Blowers ON or OFF during refueling

On gas engines blowers off. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air, they will sink to the bottom of the bilge. If you check, one of the hoses drops to the lowest point. After fueling and the sniff test turn the blowers on. With diesel, only an open flame will ignite the fumes.
 
admin said:
Why don't you think generators are meant to be run on the hook?
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Thinking is FAR over-rated.

I clearly mistyped. My thinking is that engines and gennies CAN run on the hook. My bad. Sorry for the confusion. Trust in your CO monitoring.

What are the odds that a fuel line breaks while fueling? Hmmm. Probably a lot lower than breaking a fuel line while the engines are running. (1) Lot less time spent fueling than running and (2) lots less vibration and jarring when fueling than when running.

What happens when you have a fuel leak while running? On a single engine boat. . .you may or may not shutdown depending on the size of the leak. But the engine is still hot. And if the engine stalls. . . .first instinct is to . . . restart? On a twin engine boat. . .the other engine stays running, right?

My thinking is simple: Of course you should check for major fuel leaks immediately after fueling. You probably should check it immediately before starting your daily run as well. Bulk fuel in the bilge is really, really bad. But my thinking is that you SHOULD be able to run a blower to vent a fume laden bilge. If you can't because of a spark hazard. . .then I still submit that you have the WRONG BLOWER, and you should get one that is "intrinsically safe".

OK: in the spirit of full disclosure: Only on half of my cruises do I open the hatch prior to starting engines for the first time. I never open the hatch while fueling -> because of activity on the boat (but I should. . .probably will after this thread!). And yeah.. . .I tend to run the blower while fueling. I guess I should stop.

I should find where the gas tank vent is located. I don't honestly know. That is where fuel will spill from correct? I wonder where the fuel pumps are located. Probably on the engine, right? I find it hard to believe I could get any significant quantity of fuel in the bilge while those pumps are off, if I don't get any when the engines are running. Unless I get a sudden hole in the gas tank.
 
Well, my owners manual says to turn off the blower during fueling and turn it back on afterward and run it for 4 minutes... yeah right... of course it's a Bayliner so maybe I have to run it that long? Actually being an MPI and not a carbed model, should not be an issue either running the blower on or turned off during fueling... Carbed models, turn off the blower, ensure the metal hose end is in contact at all times with the filler tube for static elimination...

I also have a fume detector and it will scream if I turn the key to start and it detects fumes.... So good news is the green light says its working, bad news is I sometimes forget to run the blower... not good, even with an MPI engine...
 
Did Jim say "Ass"? I think Jim said "ass"... I didn't think we were allowed to say "ass"? Wesley? Can we use the "A" word here?

I would be surprised if Sea Ray didn't have a hose going from the blower to the bottom of the bilge to suck the gas fumes out for their gas boats. My Zodiac jet boat and Sea Doo jet boat both have the blowers plumbed to the bottom of the bilge.

I was always taught to make sure ALL doors, hatches, portholes, etc. are CLOSED during refueling as the gas vapors coming out of your fuel vent and nozzle area can drift down into those areas if they are open. Ever watch the fumes coming out of the gas nozzle as they reflect from the sunlight on the deck? They go up a little bit then back down... When you are done fueling, open the cabin door and engine room and do the sniff test then turn on the blowers for a few minutes. That's what I was taught anyway... That's what I do on my 20' jet boat (sans cabin)... Then I go out on the waves and beat the crap out of it.
 
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I said "ass end", don't take my post out of content and make an A** out of me. :grin:
 
OK... I got the rules... the "A" word as an adjective is ok... like in front of the words clown, wipe, end and hole. But the "A" word as a noun is not ok... like behind the words jack, fat, lazy, dumb, smart and tight. Got it!!!

How about the "D" word.. if we use that as an adjective, I guess that is ok too... just don't use it as a verb.

I think remembering the rules for using blowers is easier.


ha ha ha ha
 
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What a great board, not only do we learn about Searay's but we get english lessons thrown in for free.....Is this a great country or what ??!!??
Thanks Gary!!
 
I've gotta stop reading this board while drinking coffee. What a mess I've got to clean up now...
 
First off, why is it called a "blower", dosen't it "suck". ??

The hose or duct to my "blower" or "sucker" is right next to my sea cock, under the motor.
 
If I look at the VA boating law handbook, they clearly request for blowers to be run for five minutes after each refueling and BEFORE turning any other equipment on or starting the engine. I run my blowers during refueling.
 
Alex D said:
If I look at the VA boating law handbook, they clearly request for blowers to be run for five minutes after each refueling and BEFORE turning any other equipment on or starting the engine. I run my blowers during refueling.
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The key word here is AFTER each refueling...(not during!) but BEFORE starting the engines.
 
Bridog said:
The key word here is AFTER each refueling...(not during!) but BEFORE starting the engines.
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That's really semantics to me .... blower motors are like every bilge installed electrical device spark and explosion proof since they operate in a potentially gas vapor saturated environment and the blowers are specifically designed to evacuate these fumes if they should occur.
 
Standards of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) do require that blowers for the engine compartment are of the sealed type and "suitable for marine atmosphere" That means that no spark from commutators are exposed to atmosphere. Blow away. See the standards about 32 pages into the standards. Requirements for ventilation of engine and fuel tank compartments for diesel boats are also specified.
http://lok.hostings.pl/uploads/download/abyc standardy USA2.pdf
 
I usually run the blowers when underway at speeds less than being on plane. I turn them off when fueling and back on for a few minutes once fueling is completed. I keep them off during fueling because a) the manual says so and b) I'd rather be able to listen for fuel gurgling to avoid spilling. The blowers tend to be loud enough you can't hear the typical whistling/gurgling the fuel fill makes as the tank approaches being full.

But more importantly I regularly inspect the condition of hoses in the engine compartment. If they're in good condition, and you're checking this, there's less likelihood of fuel spills. There really should be NO smell of gasoline in the bilge... AT ALL. If fuel spilled at one point and there's a lingering odor then you need to clean it better. You really want to have a gasoline odor be an uncommon occurrence, one that you NOTICE if/when the smell develops.
 
OFF. Turn on only after all fuel odor is gone. Otherwise you just draw it in...

With a carburated engine there is always a bit of an odor though since a carburator is just a pot of fuel...


Frank
 
Four Suns said:
Well... I'll be honest. I don't even run my blowers before I start the engines. The blowers are mounted at the top of the engine room with no plumbing to the bilge floor and wouldn't even remove gas vapor sitting on the floor if it got in there. I think the blowers are there just to cool the engine room down and suck the hot air out... hence I usually leave them running when at idle, trolling, 30-60 minutes after I dock, or at the fuel dock. OK... and here's something I do that is REALLY BAD I guess... I carry a gallon jug of diesel fuel in the bilge AND I usually leave the generator running when I come in to grab fuel... At the place I get fuel there are a lot of sport fish boats (Vikings, etc) and you are lucky if they even turn the engines off...

QUOTE]


Blowers should be on while fueling - they're ignition protected for that reason! (keeping them on prevents from fumes filling bilge while fueling, correctly installed blowers push fumes out!)
and there should be flexible 3" or 4" hoses attached to blowers to "suck" out fumes from under engines. Looks like there are missing on your boat
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Sorry.. my boat is diesel and so blowers are not needed. The boat can meet ABYC standards and not even have blowers installed on the thing. The blowers in there are not plumbed to the bottom and I've been in that engine room a time or two. They are really there for cooling the engine room off and not sucking out fumes.
 
QUOTE]Blowers should be on while fueling - they're ignition protected for that reason! (keeping them on prevents from fumes filling bilge while fueling, correctly installed blowers push fumes out!) and there should be flexible 3" or 4" hoses attached to blowers to "suck" out fumes from under engines. Looks like there are missing on your boat[/QUOTE]

Bad practice but that's your choice. Sea Ray owner manuals for gas boats states "all electrical equipment", including blowers are to be turned off prior to fueling.
 
This thread is getting like a Coke or Pepsi debate. In the words of "The Buffalo Springfields" ...."Nobodies right if every bodies wrong". The only right answer is that if your boat blows up while you are fueling and you had the blower on and it was the cause of the explosion...you should have had it turned off..

Now can we talk about the benefits of multiple VHF antenna in the swept back configuration..??!!!!
 
Shouldn't that be "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong"?

Ha ha ha ha

The way you spelled it out has an interesting meaning. You need a bigger antenna.
 
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