New boat fuel sprays everywhere when filling.

[Savage Brewer]

Brand new boat, went to put in gas yesterday, got about 1.5 gallons in and all the sudden it seemed wrong, pulled the hose out and about 3/4 of a gallon of gasoline geysered out the fill opening.

Got gas all over a brand new fleece windbreaker, up my nose, all over my face and the inside of the boat.

Needless to say I didn't have a good day after that, sucks because it was probably the last 58 degree day of the year.

So figured I would post this so people know what to look for.

Since 2012 all new boats have to use fuel systems that are CARB approved.

This means the following:

The tank vent can go to atmosphere only after going through a carbon canister.

There can be a vent bypass for filling that can exit at the fill opening.

There must be a shut off device to trigger the fill to stop.

So when looking at the fill there is a center fill hole, inside there is a stainless pipe that sticks into the fuel flow tube, this is the full trip line.

Around the perimeter are multiple slots, these are the fuel fill pressure vents.

Coming up to the fill is 5 hoses.

1.5" line to the tank, this is the fuel fill.

9/16" line to tank center, this is a vent line.

9/16" line to tank front, this is also a vent line.

9/16" line to a carbon canister, this is the atmospheric bypass, it is used for tank venting during normal use, it also allows air in to prevent a vacuum in the tank during normal use.

1/4" line to a small valve in the center of the tank. This valve has a float and closes the line when the tank is full. It should trigger the pump to shut off.

So what did I find? There are plastic plugs inserted into the two vent fittings, to prevent contaminants from entering the tank during assembly. Normally when the boat is built, these plugs should be removed before attaching the vent lines. In my case, that didn't happen.

Lucky it want worse.

[BoxMN]

Uggghhhhh.... Glad you aren't a smoker

Good info to know.

[JohnMickish]

Can we ask what brand boat? My 2012 hardly pukes a drop of fuel when filling now. A huge improvement over the past.

[SkunkedAgain]

My 2008 Alumacraft will vomit up (not geyser) if I put gas in full speed and don't stop once or twice to let it breathe. Kind of a pain but I know the trick now

[JohnMickish]

My '09 did that too. I had to listen and you could hear getting ready, and if you stopped it in time you could hold it to a minimum, but the '12 is just amazing at how it controls it. It's not good putting that kind of fuel on the ground at these prices.

[Savage Brewer]

This tank design is used by both Alumacraft and Lund after some research.

Its not a design flaw, just a mistake someone at the factory made when assembling the lines.

In 2012 they changed the design slightly and it should normally flow more freely.

[foo]

Funny thing is that is exactly what happened to me the very first time I filled up. It has never happened again. I figure it was an empty tank new boat sort of deal. Hopefully it a one time deal for you as well. Gas showers are no fun. Geyser is exactly right!