Smelled fumes today

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:11:56 -0800, SHRED wrote:

johnval1 wrote:
Ted, I had the same situation last year when I got my first new boat. I
took it to the gas station, filled it up to the brim, spent some time on the
water, and parked it in the garage. I soon noticed gas oders in the garage.
The odor of gas was especially strong in the forward hatches, one for
storage and one for the trolling motor battery.

On my boat, the fill is at the rear of the boat, but the fuel cell runs up
the beam. The dealer suggested it was normal evaporation trapped by the
cover. The problem was I had the boat in the garage uncovered.

The dealer took the boat back in the shop, conducted a pressure check (no
leaks), took the deck off to check fittings (no leaks), and had a number of
techs look over the fuel system (still no leaks). I got the boat back on
the water and it worked just fine.

So, this winter I stored the boat in the garage as usual with the forward
battery hatches open. I also jacked up the retractable roller so the boat
has more of a stern-down orientation while I store it. I have not smelled
gas odor since.

Perhaps I overfilled my tank when I first got the boat. I was reassured by
the thorough inspection accomplished by the dealer and at this point, I am
just not going to worry about it until there is a problem.




I spoke with the manufacturer (Lowe) and they are so polite and helpful!!
Found out that it does have plastic fuel tank and the smell is more so
with plastic.
He told me about the access ports so I am going to open them and take a
look at the connections to double make sure nothing is leaking.

Also, someone else told me that as the fuel get used it smells more as
the dank goes down. More air in the tank I guess.

Anyway, I am going to check it out but it appears as if this is not as
big of an issue as this nervous, first time boat owner made it out to be.

Thanks all!

Any gas smell in an enclosed area can be serious. In a boat, doubly
so. The gas storage/delivery system in a boat is supposed to be a
closed system. There is an overflow and that can allow odor in the
garage, but there should be no odor of gas in the under deck
compartments. Is the odor in compartments where you will be storing
lures/food/drinks/clothes?

While some odor may be normal from filling/overflow, you were correct
to question it. If it was me, it would go back to the dealer to be
pressure tested. That way you know for sure it is not leaking.

JMO, YMMV, I hate noisy surprises!

Keep us updated

Dan

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1996 HD Sportster 1200S. N9JBF. Bass fishing Aficionado!
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