problem fueling 2008 Gulfstream

[engineersx2]

I sure hope someone can help me out on this one. I have about 70 hrs on twin 150hp -4 stroke Yamaha's, on a 232 Gulfstream (2008). To date it has run GREAT! I have kept the boat in a boatel since new. With the Christmas Holiday the boatel was closing for 5 days. With the weather looking good here in VA. I asked them to put the boat in the water before they closed. Unfortunately, I only had about 60% of fuel in the tank when they put it in the water.

I was planning on going striper fishing tomorrow and went down today to add fuel to the tank using several 5 gallon gas containers. My goal was only to add about 20 or 30 gallons, just to give me that comfort level for going fishing for 5 or 6 hrs tomorrow.

I got about 2 or 3 gallons into the fuel port and then the fuel started backing up to the top of the fuel opening. I checked the fuel gague to make sure that the tank was where I thought it should be (that being 60% full) and the fuel gauge showed about that level (worst case would be that someone messed with the boat while it was in the water and added something other than gas to the tank).

so... I waited about 20 minutes, and the level went down to let me add about 1/4 of a gallon. I waited another hour and it let me add about 1/3 of a gallon. I inserted a screw driver into the fuel port to make sure nothing was clogging up the opening and there did not appear to be any obstructions. Does anyone have a clue as to what could be going wrong?

My grady's fuel tank does not have a vent to the outside of the hull like my previous boats. In talking to others and reading the owners manual, the new Grady's appear to use an internal vent tube that takes overflow fuel back to the tank vs. dropping it overboard.

My guess is that I have some type of vapor lock that was created since I poured the fuel at the top of the opening of the fuel cap, as compared to when I use the marina fueling station, where the fuel hose is set down 4 or 5 inches into the tank. When I was fueling with the gas cans, I was pouring the fuel towards to top of the gas cap opening (my gas can did not have a very long spout). Could this have caused some type of vapor lock with the new vent system?

I am a bit nervous going out 15 miles or so tomorrow - not because of running out of fuel, but more because of some type of fuel problem. - I sure hope someone did not stick something down into the fuel opening.

Has anyone had a similar problem when fueling by using gas containers?

any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated.

Rick from Va.

 

[Gman25]

My friend had the same problem while fueling up his 01 sailfish using 5 gal. tanks. No issue at all while filling up at the gas dock, only using the small tanks. We were thinking some sort of vapor lock too.

2005 300 Marlin w/F250's

 

[HMBJack]

You'll have no problem with a siphon and a long hose. Good luck. The 232 is a great boat and you have the perfect power set-up. Cheers,

 

[ocnslr]

Can't help you fix your current problem.

Our Islander has the same type of fill. I use 5-gallon jugs without their spouts. I pour into a large funnel with about a 1-inch diameter section that goes down a few inches into the inlet hose. No problem pouring at a high rate. (Note: I did remove the small brass screen at the bottom of the funnel).

I would guess that it may be fuel caught in the vent line...

Brian

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

use the gas buddy hose or a funnel

 

[ElyseM]

that sound like long time to clear a vapor lock. i had a problem with my '02 because the fill hose was over a foot longer than it should have been. slowed the fill significantly, but nothing like you indicate. i don't want to get you wound up, but you might want to have someone scope the fill to see if something was put down there.

 

[Boats Rock]

If you look at the top of the fuel fill you will see a opening where the tank vents. You need to get past that opening about 4 inches or more.

 

[engineersx2]

thanks for the feedback on my problem. When I got to the boat today, the fuel was still up to the top of the fuel line. It did not go down even an inch in 24 hrs.

Optomistic, it was a vapor lock, we let the motors run about 20 min. at the dock and noticed that the fuel level went down about an inch.

AFter running about 30 min. , the level was low enough that I could not see the fuel.

We then ran about 15 miles out into the Ches. bay and the motors were running great. I rigged up a 6-inch tube to the 5 gallon gas tank I had tried to use yesterday to fuel the boat. With the tube inserted 5 inches or so into the fuel insert, the entire 5 gallons went into the tank with no problem.

I guess it was some type of vapor lock. THe boat ran great throughout the day. ONly problem was we could not find the stripers anywhere near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel.

But the weather was great and the boat ran fine and I guess I learned a little about how to fuel our Grady using portable gas cans.

Thanks for the input , it was greatly appreciated.

Ric from VA.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

no vapor lock
you filled the vent line with gas

 

[BobP]

http://www.doityourself.com/invt/u275864

I use one of these but cut several inches off the bottom. Smooth bore and no filter = high speed filling!

Like Brian wrote, with my 6 gallon poly cans, always with the nozzle off, I can pour nearly free bore each container. Goes right down.

Be careful around gas and gas fumes !

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

best thing ever!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SIPHON-H ... 0342255501

simple siphon

 

[seasick]

no vapor lock
you filled the vent line with gas

Its not vapor lock. I suspect that the tank was full. You burned off some fuel on the run and that is why the 5 gal gas can went in.
Vapor lock occurs when the temp of gas is greater than its boiling point. In a tank that is vented, if that were to occur ( and it wouldn't) the vapors would vent out.
In a fuel line the vapor can cause a 'bubble' of vapor which is compressible and which will inhibit the flow of fuel under pressure.

You may be confusing vapor lock with vacuum lock. In theory that could account for a limited fuel flow into the tank but that's unlikely also.
I think your fuel gauge is out of whack.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

i said no vapor lock
i know what it is, the original poster said it was vapor lock

 

[engineersx2]

I believe JUST-IN-TIME 228 got it right. I keep pretty good track of fuel usage and I feel sure the tank was about 1/2 full when I was trying to add fuel with the 5 gallon container (tank holds 150 gallons, so I should have been able to add 50+ gallons with no problem).

In looking at the owners manual, I can see how I could have gotten a large amount of the fuel into the vapor hose located towards the top of the fuel input. The internal vapor hose (with no overflow outlet) probably has to do with new EPA rules to make sure one does not vent overflow gas into the water. I Know on my 1995 -208 Adventure there was a vent outlet on the side of the hull, that started to spit gas out when the tank was near full. As noted above, my 232 does not have such a vent.

I appear to have learned a good lesson on how not to fuel my grady. I am taking the advise of others on here and getting a funnel or gas buddy, .... something to make sure I do not put fuel into the vent hose in the future.

thanks again for the input on my problem.

Ric from Va.

 

[BobP]

If the newer Gradys don't have a vent on the side of the hull, where does the vent exit?

There needs to be a free flow of air in and out of the tank when fill cap is in place. Has to be external somewhere, especially for times when the gas volume expands in sunlight and pushes out the air space to make up for it.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

it is in the fill and cap

epa stopped this old spill in the water

 

[seasick]

Re: fuel vent

Yup, its in the fill and its near the top. Really close to the top. If you look closely, you can see the vent openning. On my fill (perko 541) even the nozzle of my 5 gal gas cans clear the vent. I still doubt that the vent is the issue.
This may sound dumb, but new plastic gas cans have a saftey that won't allow fuel to flow unless the nozzle is depressed. You have to find a ridge in the filler neck to push the nozzle against. If the nozzle isn't depressed, the fuel wont flow.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Here ya go, Bob ...

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...eId=10001&Ntk=Primary+Search&ddkey=SiteSearch

 

[BobP]

Thanks

this design would allow filling the vent line especially if there is a belly in the vent hose route down to the tank.

Then the fuel will be erupting/burping while filling until the vent line gets cleared.

 

[seasick]

The filler hose size is 1 1/2 inch. The tube on the gas can is about 7/8 inch.
The gas can filler won't plug the filler and therefore air can escape even without the vent clear. There could be bubbling as mentioned but the fuel will run down eventually especially if the tank is supposedly 1/3 empty. The air in the tank will compress a bit if it can't vent but the weight of the fuel will be greater than the counter pressure.
If the fill hose were kinked or blocked enough to stop the flow from a gas can, it certainly wouldn't allow a Magic Pump hose or the like to pass.
A regular fuel nozzle ( gas dock) senses back pressure and automatically shuts off. The gas cans aren't that smart. Unless the entire gas can nozzle was totally sealed in the fill, the gas would overflow if the filler were blocked AND the vent were totally blocked. If the fill hose is blocked and the fuel backs up, it will flow into the tank through the vent hose.
It is something else.
Then again, I've been wrong before