Fuel Leak

[jason Ross]

Thanks in advance for any advice.
After fueling her to 3/4 full My 2007 283 Release has a heavy fuel smell in the bilge and fuel tank compartment.
The bilge had fuel and I dried out with a towel. I let sit for a few days and no fuel or fuel smells. Fast forward a few days and I took her out for a ride. Immediately I could smell fuel in both compartments. I am in the middle of replacing all fuel lines and fuel filters are secure. If this persists, I will assume it is a tank issue.
My question is. How long "typically" should a fuel tank last & who do you guys recommend for the build of a new tank.

Merry Xmas
Jason

 

[PointedRose]

Thanks in advance for any advice.
After fueling her to 3/4 full My 2007 283 Release has a heavy fuel smell in the bilge and fuel tank compartment.
The bilge had fuel and I dried out with a towel. I let sit for a few days and no fuel or fuel smells. Fast forward a few days and I took her out for a ride. Immediately I could smell fuel in both compartments. I am in the middle of replacing all fuel lines and fuel filters are secure. If this persists, I will assume it is a tank issue.
My question is. How long "typically" should a fuel tank last & who do you guys recommend for the build of a new tank.

Merry Xmas
Jason

I agree, could be a line issue or a loose fitting. Typically an alum tank would have 20 years, but could be sooner in a more humid climate for example.

 

[seasick]

Happy Holidays. Fuel tanks can last fairly long periods and depending on what it is made, how well it is mounted and how much it is protected from the elements or vibrations, a pretty long time.
In your case I believe your tank is aluminum. Tanks can develop leaks due to corrosion or abrasion wear . Often times, corrosion occurs on the bottom of the tank, especially where the tank sits on supports. But before we freak out, lets look at other sources for leaks. It helps to determine if the tank leaks ( or the bilge smells of gas) when the tank is gassed up, when sitting only.
Often when the smell is stronger after a fill up or adding gas in general, the cause is a leaky hose. If the tank leaks gas when it is full, the fittings on the tank, particularly the fuel sender flange may be the cause.
Since the tank angles aft when getting on plane, gas will rush backwards and the aft section of the tank will be a lot fuller then when resting level, If the sender flange or gasket is leaky, iy may not occur until you run the boat or really top off the gas level ( which I don't recommend since there will be a lot more gas to remove if you need to pull the tank)

If the tank leaks when sitting and it's not very full, a tank itself leak ( corrosion, pin hole etc) is most likely the cause.

If you fill your tank to the top and then the air temperature increases, the gas will expand and can cause overflow. If you have a combo fill/vent fill cap, the overflow or vapors will vent through that fill fitting.
If you have a separate fuel tank vent, the expansion will cause venting through the separate vent, usually on the side of the hull.
So after all my running on, my advice is to try and determine when the gas smell occurs and under what conditions.
Note that if there is liquid gas in the bilge, you shouldn't run the boat until the source is filled. Gas smells are one thing but liquid gas means the leak or seepage is more serious.

Finally, since a lot of corrosion leaks occur on the bottom of the tank, you can't tell from just looking into the bilge. In those cases the tank coffin deck lid ( assuming you have one) has to be removed and possibly also the tank to find out what the story is.

 

[DennisG01]

As noted above, check easy things like the fuel sender gasket, first. Tape some paper towels around it and take a short ride. Or even just leave the deck plate open to observe it.

 

[Ky Grady]

Definitely check the easy stuff first. Both my tanks were done at 13 years old. Has a lot to do with PO maintenance of the boat.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I have had both problems.....my main fuel fill line dried out and split , causing fuel to get in the bilge while fueling and my tank rotted out after 20 years.

 

[jmain]

I had the same thing happen on our ‘96 Marlin. I thought it was the gasket at the fuel level sending unit, because it was in pretty rough shape. My problem ended up being corrosion on the top of the main tank under the rubber strips on the wood supports across the top. I put JB Weld (the kind specifically for Aluminum Fuel Tanks) in the holes and moved the wood supports over a few inches, until I can replace the tanks.
This weekend was the first time since then that I have had that tank full, and there were no leaks.
And, as a side note, don’t caulk the floor covers over your fuel tank. That is a bad idea for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that access to the tanks is difficult or impossible in case of emergency. (I am pretty sure that the previous owners caulked mine down with 4200. It took me an hour to get that stupid thing open, while gas was leaking into my bilge at sea. I was NOT happy!)

 

[seasick]

I had the same thing happen on our ‘96 Marlin. I thought it was the gasket at the fuel level sending unit, because it was in pretty rough shape. My problem ended up being corrosion on the top of the main tank under the rubber strips on the wood supports across the top. I put JB Weld (the kind specifically for Aluminum Fuel Tanks) in the holes and moved the wood supports over a few inches, until I can replace the tanks.
This weekend was the first time since then that I have had that tank full, and there were no leaks.
And, as a side note, don’t caulk the floor covers over your fuel tank. That is a bad idea for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that access to the tanks is difficult or impossible in case of emergency. (I am pretty sure that the previous owners caulked mine down with 4200. It took me an hour to get that stupid thing open, while gas was leaking into my bilge at sea. I was NOT happy!)

Don't use an adhesive like 4200 or 5200 etc. I do recommend a caulk sealant and for me Almond GE silicon looks and works well AND can be removed relatively easily
The reason I think that caulk should should be used is to prevent water intrusion into the tank coffin when the deck gets splashed and to reduce the possibility of water sitting in the lip area of the lid and wicking into the lid edges which are a Grady sore spot for water damage