, perhaps increasing the wear inside the Accusump. Thus, for street driving, i preoil, then turn it off, and the engine will pump the excess sump oil back to the sump, even with the valve closed, where the extra oil stays until i release it again.
I have a lighted Accusump switch mounted on a small plate just under my dash, i can flick it with my finger, when my hand is on the gearshift. The light reminds me if i am "open" or "closed."
You have to have the valve end of the Accusump just a bit higher than the other end, so any air/foam does not gradually collect and reduce your Accusump's capacity. You don't want the Accusmp to send a big flush of air into a stressed engine..
Be sure you do not wire your electric valve so it is powered even with the car off, as i did at first, it slowly eroded the contacts in the electric valve, which Canton replaced for me free, however. I inadvertenly ran an "always hot" lead to the solenoid, not a lead just powered when the ignition was on. I used AN 10 lines to the the engine, running it to a spare inlet on the remote oil filter adaptor, as i custom modified my engine block adaptor, and thus had the original oil return available. You can return the oil to several places. I don't belive you need to add the flow resistance of a "check valve", as i don't think the oil can back flow thru the oil pump gears and the anti-drainback rubber valve in the oil filter anyway.
By the way, i plumped in a 20 PSI oil pressure warning light into my oil system, i have the high intensity light mounted on a tiny plate on my dash, aimed right at my eye. If i lose pressure, and don't notice the gage, it will get my attention quickly. A cheap insurance. It was like $20 bucks from Pegasus racing.
I think the only use for a manual valve if one only races the car, and just wants to leave it on all the time. I think this is not good for a street engine, as it leaves too much oil in the engine at low rpm.
By the way, the oil vave is mounted to the Accusmp so the tiny arrow on it points AWAY from the Accusump.
Let us know if you have any questions.