Deck mount gas fill grounding question.

[I Fish]

Hello. I've got a 18' Sylvan Rodmaster with a 20 gallon aluminum gas tank mounted under the splashwell. The problem is the tanks fill neck is welded in place and comes up about 2'', then, for whatever reason, makes a 90 dgree turn to the rear. The fill cap is at the top of the splashwell. The fuel fill hose is cracked and seeps, and I thought would be easy to replace, until I started trying to make the necessary bends. How, or why, on earth this was set up this way is beyond me. Everything is so tight, about the only way they could have got the hose on was to remove the tank, put the hose on the tank, then force the tank partially back in, connect the hose to the deck fill, then force the tank back in. The problem is it causes the hose to have so tight of a bend, think of a compressed S, hence, the leaking cracks. The hose I'm replacing is dated 5/05, so it's not that old, and was obviously a problem before. Ok, so I've made a short story long. I've found the easiest fix is to replace the straight neck deck fill with one that has a bend. Similar to this, but mine has a plastic cap:

http://www.iboats.com/Perko-Combina...9580598--**********.276237041--view_id.237346

Now my question: the new deck fill didn't come with instructions. Everything fits, but, it's all plastic, and there doesn't appear to be anywhere to attach a ground wire. Where should I attach it? Should I bolt it to the slashwell with the deck fill, or, does the ground need to make a contact with the gas station dispenser nozzle? Should I somehow incorporate the wire running inside the new fuel hose?

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Deck mount gas fill grounding question.

I feel your pain on the filler install. Even the moderate bends in the pipe I was trying to replace on my Sea Ray I/O were quite a challenge.

As for static grounding, it sounds like a perfect opportunity to consult a qualified marine installer. For what it's worth, however, I found the following statement:

"If the fuel tank deck fill fitting is nonmetallic, and nonconductive hose is used as a fill pipe, there is no need for grounding the fill fitting. Chrome-plated plastic fill fittings are treated the same as metallic fittings."

at the following link:

http://boatbuild.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/grounding-a-plastic-gas-tank/


It seems that perhaps grounding to the fuel sender plate is enough if it's the only metal in the tank/filler system?