Gas Locker Funk

[NewportNewsMike]

I am sure that I cannot be the only Capri 22 owner out there that has a gas can locker that gets to be looking like a grease pit by the end of the season.

My locker seems to accumulate some sort of black, greasy, sludge during the season. My guess is that it is some sort of gas fume collection going on and maybe added to by some airborne dust. It does not seem to be from an actual gas leak. It covers the bottom, all sides, and the underside of the lid.

Anyone else see this in their gas tank locker?

Any idea what is causing it? Older permeable gas tank maybe?

Anyone successfully reduced or eliminated the problem (if you had it)? Maybe some added vents in the locker?

Any thoughts welcomed.

 

[bigpapaporsche]

I just bought a 2006 Capri 22 one month ago and started to generally clean everything up on the boat. When I reached the Fuel Locker, I was shocked had the amount of Black Greasy stuff that was everywhere. Several other Catalina owners mentioned the same problem I assume it is a combination of fuel fumes and condensation, but not sure either. I hope someone has a solution.

 

[HERSH]

Greasy gas locker.

Lets get some more information. Is your engine a 2 or 4 stroke?
I have always had 2 strokes and thought a 4 stroke might not have this problem, because no oil is mixed in.

Do you close the gas vent on the tank when not in use ?

Actually not only does the locker get greasy, the inside of my stern gets soiled..

Hershey

 

[bigpapaporsche]

My is a Honda 5HP, 4 cycle. I am not sure what the previous owner did with the Fuel Cap Vent, but I intend on keeping it closed when the boat is not used, All the contributing items, that have been mentioned, have gone through my mind also. The addition of a several SS louvered vents couldn't hurt.

 

[NewportNewsMike]

My engine is a 4 cycle Nissan-branded Tohatsu.

The gas tank is an older 6-gallon Quicksilver / Mercury (circa 2004) with a new-style ethanol-resistant fuel line.

I leave the vent open because our extreme Summer temps here in southern VA would cause a non-vented tank to swell up with internal pressure very quickly.

My thinking is that it is some sort of vapor (or vapor + ?) reaction going on. If I can come up with a decent design, I am contemplating some sort of overboard vent similar to the inboard diesel tanks I have owned before.

 

[HERSH]

Now that I think about it, my friends Colgate 26's fuel tank locker has a 2" opening the full length of the hatch. Still gets uggy.


So much for the louvered vent idea.
I'll have to ask others in the club.

Hershey

 

[NewportNewsMike]

Ideally, if someone WITHOUT the problem wandered through this conversation, we might learn something from what his setup is.

A few other thoughts:

Anyone out there with the problem using a metal gas can? If so, we can scratch plastic tanks off the list as a possible cause.

How about anyone out there with the problem using non-ethanol fuel? If so, we can scratch the ethanol + gasoline combination off the list as a possible cause.

 

[sroberts Capri 22]

Is it black mold like this? I think the only thing to do is to remove the gas tank, the mold thrives on fumes.

 

[HERSH]

Mold;


Then a good dousing with Clorox a couple of times a season, might do the trick ....

Hershey

 

[NewportNewsMike]

Is it black mold like this?

That's what mine looks like!

A mold you say? Now we are getting somewhere. I felt it had to be fume-related somehow, but I never even considered mold that loved fumes.

When cleaning various parts of my Capri, I have had good success with using bathtub cleaners - after all it is just a large fiberglass tub that floats.

Now I will try some Clorox and other bathroom mold products to see if that is the way to go.

Thanks for the "mold" info.

 

[NewportNewsMike]

Once I found out it is mold related, I did a little Goggle-ing to see what the rest of the world knows about all this. Lots of good stuff out there.

One of the places I found was a Correct Craft forum with some good info within, including some pictures from our own "mold guy": sroberts.

http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/fo ... black-mold

Thanks again sroberts for putting me on the "mold" track.

It will be next season before I get a chance to do some "mold busting" product testing, but I will let the group know if I find something that seems to work here in hot, humid Tidewater Virginia.

 

[sroberts Capri 22]

Since I started storing my fuel tank away from the boat, the fuel locker has remained nice and clean. I really should post an after-picture - the "before" looks pretty bad but it all cleaned up nicely.

Steve

 

[Curt]

Sorry, late to the party. Mold, Yes, Sludge, Yes as well.

It all stems from older vented fuel tanks, quite simply they expel fuel vapor when pressure builds due to heat. This style open vent tanks are no longer available for purchase as they vent to the atmosphere and that is not good for anyone or anything. The new tanks come with a warning label stating they will expand until the internal pressure is 5 lb. then vent. I will buy one for next season because I am tired of the mess and it will help the atmosphere, at least a little.

Mold exists most every in nature including the storage lockers. Mold requires a warm, damp and food rich environment to propagate. On the water in a sun warmed fuel locker meets the warm and wet. Anything organic is the food component. Wood, the paper on drywall, wallpaper paste, lint, dust and yes, petroleum. Eliminate any one of the three components and the mold diminishes. To get technical about it the black stuff you see is not actually mold, the spores are not visible to the naked eye. The black is actually mold poop and as is the smell associated with mold growth. It is after all a living, breathing, eating and pooping organism.

I clean up at least twice a year and the cockpit still gets black spotted and nasty. Any anti microbial detergent will work. I have used Dawn dish soap and simple Green in the past.

Cheers,
Curt

 

[shnool]

it IS a moisture problem, and YES it IS mold. The Capri 22 locker seems worse than most, but they all suffer from it. Given that my fuel tank in my S2 is in a very large area where port and starboard lockers are open and linked to one another, I expect the same problem only larger... it seems to have had the problem a few times, but somehow they managed to mitigate most of it.

I think that ventilation is the key, it gets the moisture out, and keeps the mold down.