Refueling problems - any ideas - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Jim H · 06-13-2004, 06:58 AM

Went to fill the tank yesterday and seemed like I could not get the gas to stay down in the boat!

I had to fill REAL slow.......and even then.....had to keep stopping and starting.

I checked and there doesn't seem to be any kinks in the fill or vent hoses.....

The Wellcraft has a 100gal tank....looks like the vent hose is connected just above the fuel fill?

Any ideas????

Thanks,

Swede · 06-13-2004, 07:18 AM

Your vent hose is clogged somewhere. Same thing happened to me and it turned out to be a clogged vent screen..

Jim H · 06-13-2004, 03:46 PM

I figured it would be the vent. I think there is a through hull vent on the port side....will have to check it tomorrow. Did you just clean the screen? Blow air down the vent hose? Maybe an an electicians snake...err...that might not be such a good idea.

Also - anyone know why there are two hoses coming up to the fuel fill?

Thanks

Van · 06-13-2004, 05:48 PM

The second smaller one is probably the vent, some vents, (like mine) are built into the fill cap assembly.

I dont know why you would have a vent going the port side, does not make sense cause you wouldnt see fuel coming out when its real full. Most vents are near the fill.

But it does sound like it may be clogged, then again, are you sure it wasn't the hose nozzle, have you filled before with no problem?

Swede · 06-13-2004, 05:53 PM

I just pulled it out and cleaned it. If you can't see a screen then you probably have a spider nest in there.. Maybe a can of compressed air or a plastic snake would work?

Jim H · 06-13-2004, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Van
The second smaller one is probably the vent, some vents, (like mine) are built into the fill cap assembly.

I dont know why you would have a vent going the port side, does not make sense cause you wouldnt see fuel coming out when its real full. Most vents are near the fill.

But it does sound like it may be clogged, then again, are you sure it wasn't the hose nozzle, have you filled before with no problem?

True....the vent is way up on the bow on the port side....I'll have to check, it maybe for the freshwater or something else. The vent must be built into the fill since there are two hoses. I'll take it off and check it for blockage.

I filled up the tank once before launching. At the gas station, and on the trailer, fill worked great! I put about 60 gallons in with no problem. Trouble happened to me both times I tried to fill up at the marina on the water. Not sure if the nozzle has a problem - why could that do it? I tried reseating it several times...moved it almost all the way out of the fill too. Just kept gurgling over like it was full, but I know it has at least 1/4 empty tank.

Thanks for the ideas.

Jim

Van · 06-13-2004, 08:41 PM

Sounds like it might be the marina nozzle.

The one I used last week did not shut off when the tank was full, gas sprayed all over my shoes and right arm.

Nice huh, i told the guy and he said , yea sometimes it does that!

Let us know, always learning....

Mr. Sandman · 06-14-2004, 08:09 AM

If it is not the marina nozzle (which it could very well be) I know what it is.....

The fill hose to the tank is not sloped enough. There is an effective "flat spot" in the line where the fuel can "pool" inside the line because it can not drain fast enough. you need more pitch (slope) in the line. When this happens you get a temporary air lock in the line and it the fuel backs up in the line until it burps itself and the cycle starts over.
This most likely happens in the water and not on the trailer because the boat is at a different trim angle. Once the boat trims bow up slightly you will find it fuels up better because the flat spot in the line is now sloped somewhat.

Cheap fixes are:
1) have your passangers stand in the stern.
2) Don't let your tank get real low
3) re-arrange your fuel slightly line for better pitch
4) refuel on a trailer
5) fill your live wells(if you have large wells) before fueling (to get the bow up)

good luck

mitchfh · 06-15-2004, 07:04 PM

I'm a newbie here, but I've run into the same problems in the past with my boat. Check the vent screens on the hull overflows. If you wax your boat as often as I do, you've probably gotten wax on the screens and the tank can't breathe. I had that problem with my boat and I run diesel, which will foam if you try to fill to fast. The quick remedy is to take a knife and pop out the screen, BUT, ultimately your going to want that screen or you'll get spiders crawling in there and doing more damage.

Jim H · 06-19-2004, 08:05 PM

My vent is part of the deck fill. It's on the stern up top on the port side. 5/8 hose on top of the 1 1/2 fill hose. I checked and there were no sharp bends. I took the vent hose off at the tank and blew through it. Seemed like it was hard to blow at first then it freed up. I was getting some back flow - then I realized that the damn cap was on the fill. I took the cap off and blew it out good - did not seem like anything was blocking it.

I have to believe it has something to do with the angle of the nozzle in the fill. When I go back, I'll try to make sure I push it way down - I thought maybe that backing it out would make it fill better (like in a car), but from the looks of the fill hose, I bet that would make it worse.

Either way, the vent is not plugged. So if it doesn't fill next time, it has to be the angle of the boat or the nozzle.

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

Jim

Mr. Sandman · 06-20-2004, 12:18 PM

Cloged vents do cause this to happen but I don't think it could be the vent because if it was you would have the same problem while fueling on the trailer as in the water, you mentioned that you only have the problem while fueling is in the water. My money is the angle of the hose is effectively flat it has to go uphill slightly while the boat is in the water due to the static trim condion of the boat while in water. See if you can re-arrange the hose slightly. (this can be difficult, I know)

One way to test this is put a lot of weight in the stern the next time you re-fuel. (Bring along a lot of people and fill bait tanks with water ) If the problem goes away...then you have your next winter project...re-install fuel line

(This happened on a boat I had, I ended up installing a new (slightly shorter) line ans was able to pitch it more and the problem went away, could then re-fuel as fast as the pump could pump.)

By looking at your avitar, if that is your boat, you have a lot of weight forward...

Jim H · 06-21-2004, 11:57 AM

I am not sure if the front/back slope is as critical. Looks like the hose runs almost straight down from the fill at the top of the stern and then curves towards centerline. I bet that's the problem. When I am filling, I am standing in the rear on the port side. Bet I am tipping the boat towards port, so that the fuel is almost running up hill to get to the tank (which is center in the stern).

It's only a maybe a 3 ft run.....but I bet that's it. On the trailer it was level...slight slope to the center and it filled fine. With me standing there, it is an uphill run.

I'll either tie up facing so I can fill from the dock OR put heavier people on the opposite side.

Will try this week.

If not, ugh....maybe I can try re-routing..

Thanks,

Jim

Jim H · 06-22-2004, 08:37 AM

SOLVED!

Filled up last night.....all 51 gallons (half tank).

I found out two things.

1) the pump at the marina pumps A LOT faster than at the gas station

2) Having the family stand on the starboard side helped the fuel flow into the tank.

So, I just had to pump the gas at 1/2 volume (holding the gas pump valve only half way) and then it only hiccup'd twice until it was truly filled.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and advise. I feel a lot better that I don't have a fuel line re-route job to do!

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