Gas Smell...In the Bilge

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:02 pm

Hello,

I am now a newby to the list (ironically I am termed Bottom Sanding Grunt, or something along those lines. I have spent a lot of time on this lately on several boats.)

I have an Atomic 4 aboard my T30, and have noticed a bit of a loss of gas in the tank. When the engine was serviced in the fall, the yard did not turn off the shut off valve from the tank. I failed to notice this until this spring, when I first noticed the drop in level on the gas guage. I have pumped the bilge, and shut off the valve. The loss of fuel seems to have ceased. However, I still have a fairly strong gas smell in the bilge.

Any trouble shooting thoughts would be appreciated.

Post by **Tim** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:17 pm

Welcome to our little group!

The fuel shouldn't have found its way out of the tank regardless of the position of the shutoff valve. The fact that you had a leak into the bilge points to another problem somewhere--some connection is not tight, or your vent is not properly directed overboard, or expanding fuel is somehow being forced out of your carburetor or other opening and into the bilge.

Fuel forced through a carburetor by expansion in the tank caused the fire (under previous ownership) that nearly destroyed the Allied Seabreeze that I now own. You don't want that to happen to you!

Was your tank full in the fall? Perhaps overfilled? That's what the tank vent is for, but a kinked hose or a blockage in the vent or the screen in the fitting (corrosion often blocks these screens) could prevent it from working properly.

Now is the time to carefully go through your fuel system and find out where the leak is. Raw fuel should never be able to find its way out of any fuel system. Somewhere, you have a leak--that much is clear. It could be a bad fuel hose, or a leaking clamp, or some such. The fact that closing the shutoff seems to have stopped the loss of fuel from the tank suggests that your leak is somewhere in that line.

When you find the leak and confirm that it is properly repaired, of course you need to thoroughly ventilate the bilge to rid it of all gasoline fumes. Now might be a good time for a fuel system overhaul.

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:35 pm

Tim,

Thanks for the quick response. I am currently troubleshooting the fuel system. I have not however checked the vent. I will check tomorrow.
Come to think of it, I believe that the tank may have been topped off in the fall by the yard. I will check my log.

I have looked at the hoses, and cannot find an obvious leak, however I will keep checking. When the yard replaced the hoses on my raw water strainer, they seem to have relocated the gas line under the strainer. It does not appear to be the leak, but I will also double check. I have also strategically located some oil/fuel absorbtion rags to determine if the tank itself is leaking. I do not think that it is, but I want to be sure.

I am focusing all of my attention on this matter at this point.

Dare I ask where Allied Seabreeze was when the fire happend?

Thanks again.

Post by **Tim** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:49 pm

Brad Hackett wrote:Dare I ask where Allied Seabreeze was when the fire happend?

It was on the hard at the owner's home in Boxford, MA. There's one photo that I hope to get a copy of, taken by a neighbor, that shows flames shooting 15' out the tank vent in the transom.

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:17 am

Any idea what caused ignition?

Post by **Tim** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:42 am

Here's a link to my website and the story behind the fire.

About The Fire

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 8:54 am

Tim,

Wow. That does not make me feel any better, but thanks for the info.

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:43 pm

Tim,

Well I figured out that in fact it was the tank that was leaking. I have removed the gas, and am now anxiuoslu awaiting morning so I can rush order a new tank. I am scheduled to launch on May 9, so I am hopeful that I can resolve this issue by then. If not I may be operating with some temporary set up.

Any thoughts regarding tanks. installation, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the advise. I feel a little bit better knowing that I have removed the gas, and have no known ignition sources inthe area.

Post by **Tim** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:41 am

Brad,

There's a long thread here on this forum covering fuel tanks. Some if it is specific to Tritons, but there is also some other useful information there regarding suppliers, installation, and so forth. If you wade through the Triton-specific stuff, and all the banter back and forth, you might find some information that is useful to you in your instance.

But feel free to ask any specific questions if they come up. I have the ABYC standards available if you need them.

http://www.triton381.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=490

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:53 am

Tim,

Thanks again for the advise. I am planning on removing and replacing my tank, and have some sources for tanks. Defender has a plastic 18 gal. that will work fine for space and quantity needs. Hamilton has one as well, however it is not exactly what I want, however I like dealing with them, and they can have it to me by tomorrow. Defender is currently running me a round because they are "busy" on Monday. Boo Hoo, that is why they are in business, right?

Anyway, I feel much better about the situation at this point.

Thanks again.

Brad Hackett · Post by **Brad Hackett** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:25 am

An update for the forum.

After ordering a new tank, I discovered that there is a place in Canada that will reline gas tanks. I chose to send my tank to have this done. I had it back in 4 days, reinstalled and it works fine. I launched on Monday, May 9 and will be taking my first sail of the year tomorrow when I leave the boatyard and sail to my home port.

Thanks again for the advise. I sleep much better knowing that the gas is secure in the tank.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:02 pm

Click and Clack were just talking about re-lining fuel tanks on caah talk last week, I think. Like them, I was under the impression that all of those places had gone out of business when cars started coming with plastic tanks.

Oh, Canada!....