Spill issues when fueling up...

[gengiant]

Yesterday when gasing up the boat on the trailer at Costco, I took my second ever gasoline shower! Yuk! We left the water with the fuel guage showing about 1/8th of a tank. So I figured that I could take on roughly 80 gallons (100 gallon tank) without cause for concern. Up in the San Juans last summer, the fuel guage seemed somewhat accurate (+/- 10% maybe). Imagine my surprise yesterday when the fuel started shooting out the fillspout at 67 gallons - and this was a VERY slow filling pump! I did not bother to check how full the fuel guage said I was at that time. After cleaning up the mess on the hull (and myself) I got the heck out of there. Thankfully, I've never had this occur before when filling up at a fuel dock. Any ideas as to what may be going on????

Thanks!

 

[Nehalennia]

Yesterday when gasing up the boat on the trailer at Costco, I took my second ever gasoline shower! Yuk! We left the water with the fuel guage showing about 1/8th of a tank. So I figured that I could take on roughly 80 gallons (100 gallon tank) without cause for concern. Up in the San Juans last summer, the fuel guage seemed somewhat accurate (+/- 10% maybe). Imagine my surprise yesterday when the fuel started shooting out the fillspout at 67 gallons - and this was a VERY slow filling pump! I did not bother to check how full the fuel guage said I was at that time. After cleaning up the mess on the hull (and myself) I got the heck out of there. Thankfully, I've never had this occur before when filling up at a fuel dock. Any ideas as to what may be going on????

Thanks!

You burn less gas up here. Didn't I tell you that?
You look good, by the way, on the cover of the Calendar

 

[fc3]

Was the boat level? Fuel tanks in boats are quite large and if the boat is not level you'll end up with a multi-gallon air pocket and fuel blocking the vent port on the tank. Pay close attention to level and the location of the fill and vent ports on the tanks. If the boat can't be level then at least position it such that the boat is set so that fill and vent ports are located up hill.

Best regards,
Frank

Best regards,

 

[gengiant]

Thanks Todd! Jim did take an awesome picture that accurately conveys not only the serene mood of that particular evening and cove, but of the entire trip! We are definitely looking forward to our next journey to your neck of the water.

Frank - good point about the levelness of the boat. I've never really compared how the boat lays in the water vs. on the trailer as it doesn't seem to be all that "off" on the trailer. And most gas stations I am able to pull the trailer in to with the boat loaded tend to have pretty level concrete pads. It would thus be difficult to position the boat in a way that fill and vent ports are uphill. In the past, I've had a little bit of gas come out the vent port during the fill when there was too much ambient noise to listen to the filling process. But only once before did the gas shoot out the filler cap without it draining out of the vent hole first. I may call my local mechanic to see if he has any thoughts on this.