fuel in bilge

[sankpill]

I have a 2300 CC Parker that is leaking fuel into the bilge when the tank is filled... It does not do so when the tank remains only half filled or so. Does anyone have a similar experience or solution? It is not leaking fuel at the fuel gauge sending unit on the top of the tank.

Sankpill

 

[miky2884]

Possibly the vent
Or you may have a hole in the tank, what year is the boat

 

[Bryan 2530]

Yeah, if the sending unit gasket is not leaking, check the fill or vent hoses.

If those are new, you got a hole in the top of the tank from water sitting on it.

How old is the tank??

 

[sankpill]

The boat is a 2002

 

[miky2884]

Obviously very dangerous situation I would NOT use the boat until you figure out where it is coming from and fix the problem.

 

[sankpill]

Anyone know how to access the fuel filler hose and vent hose connections at the tank?

 

[windknotnc]

Does it only occur with a full or near full tank? You have to have a hole somewhere and the reason it comes out near full is because when the gas sloshes up to where the leak is there is a tremendous amount of pressure. (Pascals' Law) It has to go somewhere. It is possible there is a fuel line leak or a crack in the fuel fill or vent hose, but those are going to be rare. My guess is you have some crevis corrosion at a corner near the top. Now for the part that really spooks me. If you have fuel in the bilge coming from the tank and not a fuel line leak, then you have a very dangerous situation. The coffin box holding the tank is sealed and the only way the fuel could get out of it is by going over the top and leaking into the bilge. This would mean the foam around the tank is completely saturated with fuel. You will never get this dried out or stop the fuel smell without removing the tank. Sadly I know this from experience. I am happy to help out and answer any questions I can. PM me if you would like to talk and I will share what I have learned.

 

[sankpill]

The fuel has appeared twice... once when I completely filled the tank at a marina fuel dock and slightly overflowed the vent several months ago. This time I fueled at the same location but only put in 100 gal so as to not risk running the tank over and out the vent. I had a fuel smell and some liquid fuel in the bilge... a few ounces at most.

During the rest of the time I only pour fuel in from gas cans ... usually about forty gallons at a time and never any odor or fuel in bilge.

Since the smell dissipates, I doubt the fuel tank box is saturated but I have no experience with this.... the odor was strongest in the closed compartment under the console and I assumed it was coming up through the races for the controls.
The fuel odor dissipated quickly from the hatches at the stern when they were opened.

How do you get access to the fuel filler hose and vent connections at the tank to check for leaks there???

 

[windknotnc]

There should be a 7" access hatch in the bottom of the console even with the fuel fill fitting. Pop the cover off of it and inspect the hoses really well. There are 2 things you know for sure. If the fuel is in the bilge then it has to be coming from somewhere outside of the coffin box. If your foam was saturated the smell would not go away. Inspect every fitting between the fuel fill & vent and the tank. Check all fuel lines and connections at the water/fuel separator. Another idea that you could try is to use a bicycle pump and attach it to the vent hose and put a very small amount of pressure in the tank, < 5lbs/sq inch. It will need to be really quiet when you do this but listen for air escaping around the tank and fittings. A helper makes this job easier. I was able to isolate a hairline crack that appeared fine this way. The amount of fuel you describe is very minimal but none the less is problematic. It doesn't take much gas to smell really bad or to create a flash fire.

 

[georgevazquez]

I had the same problem in my 2000 21se every time I fueled it up i would get a strong smell of gas in the center counsel.
Turns out it was the fill hose, it it goes down the gunnel and makes a sharp 90 degree turn and straight in to the gas tank. it was leaking at the bend, totally cracked. It was a pain to replace. good luck.

 

[Bryan 2530]

I had the same problem in my 2000 21se every time I fueled it up i would get a strong smell of gas in the center counsel.
Turns out it was the fill hose, it it goes down the gunnel and makes a sharp 90 degree turn and straight in to the gas tank. it was leaking at the bend, totally cracked. It was a pain to replace. good luck.

I would say thats your problem.

 

[sankpill]

thanks.... I'll let you know what I find .... Probably need to find someone smaller than me to get to the hose connnections
under the console!

 

[fliboi21]

I had Same problem on a '02 2510. Fuel fill hose was cracked right at the bend and was leaking into the bilge when tank was full. Hope this helps

 

[warthog5]

you could try is to use a bicycle pump and attach it to the vent hose and put a very small amount of pressure in the tank, < 5lbs/sq inch.

DO NOT DO THAT!

5lbs sounds like a little miniscule number. It is not.

Here is the tank in my Mako. This pix is of it modeled with 1.5PSI on it. My brother did the modeling and built the tank. He is a Mechanical Engineer with a PE.

Now look at the numbers. You can unzip a seam on a Fuel tank if you don't know what your doing.

This is a tank that had bad welding on it. A air valve failed also.

 

[WAJSKI]

Warthog is right on 5psi is a lot.I use to do piping when all the work was done we used to blow into a 1/4" gauge valve opening,it dosn't matter how big the system is the blow back is a lot. We did this to make sure every opening was pluged, you wouldn't believe how long your 1 breath will blow back. I can tell you from seeing it what kind of force a motorcycle tank has when it lets go,be careful.

 

[hotrod]

Had the same problem this year. the vent was gunked up.. clean it fixed that issue

 

[Scalawag 2320]

Hotrod,
Can I ask what the gizmos are that are connecting your boat to the dock.
I have not seen them before.
Do you also use bow lines or are they enough for most conditions?

 

[Bryan 2530]

Hotrod,
Can I ask what the gizmos are that are connecting your boat to the dock.
I have not seen them before.
Do you also use bow lines or are they enough for most conditions?

http://www.froghooks.com/