Gas leaking from drain plug

[maxumlemon]

I am leaking fuel from drain plug in botton of hull. Its a Maxun 16ft Bowrider with a 85 force outboard on it. I think the tank has a small hole. do I have to replace the tank or can I patch it providing i can find iI

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

Depends on what the tank is made of. First thing is: Don't use the boat in that condition. Fuel leaks are very, very dangerous. Pull the tank and see what's wrong with it. The leak will probably be obvious.

Before you do that, though, check any hoses, including the fill and vent hose, and the hose going to your engine and see if they're leaking. That could save you beaucoup time and money, since they can be replaced.

If you can't find the leak there, then it's tank pulling time.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

A 16ft boat with a Force 85hp? I bet its not a permanent below deck tank, right? Just replace the tank.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

A 16ft boat with a Force 85hp? I bet its not a permanent below deck tank, right? Just replace the tank.

My 1989 16' Capri had a bow mounted fuel tank, it sat just ahead of your feet beyond a trim panel under the closed bow, it was a steel tank with rubber hoses. It also had an 85hp Force. The lines rotted off the tank way back when, but I caught it early when the first began to seep. The tank was rusty at that point so I tossed it in favor of a poly tank back in 1995, I sold it not long after that. The fuel fill was dead center of the bow deck, a big plastic fuel cap that read US Marine right across the cap.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

I suspect you're pretty much aware of the danger you and your boat are in with fuel in the bilge.

My suggesion would be to drain the tank if you can't spot the leak right away. Once you have it drained leave it out in the open air until you can't smell gas anymore then start looking for the tank.

The bilge of your boat is like one big partially empty gas tank right now. Gasoline fumes rarely ignite over 18 inches vertically from the source but if they do ignite from a spark while your working at trying to find the problem you will blow yourself up.

Once you have it drained and aired out, go ahead an start looking at hoses as was mentioned before. If you do have a gas **** then change it. If the gas tank itself has visible damage such as a crack or hole, replace it. You could take it to a shop and have it repaired and re-certified but it's a waste of money in my opinion.

I know a lot of people would say go ahead and fix it if you can see the leak but my advice is not to do that. Any repairs to any fuel tank or combustuble materials container must be done by a certified repair facility and the the tank must be stamped as having been repaired and tested. In my opinion, the only time you should repair a tank is if a replacement tank can no longer be purchased.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

what ever it is, it is a potential BOMB right now.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Gas leaking from drain plug

There are several ways to repair a gas tank. However, these are only practical if it has a single leak, rather than a bunch of places that are going to start leaking any day. I had a steel tank that sprung a seam, in a single place. I repaired that one with some marine-tex and a piece of FG cloth.

Usually aluminum tanks will get corrosion pockmarks over a portion of them, which make repair impractical. Replacement plastic tanks for that boat are $100 or less, depending on the size.