portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

guys,
is it wise to have :
Trolling battery, cranking battery,6.0 gal portable fuel tank, oil injection tank all squeezed together.
I would have thought , you have to keep your gas tank well away fronm any battery

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

I have a 45 gallon tank with 2 batteries on one side and another on the other.
But the tank is vented to the outside.
If it's an open transome area, you should be ok since it is venting into the air.
No fume build up.

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

Most portable tanks today are plastic which will not spark, and your battery box SHOULD have a cover on it. Gasoline vapors are heavier than air but will blow out of an open compartment when underway. Thats the reason for the clamshells facing fore and aft. The aft set should have a hose going to the bottom of the compartment. If the compartment is closed, there SHOULD be a blower installed.

A battery with properly connected terminals has no reason to spark and proper jump starting technique requires making the final ground on the engine. This avoids sparking at the battery which could ignite Hydrogen gas generated by it and blowing it up. This technique also keeps your face away from it so in case of a mishap, you stay pretty.

So, having the tank next to the battery poses minimal risk if correct procedure is followed.

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

My old aluminum bass boat had two metal portable tanks, one on each side and two batteries all hidden under the rear deck, which was accessed by tilting the whole rear bench or drivers seat up and back. They were crammed in so tight you had to struggle to get a tank free to refill. It had no vents what so ever.
I never gave it any thought the whole time I owned it. Never had a problem, but thinking back, it wasn't the smartest set up they could have built.
Neither tanks had external vents, nor did the battery. The only opening was where the cables exited to towards the motor in the lower rear center. The tanks and batteries all sat on top of the floor and were separated from the bilge in that compartment. There was many times where I could smell gas on a hot day from under the seat or from inside a rod box. Since it tended to be hard to start hot, I rarely even tried to start it when the fumes were at their worst. I often opened tilted the seat before starting to help cool the battery cables, the bad starter may well have prevented far worse problems all the years I had that boat.

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

Some boat designs do not offer any ability to seperate the battery and fuel tanks. However, I do, anytime I can.

As stated above, a good clean battery, with good clean connections, should not present any issues. It would be best if the battery was in a "box".

The key is: good clean connections.

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

At 17.5 feet, its hard to keep everything separate in my boat. What I have done, however, to keep electrical sources away from fuel as much as possible.

I have side mounted, aluminum saddle tanks for fuel, with external fillers and vents. With the exception of the engine controls, all of the wiring runs underneath the port rail. My battery switch is on the port side, as is the distribution block. Both batteries are mounted in boxes and are secured under the splash well. The boat had a hinge mounted door enlcosing the battery area when I bought it and I immediately took that off.

With the exception of the fuel feed line from the port side tank, All fuel lines are run on the starboard side. Where I had to run wires near the port tank lines, I enclosed them in flexible plastic conduit. The fuel/water separator for the fuel system is mounted opposite the battery switch, on the starboard side, and the tank selector valve is on the starboard side, right next to the helm position.

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

Jay,

You're fine. You've already beat the fire issues because you obviously "care".

Re: portable gas tanks on crestliner 1600 fish hawk.

If everything is at the transom area you may want to consider moveing some of it forward even if only to the mid section.