HELP HELP HELP GAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

H

hackalar

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Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
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16331
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215
ok so i have a really hard time with this gas tank issue and i need help and advice!

The boat is a 1995 silverton 361 express, two 140 gal tanks, twin engine, and gen.

someone smelled gas, marina moved boat from slip and called me. I went there the next day and found all my bilges full of gas. The mechanic is the one who moved it and seen which tank it was coming from. Said it was coming from bottom, said sides, front and top where dry. Fast forward through shutting off tank supply lines, cleaning and cleaning and cleaning for 2 weeks. Generator supply line comes from that tank so the mechanic and I decided I could remove supply line for engine and supply line for gen and union them together and supply gas from the other tank to the generator. Now assuming the tank has a hole in the bottom( keeping in mind the tanks were both replaced in 2001) I assumed it would be empty and sounded empty. The tank is tucked in a small space can't see much of it and no way to see in it. I removed the engine supply line and gen supply line and union them together, when I laid the newly unioned supply lines down gas drips on my hand from gen supply line… I unscrew it make sure there is not trash or anything at the barrel connection and I screw them back together. I shock the line and gas goes all over my hand and down my arm… I once again unscrew the line and take a flash light and look closely at the fitting and sure enough there is two splits in the barrel. Keep in mind this line is pouring gas in my hand with it screwed to the other line before I even turn on the supply to the line. I take the flash light and look at the tank closely and I can see gas staining coming down from that corner where the gen supply line was attached… it's at the corner and about 2-4 inches of staining on both the side and front all the way down to where the mechanic said it was coming from under the tank. I replaced the gen line and no leaks and is running perfect from the other tank. I ran a hose down the fill line and there IS gas still in that tank.. MY QUESTION IS… is it possible for that fitting to leak 20-30 gals of gas from the top of the tank. That line would have a dip style tube that runs to or close to the bottom of the tank. The generator does sit a little below the tank in the very back center of boat. The engine has a supply line and a return line and there is a vent line, all are on the top of the tank. About a week or two before this happened I did over fill the tank to the point I lost some gas out the vent however I ran the boat for a couple hours afterwards. Is it possible for gas to leak from the top of the tank at the fitting???
 
The gas tank will leak to the point where the level of gas in the tank and the point of leaking are the same. It's just siphoning out.
 
Basic physics will give you your answer. The tank will leak down to the point of the hole.

I must say, you have way more testicular fortitude than I in that AFTER the mechanic told you the tank was leaking that you fired up the genny.
 
thats the problem... the broke fitting is at the very top of the tank on an elbow.
 
Wow - running the generator and engine from the other tank with a known leak present; and an unknown quantity of fuel in the assumed to be empty tank that continues to leak.....what's next welding the broken fitting?
 
there is no leak now, no gas vapors, no gas. no need in being a smarta$$. i'm looking for answers. i'm not a stupid person and dont need you to assume i am :-)
 
I don't think the leak at the top of tank caused a leakage of 20-30 gallons of fuel. There has to be a leak somewhere else and at a point lower than the top of the tank. The source of the leak has to be found and fixed. If not, you're sitting in a bomb that will eventually go off.
 
Stupid question, could the vent line be plugged with a mud dabber nest forcing out fuel in the pickup tube? Quick test would be to loosen the fill cap and watch.
Good Luck!!
 
Froggy has a point, if the vent is closed off for whatever reason, any expansion of air in the tank will force fuel out wherever it can.
 
I thought about a clogged vent. But 20-30 gallons would seem excessive unless the boat sat for a few weeks. I do not see that amount being pushed out in a few days.
 
If the leak is at the top of the tank or above the level of the fuel, it won't siphon and the cause is something or somewhere else.

As mentioned, open the fill cap to equalize pressure and the fuel won't leak.

...maybe you gots an in-tank fuel pump.[:P]
 
If your vent line dips between the tank and the vent, and you overflow your tank during filling, the fuel can get stuck in it. After that weird things can happen.
 
Ron, he's doing what any smart anchored RO should do. He's double checking what his mechanic is telling him. Probably not a good idea for a non-anchored member to question an anchored member's motives for posting anything here.
 
Maybe I'm being overly cautious. But, personally, I'd pull both tanks and have them pressure tested. If bad, repair them or buy new ones.

Then I would clean and scrub every nook and cranny where gas could have leaked into.

Then I'd reinstall them and replace all of the fuel lines. I would not leave any part of this up to chance or guessing.

Bob
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gregory S

Ron, he's doing what any smart anchored RO should do. He's double checking what his mechanic is telling him. Probably not a good idea for a non-anchored member to question an anchored member's motives for posting anything here.
Click to expand...


OK, I deleted my post. I didn't know it was against the rules to question a poster's motives for posting. [:O]
 
quote:
Originally posted by rawidman

quote:
Originally posted by Gregory S

Ron, he's doing what any smart anchored RO should do. He's double checking what his mechanic is telling him. Probably not a good idea for a non-anchored member to question an anchored member's motives for posting anything here.
Click to expand...


OK, I deleted my post. I didn't know it was against the rules to question a poster's motives for posting. [:O]

Click to expand...


What motive could he possibly have? The very idea of a forum is to seek advice and ideas. Just because someone calls themself a "mechanic" does not mean they are always right. Why should he pay for a possible learning curve with the yard when he can seek advice ideas here? Maybe there is someone here who experienced the same thing?

I am with rbenton in that I would pull the tanks and first visually inspect, and then pressure test if nothing is seen. If one is leaking, most certainly I would replace both.

Anopther option is he could stick the offending tank to see what the known fuel quantity is inside it. Then measure the stick to the fule "wet" line. If that measurement is say 3", start inspecting the tank at say 3 1/8" from the bottom - to see if he sees any holes.

Oh, and for sure I would not pay $90.00/hour yard rates for a relatively straight forward DIY job - which, thanks to forums like this, can walk you through a tank replacement.

The answer isn't always - do what the mechanic says.
 
it's kind of hard to picture the exact setup...

where are teh tanks located? outboard and outside of engines as on many expresses that size?

when you said you " laid the newly unioned supply lines down gas drips on my hand from gen supply line", was the union lower than the fuel level?

how much fuel is left in that tank? how big is the tank?

i dont understand how you could join one engine and the genset supply line and expect to feed the genny that way, unless the engine supply line doens't go to the engine but to a fuel manifold. if that's the case then it woudl work although i dont 'see the point of even trying... but, it would also explain why you had fuel leaking thru the bad line

no way expansion could force all that gas out of a bad fitting... especially since you ran the boat after filling and there is space in the tank.

obviously, in an ideal world you'd pull both tank and test them... but in the real world tanks in most boats are buried and nearly impossible to get out withouth major surgery.

why was the tank replaced? in 2001, did you find out what caused the original tanks to fail? it'ss often caused by a bad installation and moisture beign trapped between the tank and whatever it's sitting on. reinstalling new tank the same way will result in the same problem a few years down the road.

before pulling the tank, I'd try to seal all the fittings and do a pressure test in place to see if there is really a leak or if it was something caused by the overflow and maybe a bad fitting. Although, if the leak was caused by the split hose, the genset woudl have been sucking air and probably not run properly.
 
95' boat has tanks replaced in 2001 why ? 9 years latter they are leaking.

my tank is in a 86' never leaked.

So these tanks were not installed correctly, they have to come out. Who did the install in 2001 ?

I think your very concerned, who wouldn't be and you want to be safe.

I want you to be safe to.

I think your going to find alot of info how tanks are supposed to be installed if you do a search so when you observe how they install these new tanks you will be informed how it's supposed to be.

Good luck !
 
Could it be the 20-30 gallons leaked only when the engine was running? You found a split fitting, hopefully that is the only issue. I agree with pressure testing in place and going from there.
 
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