Fuel Leak

[Ron Vanderveer]

FolksWe have a fuel leak somewhere in our 1982 Hunter 27. The fuel is pooling up under the engine (in that little drip pan area) and also going behind the engine and under the engine pan and getting to the bilges. We cannot pinpoint the origin of the leak, except that it is not coming from the engine itself. That has been checked very closely and there are no leaks from the fuel lines or Racor or fuel system on the engine. But as most of you know, the tank is very nearly impossible to access on the Hunter 27, and it is impossible for us to see the back underside of the tank, which is where I suspect the leak might be.But, the situation gets a little more interesting. Just before this leak was noticed, I had a guy come out and filter and clean the fuel in the tank (the engine had quit and the filters were clogged, etc. etc). This service came recommended by others and he did a thorough job of pumping out the old fuel, running it through his filters and pumping it back in to the tank. Part of his tool kit were these long plastic, semi-rigid rods that act as suction tools (kind of like the dentist uses, only 2 feet long) that he uses to poke around inside the tank and suck up the goo from all the corners and nooks.Now, unfortunately, we have this leak. We do notice that the fuel that leaks is very clean and a nice red color, which indicates to me that it is from the tank. So here is my first suspicion: that the tank (which is the original Florida Marine Tanks 14 gallon aluminum model; i.e. 21 years old) may have had a weak area and the cleaning process caused one of these areas to break through somewhere on the bottom of the tank that is impossible to see with normal methods. Thus we have very clean fuel, but a holed fuel tank!What I was looking for from the group here is opinions (which I know you all have!) on how I might be able to see the bottom of the tank toward the rear, or otherwise determine if this tank has a leak somewhere. And by extension, if the tank must be replaced, how have our fellow 27 owners accomplished that task? I assume that it involves cutting tools and fiberglass work. I really don't want to do it myself, but I do want to know how to advise the person I hire. Thanks in advance,Ron Vanderveer

 

[Jay Kent]

I Just Spent About Three Hours This Past

weekend checking out my tank on the H-27. First of all, I had to replace the in tank gauge to be able to read my onboard fuel gauge (the sender had much goo built up and was stopping up the gauge, due to poor maintenance by the previous owner). I use Stabil in the fuel during winter put ups, and the previous owner did not do anything to winterize. Anyway, we had a small leak, too. However, we found that it was an old vent hose, that had weakened. This hose runs from the top of the tank thru several small ports under the cockpit, quarterberth and out to the stern wall. Now, the key was how to put a 12" long gauge in the top of the tank that had about 3" clearance under the cockpit floor. Well, we cut a six inch hole to insert a "view port" in the floor from the top. When this was opened up, we cleaned everything thoroughly before opening up the top of the tank. By clearing out the starboard lazerette, we could line up the position to cut the hole. We found that it fit very nicely centered just in front of the pedestal. After cutting the very thick floor, we had access to the hose and the top. Replacements went very smoothly, but the feeding of the hose was a very time consuming and labor intensive manuever. Hopefully, this could be the cause of your leak, and not have to put you through a total tank replacement.......that would be a major job!!

 

[Ron Vanderveer]

Questions for Jay

JayWhy was the cracked vent hose causing the leak? In other words, that hose (which I have spotted on our tank) is on top and goes 'up' from the tank. Was the tank completely full and thus pushing out into the vent hose? Or was it sloshing there? Or do you know for sure?The reason I am asking so desperately is that we keep cleaning up the diesel in the bilge (damn those 2 inch high bilges in the Hunter 27s!) and it keeps leaking out again. But the boat is in a calm slip in a marina and hasn't been moved since we spotted the leak. So in my case, how do you think the fuel would be getting up in to the hose if indeed the hose is cracked?Thanks for the input.Ron