All of you with I/Os and inboards, get a fume detector...

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:47 pm

This happened about 40 min to the east of me....I'd advise anyone with a gas inboard or I/O to get a fume detector, you should always do the sniff test but these will warn you of a leak that happens underway.....I put one in last season, they are not expensive and easy to hook up. I have always been surprised at the number of people who never open the engine hatch and sniff at the gas dock. Even the gas attendants who are mostly teenage kids don't know that you should do this.....

http://longisland.news12.com/news/1-dea ... -1.9109002

Graham R · **Posted:** Wed Aug 20, 2014 4:56 pm

Lou,

I don't understand why they are not a USCG/ EU requirement. Bought in bulk by an OEM they will be a very cheap OEM fitment. I fitted one to my 2004 Sundowner.

Also, I don't understand why FW buy and fit expensive hard wired 12V CO monitors ( with a 5 year service life); they are very sensitive to voltage drop and give false alarms. The 4.5/ 9V disposable ones, with a 5 year battery/ service life are much, much cheaper and give a warning when the batteries or the unit needs replacing. They even have a LCD display

ric · **Posted:** Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:39 pm

A boat blew up at my marina 2 months ago injuring two, didn't even make the news there's more exciting things going on here. Older speed boat, automotive parts, etc. Duh of course it will catch fire.

On a good functioning boat there's no way fuel vapors can leak in the engine compartment. That being said, there's people on this forum with boats from the 90's with original fuel lines. They're ticking time bombs. The crap you see at marinas? Good god. Scary.

So yes, every boat should have fume detectors.

Go Stars · **Joined:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:14 pm **Posts:** 11

Dumb "new guy" question: Won't running the blower help prevent this? I'm not opposed the extra precaution, just trying to understand.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:58 pm

Go Stars wrote:

Dumb "new guy" question: Won't running the blower help prevent this? I'm not opposed the extra precaution, just trying to understand.

Oh a perfectly functioning boat with no problems or worn out parts, there will be zero fumes in the bilge when fueling. The blower is kind of a safety precaution just in case any fumes come out the intake system (fueling or not).

Now, if you have some kind of fuel leak then you can introduce vapors to the bilge. Throw in the mix an automotive starter/alternator/ignition/crusty wiring/etc that can create a spark and guess what?

Boom.

You pretty much have to run your boat into the ground never checking anything, never taking care of it, and buying cheap replacement parts from the autoparts store on things that should be USCG spark resistant. I just described 60% of the boats at my marina. A lot of older boats have fiberglass fuel tanks. Those will kill you, fiberglass is not fuel/water proof. They need to be replaced with plastic or aluminum.

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 5:08 am

How did the boat blow up during fueling?

simonj · **Joined:** Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:24 am **Posts:** 29

And why was someone thrown from the boat during the incident?

In Canada - you must disembark during refuelling.

ric · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:44 am

298VISTA2000 wrote:

How did the boat blow up during fueling?

Fuel leak in boat. Something running that wasn't USCG legal.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 7:10 am

Some of these saltwater boats hit 20 to 30 years old. I am sure Lou can tell you too. A hose could have dried out, the older boats were not made for this new fuel too and................................Who knows. At the time I am sure it was USCG legal.

babbot1 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:46 pm **Posts:** 570

I thought the vapor detector was mandatory like a fire extinguisher system on 26 and above. I just checked and it is only a fire extinguisher that is mandatory. Weird you would think it would be just as import to detect the fire source for a pending boom as it is to put out a fire...
Also, I totally agree about the co detectors. I replaced both of the expensive detectors last year(5 years old) and one of the new ones is giving false readings. Even woke me up one night. I disconnected and bought a battery one, so far so good.

ric · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 7:41 am

First thing I did when I bought my boat:

Unbolted factory CO and went to Lowes and got one for $15

Paul I. · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:37 am

ric wrote:

First thing I did when I bought my boat:

Unbolted factory CO and went to Lowes and got one for $15

Not uncommon.

rchamberlin · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:41 am

Recommendations? Hard-wired or just a battery-powered one?

rpengr · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:54 am

The word "Explosion" is so over used. Vehicle and vessel explosions happen on TV, because they load them up with explosives for dramatic effect. It seems like the proper wording would be "quickly became engulfed in flames". I say this because the passenger was able to jump overboard without injuries.

A fuel "explosion" requires a large volume of air and fuel mixed at a nearly perfect ratio, and a containment that is air-tight enough that the pressure increases to the point of exploding the container. While our engine compartments in a runabout do provide a contained volume, they are not air-tight enough or large enough to provide for a true "explosion", although maybe it could "pop open" a sundeck. The real danger is the fire that follows.

I think about these things because I think about the "what would you do scenarios":

1. If I see smoke from the engine compartment, or a small flame, I would direct my passengers to quickly go to the bow area and be prepared to jump overboard (with life preserver if nearby). I would attempt a fire extinguisher discharge at the area, always 1 step away from jumping overboard.

2. If I see open flames of more than 1-2 cubic ft, I would urgently direct all passengers to jump overboard (forward where possible), and meet up in front of the boat. Hopefully, I would have the time to grab the life preservers before jumping overboard myself. (and if away from shore and other boats...the epirb)

When in doubt, jump overboard. Let the insurance company have the charred carcass of what used to be your boat.

That being said, what product recommendations are there for fuel vapor detection for a smaller boat?

LouC · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:19 am

While the news said the boat caught fire during fueling, these events are so chaotic that I bet they got it wrong. I think it blew when he hit the starter after fueling. As I said, I have not seen anyone, lift an engine hatch and sniff before starting up. Your nose will detect a much smaller amount of gas vapor than the sensor is calibrated to alarm at. I tested this before I installed it. I took a can of gas in the driveway, and hooked up the sensor to a battery (a distance away lol). Then move the sensor closer and closer to the open can. Well it did not alarm, till it was IN the neck of the can. I have a simple Fireboy-Intex M1 model. The only catch with these units is that when they get wet they will give false alarms. So you need to put it in a protected spot in the engine compartment. I have it wired so that its on the ignition circuit so it does not draw battery power with boat on the mooring. I get on the boat, open the hatch, sniff, turn on the blower, turn on the ignition and watch it self test (green light, red light, red goes out, all OK). Standard size gauge very easy to install.

The other thing besides checking and replacing hoses, is blower systems. A lot of boats have blowers that either don't work or the hoses are hooked up wrong. If you have directional vents, the one that faces backward, to the stern, should be hooked up to the blower exhaust. On the other side, the vents should face the bow, to bring in fresh air. Chapman's has a nice diagram of how it should be. The Yellow Tail blowers will fit the hoses on most of these smaller boats and are rated for continuous duty. Most others like the Attwoods are not.

Lastly pay attention at the gas dock and watch what people do. You should have everything electrical off, all people off, BLOWER OFF, and all hatches including the engine hatch CLOSED. So fumes do not enter during fueling.
After fueling open engine hatch and sniff. If OK put blower on, 4 min then start engines.
I bet this last step may not have been followed in the incident above.
When I was at Britannia Marina getting gas I asked a few gas attendants if they knew of these procedures and none of them were taught any of this. I told them " well if someone has a boat that's NOT an outboard and they don't do that, step back when they start it"....

www.iFourWinns.com

All of you with I/Os and inboards, get a fume detector...

Who is online