Fuel tank fill

[jimsavenir]

Hey team,
My Pearson 35 is almost ready, I have a new Moller tank and it shows a deck fill in the cockpit. The same cockpit I spent a fortune rebuilding with epoxy, maranti marine plywood and cloth.
The boat has an access hatch (round) Beckson high on the port coaming. I was thinking of making an angled plate and putting it in there. east to fill, secure and never worry about water egress. The tank is vented on the opposite side of the boat. The access hatch was put in for valuables and glassed. it has a ten inch round screw in plate. So no way a spill can get into the boat. The tank is for diesel.

Any reason not to do this?

The new spreader are awesome, thank everyone for the help.

Jim

[jamhass]

Hmmm... filling in the cockpit. Guess not my first choice, as even though spills don't get into the 'boat" cleaning up a slippery cockpit isn't fun.

Also; Can you fill from a jerry-jug if needed, especially with the newer 'safety-spouts"?

[Kenomac]

When you fill up with diesel, there's always some blow back at the pump caused by the foam. If you're ok with spilled diesel in the cockpit, then go for it. There's almost no way to prevent it, no matter how careful you or the attendant are.

[jimsavenir]

Thanks guys,
I went online and your right, as per another post, I am glassing in a recessed box to contain any foam or overflow. I am also going to see if anyone converted to a deck fill.

Thanks all

[gonesail]

you definitely want to factor in the ease of filling with jerry jugs. best place IMHO for that is on a side deck .. not in the cockpit. but we did have a water fill in the cockpit which worked out ok.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by jimsavenir

The boat has an access hatch (round) Beckson high on the port coaming. I was thinking of making an angled plate and putting it in there. east to fill, secure and never worry about water egress. The tank is vented on the opposite side of the boat. The access hatch was put in for valuables and glassed. it has a ten inch round screw in plate. So no way a spill can get into the boat. The tank is for diesel.

Any reason not to do this?

I'd say definitely take it up to the coaming, best possible place for it on a boat like yours... The logic of placing fuel fills on the deck, or at least not proud of the deck, has always been lost on me... ;-)






Where is your vent at the moment? If it's below deck level, move it... High up on the coaming would be a good place, as well...

No reason to ever spill fuel as a result of a backflow out of the deck fill... Add a Fuel Whistle to your vent line, they're ridiculously overpriced for what they are, but will still be some of the best money you've ever spent... With a deck fill as high as the coaming, by paying attention to a properly installed whistle you'll never spill a drop again, at least when fueling with a hose... Using a jerry can and filter, however, the flow won't be fast enough to make the whistle work...

Amazes me that such a simple fix is not more common, or standard equipment on every production boat today...

[Roy M]

Mine, too, is on the coaming. I placed it there for ease of access with either hose or jerry jug. I have a vent located a couple inches lower on the cabinside. There is a device in the fuel vent line to prevent (or reduce) the fuel from splashing out the vent, but I've never had an issue with this. When I built the boat I installed one of those huge Fram filters, the ones you see on the fuel dock leading to the hose, just above the fuel tank. My intent was that the pressure of a four foot head between the filter and the fill pipe would be sufficient to allow filtering the fuel. It was, at first, but then it began to take too much time to fill the tank, so I pulled it off. I use a Baja fuel filter now for straining the fuel prior to the tank. I also use two 30 micron filters in parallel prior to the fuel pump, with a vacuum gauge and A-B switching to always ensure a clean fuel supply. I hate surprises with fuel.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

Amazes me that such a simple fix is not more common, or standard equipment on every production boat today...

Jon, given the inaccuracy of fuel gauges, it would behoove each skipper to

1. Be much more careful fueling than most I've seen. It ain't a car! Don't click it on and walk away!

2. Be much more aware than most seem to be about actual fuel consumption, so that one knows BEFOREHAND pretty much how much fuel is required BEFORE starting the fueling. No whistles required.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Jon, given the inaccuracy of fuel gauges, it would behoove each skipper to

1. Be much more careful fueling than most I've seen. It ain't a car! Don't click it on and walk away!

2. Be much more aware than most seem to be about actual fuel consumption, so that one knows BEFOREHAND pretty much how much fuel is required BEFORE starting the fueling. No whistles required.

Sure, that works... For people who never run boats other than their own, that is... :-)

I'm always taking off on boats I've fueled before, or have little idea how much fuel is aboard... Last delivery I did, the boat had been sitting in brokerage for a year or so, the seller could only offer a guestimate as to the current status of the tank, with the fuel gauge being 'unreliable'... ;-)





Furthermore, this boat turned out to be a real PITA to fuel, even when I had a decent idea of how much I'd be taking on... The fill was on the deck, but the vent was near the top of the coaming, nicely situated right over the teak step, above the teak deck. By the time I would be able to detect the sound of the fuel starting to back up the fill hose, it was already too late, and the vent would usually spit a goodly amount all over that nice teak... A fuel whistle could have been a big help on that boat. Needless to say, one would quickly learn to heavily wet down that teak in advance... :-)

Still, it's not always to easy to monitor what your consumption will be. The boat above was running the Erie Canal, for instance, where a few hours each day might be spent running at idle while locking thru, waiting for locks and bridges, etc... Likewise, for cruisers who might be running engines over time for battery charging at anchor, or motorsailing at lower RPMs, it may not always be so simple to calculate with precision what they've consumed... How about charter boats being fueled by the charter party upon return to the charter base? Would you expect those people to have an accurate idea of how much they'll be taking on? Seems to me a case where a fuel whistle could be invaluable...

Not too long ago, I picked up a boat that had been sitting in Lauderdale for a few years, to bring back north... Again, no one had a clue how much fuel was aboard, or whether the gauge was accurate... I started fueling, and after about 45 seconds there was a massive blowback of fuel out of the deck fill...

Turned out, as best I could determine, the vent had been plugged by the nest of a mud dauber, a fairly common occurrence down there... If the boat had been fitted with a vent whistle, I would have been alerted to a blockage in the vent immediately...

Such a simple solution, I think they're pretty nice to have, and I sure wish the boats I'm running were fitted with them...

When taking on fuel on a small boat in a place like Makkovik, for example, a fuel whistle can take much of the potential 'drama' out of the exercise, I can assure you...

;-)