Gas weeping

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May 5, 2008
53
Oday 25 Washington DC
I have an Oday 25 with a lazerette hatch in the cockpit where the 6 gallon plastic gas can is stored that connects to the outboard via a normal rubber gas hose with the squeeze bulb for priming. I've noticed that the gas tends to weep thru and around the both the screw on cap and the connection for the feed hose. The result is an unpleasent gas smell in the cabin and cockpit. At times I hear the gas can hissing. I figure maybe its from having a fairly full tank sitting for a while waiting for me to start sailing season again. I've loosened the screw vent on the cap to let the pressure out yet the weeping continues. I'd replace the hose expect that it seems to come from the main screw cap as well. Do I need to replace that cap? the boat is a 1975 and I don't know how old any of these parts are as I've only had the boat 1.5 years. Your tips would be appreciated. Does anyone else experience this, is this just a fact of life for a boat?
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Maybe just the gaskets on the gas can cap and the vent

screw. This "Weeping " is also called a LEAK. 8 ounces of gasoline vaporized and mixed with air(oxygen) has the same explosive potential as 8 ounces of dynamite. Get it fixed And ventilate that locker.
 
May 11, 2005
3,431
Seidelman S37 Slidell, La.
Don't gamble

Don't gamble with losing your boat or your life. Replace the tank and the hose. It should not weep gas. If it was at the hose fitting only, I would say replace the hose and chuck. But since it is weeping at the filler cap also, just replace it all. You can replace the "O" ring on the cap, and replace the chuck and on and on. Time and money wise, just replace the whole thing.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,348
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Boats are funny things

I would suggest that if you had this "problem" with your car, you'd get it fixed right away. Why should the boat be any different?
 

CalebD

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Jun 27, 2006
1,479
Tartan 27' 1967 Nyack, NY
I have seen the arrangement you described on a H 25

and while it worked it seemed like an accident waiting to happen to me. On my friends boat they had a fairly new 5 gal. (I think) gas tank that you had to remove to put in new fuel and then replace because of the obvious difficulty of pouring gasoline into a small hole with those newfangled gas cans. We had to fill the tank once and we did it on the fore deck. Some gas did spill and ran down the length of the boat deck. We washed off the deck with some nice Chesapeake water but I was not happy being a smoker. We replaced the main tank and were underway while I could still smell gas I could not bring myself to smoke. If their main tank leaked as you describe and the cabin had fumes I would have had a very unpleasant overnight. Fortunately their set up was pretty new and seemed not to leak. This brings me to my next point. My own boat has a gas inboard engine (A4) and one thing I hate about this is the setup of the fuel fill which is right in the floor of the cockpit. Since my engine is an inboard we are REQUIRED to have a ventilation fan for the engine compartment. In your case and my friends I guess you are not required to have ventilation as the motor is outboard but still the fuel is inboard and as Ross said: it does not take much gas to reach the power of dynamite. I wonder if even a passive ventilation system for your lazarette locker might not be a great a idea. You cheapest solution is to replace that which is leaking GASOLINE. Otherwise, invite me on board and we can all go down with the ship. Ship happens.
 
May 11, 2005
3,431
Seidelman S37 Slidell, La.
You are hearing basically the same thing

from every reply. This is a very dangerous situation, taking only a spark to set it off. NEW tank and fuel line would be the best way to fix this. Don't screw around with trying to replace the chuck, fuel line fitting or the tank seal whether it be gasket or O ring. You can buy a brand new tank, and a new fuel line for a few bucks. I would also suggest that you do not use a chuck to connect the tank to the fuel line. One chuck at the engine is enough, and eliminates a possible trouble spot.
 
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