Fuel Tanks

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Fuel Tanks How-To's

How to Be More Efficient with Fuel Usage

Methods to Be More Efficient with Fuel Usage

One common question among many boaters is this: How can I apply better fuel efficiency/usage while I am boating? Boats require a lot of

... read more fuel and, depending on the boater, can use up a lot of fuel in a short amount of time. The latter part of the last statement can be remedied in your favor if you actively attempt to use less fuel. There are quite a few simple solutions that will help you to preserve your fuel and help it to last longer. Because let's face facts, fuel can be expensive—anything you can do to pay for more fuel less often will help you to save money.

  • Use the best possible propeller for your specific boat and engine. Don't think that the recommended stock prop that you have on your engine will always be the correct one for your boat. Some props can be adjusted in size and pitch to help conserve your fuel supply, as well as improve your prop's overall performance. It might take some experimenting and a lot of consultation with a mechanic or prop technician, but in the end, you will save a lot more money.
  • The lighter your boat, the better gas mileage you will get. It is the same concept as driving your car—if you are carrying a lot of baggage in your trunk, the car will weigh down, and your fuel supply will work harder to keep up. Any unnecessary items that might be weighing down your boat could prevent your boat from getting on plane faster, which creates more resistance and requires more effort and eats up more fuel. In short, when you are supplying your boat for your weekend getaway, pack sparingly. It could make all of the difference in the world.
  • Don't let the engine idle for longer than necessary. Even if your engine isn't moving or pushing itself too hard, simply letting it sit while the ignition is turned on will use up quite a bit of fuel. Furthermore, allowing an engine to idle may produce deadly fumes consisting of carbon monoxide. So, for the sake of keeping others safe, it would be wise to not let your engine idle for an excessive amount of time.
  • Fuel to oil mix ratio can also play a big part concerning fuel usage. In this case, you may not want to mix your fuel and oil without following clear and concise instructions as laid out by your original boat manufacturer. Otherwise, you may want to consult with a local mechanic or technician. Too much or too little oil in your mix can reduce fuel efficiency, and potentially harm your engine.
  • Lower your Bimini top if it is up. If you travel at moderately higher speeds and your Bimini top is set up, it acts as a parachute and catches the wind. The Bimini top creates more resistance for your boat, and by extension makes your engine works harder and takes up more fuel.
  • Document the amount of miles you travel. You can use a more advanced GPS device to keep track of your miles that you travel on your boat, and then compare that to the gallons of fuel used. Tracking your fuel will give you a good idea of how you can cut back on how much fuel is being used.

Keep in mind that throughout this process, while these tips may prove effective, you may still want to consult with a local boat dealer for information. For the sake of the boat, engine, and fuel tank, it is good to have all of the facts before making any drastic changes to your boat.

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Low Permeation Portable Gas Tank

Back in October of 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency came out with a new ordinance that affects the way gas systems and their parts are made. All gas containers are required to meet the evaporative emission standards specified in 40 CFR 1045.112. ... read more

Boat Fuel Tank

The new requirements for are as follows:
  1. A reduced permeation rate on portable gas tanks (1.5g/m2/per day).
  2. A reduction of gas vapor from the vented cap on the tank (New cap design required).
Moeller's portable gas tank designs are certified for the reduced permeation rate. They were able to achieve this by introducing an additive during the molding process. Now the they are certified to both the ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) and USCG (United States Coast Guard) requirements as well.

Moeller has also designed a new vent cap to help meet the requirements as indicate above. The new requirements states that caps must have a tether, there must also be an audible "click" letting you know that the cap is on tightly, to seal up to 5 PSI out, allow vacuum in, an external means to temporarily relieve pressure within the tank prior to you filling or connecting back to the engine and in storage mode. All these upgrades are in place to help seal the tank and not allow it to vent.

The changes that Moeller has made in their line of portable gas tanks has helped keep them in the front of the pack in the marine industry. They are amazing products.

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Ethanol can be a Problem for your Marine Engine (Video)

A video presentation on how Ethanol can be a problem for your marine engine, presented by Yamaha. ... read more



Video Transcript

This morning were going to show ethanol gasoline and the effects of what atmospheric air does to it. As you can see there is no water in this gas, just a standard gas sample out of a vessel we pulled this morning. What we are going to do is we are going to subject it to a fan. Basically what we are subjecting a vessel to is an open vent running out of water. What we are going to do is put this gas maybe 5 feet from a fan. It will be simulating what we are doing is running under water at 40 mile air, 35 mile air. What we’ll see is in about 10 – 15 minutes this gas is going to start actually making its own water, simulating what a vent does to a gas system.

Okay here we already have the effects starting, we can see the moisture rolling down the outside of the glass. It’s been 2 minutes since the fan has been on. Again simulating the effects of a bout running under water. In our automobile we don’t have this issue because our systems are sealed until the engine is running and the purge valve open. The tank is totally sealed. In our's, it is not. The water droplets you see running down the outside of the glass are basically what is pulling humidity out of the air. We can also see the outside of the glass condensing. Basically that’s the alcohol causing the coldness, causing the glass to condense. Our old gas would not do this because it did not have the alcohol in it. This gas having alcohol is a water attractor.

Okay this is after 1 hour of having a fan on this gas. You can see that in this bottom corner we have accumulated probably an ounce to ounce and a half of water already. We are dealing with 16 ounces of gas to 1 ounce of water already. Where in a tank with 20 gallons you know the accumulation is going to be doubled. And you can see we have condensation from the outside of the glass from the ethanol and if I wipe that off you’ll probably get a better view of the water. And I think you can probably get that on the camera.

Basically what we are looking at here is this is the effect that ethanol can have on your gas. So again the manufacturers right now are recommending put enough gas in that you can us for the day, which goes against everything we have learnt in the past of keeping the gas tank full. But keeping the gas tank full is not going to stop this, what it’s going to do is drop the water an ethanol in the bottom, the petroleum goes to the top. The petroleum will evaporate making room for more water. So again put in the tank what we can use. Also we want to use our ethanol stabilizer and Startron is what we are recommending right now. And basically we are trying to take this effect out of the gas.
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