1988 18' cc WIERD FUEL TANK VENT?

HenryB

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
244
Does this sound familar to anyone with a Winner?

Fuel Burping from the fill tube when gassing up.

With my fuel tank ? full, if I draw a vacuum on the vent line fuel (not air) comes out.

If I blow into the vent line it is like blowing into a restricted line 12 inches deep in liquid.

The vent line fitting at the tank is a 90-degree elbow with a 3/8 hose barb (same fitting arrangement as the fuel pickup fitting). A 5/8 hose is pinched down on the 3/8 barb. I?ve had the boat for over twenty years and the vent arrangement has never been changed.

The boat runs fine, otherwise. The fuel burping out of the filler tube when filling the tank is new.

It behaves like two pickup tubes came from the factory and the one used for the vent is now partially restricted. I cannot think of any other reason for the burping fuel.
 

Outsider

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
1,022
Re: 1988 18' cc WIERD FUEL TANK VENT?

Sounds like a loop in the vent is trapping fuel. And I don't understand a 5/8th hose pinched down on a 3/8ths barb, is that OEM?
 

HenryB

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
244
Re: 1988 18' cc WIERD FUEL TANK VENT?

I removed the original vent tube and temporally replaced a 5’ length of clear PVC to see what was going on. A vacuum brought fuel up the tube. Blowing air by mouth was difficult. The tank is only half full.

Whatever the problem is it is happening tank ward of the barb.

So far, no problem with the motor. It behaves well at speed.

I’ve owned the boat for over twenty years and I’ve only just tampered with it recently when the fuel back surge started happening. It is almost surly OEM. i cannot imagine a prior owner replacing a 5/8 barb with a 3/8's.

The right angle fitting at the tank is almost impossible to get a wrench on.

Right now I am going to scratch my head for a while then install a new vent at the other end of the tank near the fuel sender.

If you own a similar rig I'd appreciate if you take a look at your system to see if it is the same as mine.
 

HenryB

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
244
Re: 1988 18' cc WIERD FUEL TANK VENT?

Seems my gas tank vent problems might be behind me. The old tank vent fitting did have an anti siphon barb, which apparently gummed up, and it was causing gas to blowback out of the fill tube. It had to be removed and replaced, but neither the old elbow nor the barb fitting would budge, so I drilled a hole in my tank and installed a new vent line.

But the gremlins were not done with me, because then my pickup tube failed. At ? gas tank load it failed to pickup.

It had me stumped for a while. Then it struck me to just switch the lines, so I fashioned a new pickup tube made of copper tubing, and installed it in the new tank vent fitting.

Then I installed the 5/8-inch vent line on to the pickup tube 3/8 barb and squeezed it tight.

The old pickup tube is working just fine as a vent line. I filled the tank from dead empty to full, just like always, no Belching gas.
 
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