Fueling C30

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Oct 5, 2010
322
Catalina 30 mkII St. Augustine
I just added a fuel air separator on my boat to prevent spitting diesel out the stern vent. Now it takes a really long time to fuel the beast to prevent fuel backing up out of the fill portal. Does anyone have a good solution to this problem other than trickling the fuel in?
 

wise4

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Nov 10, 2011
27
If you know how much fuel is in your tank to start... just slow down when you're getting close to full... There are plenty of float type shut off devices that could be put inline (vent line) ... but honesty... isn't this a solution looking for a problem?
 
Oct 5, 2010
322
Catalina 30 mkII St. Augustine
If you know how much fuel is in your tank to start... just slow down when you're getting close to full... There are plenty of float type shut off devices that could be put inline (vent line) ... but honesty... isn't this a solution looking for a problem?
The issue is not to slow down at end of fill because one can never go fast. How slow am I talking? About 3 minutes per gallon. The dock hand gets tired during the fill.
 
Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
I just fuel from a five gallon fuel can (five gallons equals 10 hours of motoring for us).

It seems like the fuel docks use high flow pumps to fill big powerboat tanks and that just causes too much foaming in an 18 gallon sailboat tank.

Now if I could just find a five gallon tank without one of those damned "emissions nozzles" that don't work worth a damn
:cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing:
 
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Jan 6, 2010
1,520
I agree with Jimmcgee on jerry can fills.

First of all, you can get better filtered diesel @ a gas station, rather than a fuel dock.

I got rid of my electric fuel gauge after 2 burnouts and have my gauge @ tank top. At empty, I filled 6 gallons & marked the gauge with fingernail polish. Same with the other 3 six gallon fills.

I do prefer the top tank gauge with the markings. I no longer run the risk of overfilling.

Also to fix the burping problem, I ran PCV pipe from an area over the fuel tank to near the overboard fitting. I attached the PVC to the underside of the overhead & ran the vent hose thru this. This way, there is no sag in the vent hose to the o'board fitting & thus no burping.

CR
 

wise4

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Nov 10, 2011
27
My tank has a float gauge (non electric) and an unobstructed vent line that allows the tank to be filled easily enough at the pump. Being in SoCal, we sail year round... Typically fill the tank twice a year unless we take her to Mexico (then we end up motoring more on the way back up the coast)..

Have fun :)
 
Jun 5, 2004
241
Catalina 30 MkII Foss Harbor Marina, Tacoma, WA
...mine was slow to fill also, though maybe not as slow as yours...I checked the vent line mentioned by captnron...it had a sag in the line holding about a quart of fuel. Much better after fixing that.
 
Oct 5, 2010
322
Catalina 30 mkII St. Augustine
Thanks everyone. I have a sag in vent line. I really like the PVC conduit solution.
 
Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
Also to fix the burping problem, I ran PCV pipe from an area over the fuel tank to near the overboard fitting. I attached the PVC to the underside of the overhead & ran the vent hose thru this. This way, there is no sag in the vent hose to the o'board fitting & thus no burping.

CR
Hey Capt'n Ron, this topic came up a while back. Your fix for the vent hose is on my spring to-do list. Great idea!

Thanks,
Jim
 
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