Gas Filling Question

[SkunkedAgain]

I've got an '08 Alumacraft Navigator. When I fill up at the gas station, I can't just leave the nozzle in the tank or when it gets full I get a geyser of gas before the automatic shutoff kicks in. If I keep my ear close to the tank and fill slowly, I'll still get a small geyser an a little 87 octane cologne on my ear.

Filling the gas tank seems so simple, yet I'm screwing it up. Any suggestions or is this how they all work? I don't like having gas spilling down the back of my new boat after each filling.

[DRH1175]

I hear you. I have a lund and it happens just about every time. I just hold a wad of paper towels in the ready and listen for when it sounds like it is starting to get full so I am ready. I also have figured out how many gallons I should be needing. My lund with the yamaha 4 stroke last a long time on a take so no need to over fill.

[Northlander]

I listen and when it starts sounding close I go real slow and pull the gas handle out to let pressure out. It also helps to stop a few times when you are getting closer so pressure doesnt build up as much.

[Valv]

Last time it happened to me, the whole fill section caught on fire as soon as the overflow dropped gas on pavement. I had a fire at the gas station. I can guarantee it is NOT funny.

Be extremely cautious and go slow, and be sure 100% you discharge any static electricity before.

[Trollin226]

The same thing happens to my with my 06 dominator. with a 20 gallon tank I put in 10 gallons every time it gets a little below half full. That way I also know exactly how much stable to put in. I never get quite a full tank and end up makeing a few extra trips to the gas station. To me it is worth the extra time than to have a fountain of gass and a possible fire.

[SkunkedAgain]

Good tips. I'm glad to know that everyone has the same issue, although too bad it's not something the manufacturers can correct.

Northlander - I'll try the letting-the-pressure-out trick. It sounds like that might be part of the ticket, along with just listening better to when it's getting full

[Jim Almquist]

I have the same problem with my Lund and I just listen and because I have done it enough times I can tell when the feed hose is starting to fill and just stop filling cause it will not hold much more then a gallon at that point. I have to fill it with the pump going wide open to hear the difference in sound. If I go slow I end up having gas coming out my vents.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I listen and when it starts sounding close I go real slow and pull the gas handle out to let pressure out. It also helps to stop a few times when you are getting closer so pressure doesnt build up as much.

I do this also,

I have a 2007 Sylvan and when I first bought it i could not believe all the gas that would spit back up.

I also know about how much it should take so I pay close attention to the gallon amount on the pump.

[PerchJerker]

Fortunately with my boat I don't have the problem with gas spraying out of the fill hose, even when I fill it all the way full.

But most of the time I keep only 1/4 to 3/4 tank of gas in the boat. When I'm adding gas to the boat I'm usually putting in 6 or 12 or 15 gallons at a time --- unless I'm on a multi-day trip I don't even get close to using a full tank of gas. By not filling up all the way it's less weight to haul around, it keeps the gas fresher, I don't have problems with fumes or vapors or seepage, etc.

[marine_man]

As you all probably know this is 100% a venting issue... and what you could do is verify there's no kinks in the hose, no low spots in the hose and that there aren't any zip ties restricting the flow of air from the fuel tank.

But, as is clear here, unfortunately with more shallow boats... here I'm referring directly to boats without the full walk-through windshield and low gunwales, like a navigator, explorer, some pro-v's - that style, the distance from the fill neck (and the corresponding vent path) to the tank is very short, and seems to cause the issues that have been observed. On deeper boats (Tyee for instance) there's a greater distance between the fill point (and vent) and tank, and it seems to allow the venting to work much better.

So, you can check the venting path, but more than likely you'll have to get around the issue with one of the methods above.

marine_man