Spare Fuel

[NoTies]

What are the best solutions for carrying spare fuel onboard? Thinking about petrol for the outboard & portable generator, one of which is 4 stroke the other 2 stroke and also spare diesel. Pre-mix at the dock and use seperate containers or mix when filling the outboard. What size containers, where to store, decanting methods etc. Look forward to hearing.
Pete

[captjohn360]

i carry35 extra gallons of desil and 5 gas treated and mixed at the dock. keep it in 5ga jerry cans in the anchor locker....jt

[SailWiz]

I keep 20 gallons of diesel extra in 5 gallon can in my lazerettes. I also keep a 5 gallon can of unleaded but don't store it aboard in the slip. I use a smaller 2.5 gallon jug that i keep outside on the stern rail. I have used a product called "STA-Bil" to keep the gas in the can and in the engine from gumming up. It is also used in lawnmower and other small engines. It has never failed me yet and I've kept fuel for several months that way.

[Alan Wheeler]

Hi Pete, because of the type of Petrol we have here, it goes stale very fast and for some reason, seems to go stale faster when mixed with the two stroke oil. Although I amy be wrong on that one. but....So I mix with the oil as I need it. I also have plenty of 20ltr ex oil containers that I carry additonal deisel in. Being square and stackable, they are easy to store and tye down. I have heaps of them for free. Just yell how many you want. I can get more than you can handle.

[roverhi]

Don't put fuel containers in lockers unless they are vapor tight and vented overboard. It's like poring gasoline in the bilge sticking them in a typical lazarette.

We carried about 30 gallons of various liquids in the cockpit and on the deck in Gerry jugs. Made up chocks to keep them in place and nylon webbing staps to cinch down. The jugs lasted the trip and many years afterward. No worry about explosion or mess to clean up if they leaked, which they didn't. Also easy to get at when we needed them. Some of the Yacht Nazis would probably make fun of on deck storage but who gives a s**t. Being Nazis they are of little consequence and probably won't ever leave the dock, anyway.

Aloha
Peter O.

[NoTies]

Thanks Wheels, will probably take you up on that. What about decanting methods on a rolling deck? Siphon/pour etc.

[Alan Wheeler]

Well I have thought of decanting methods. I was thinking I might be doing a Akaroa trip. Hopefully next Christmas. So I need to carry a lot of extra fuel. So seeing as I have a huge aft lazerrette, I was going to strap them all in down there. Deisel being reasonably safe and all being stowed below. So I thought the eaisest way of transfering fuel would be a small pump. A bilge pump will handle this exercise. They will handle Deisel wit no ill affects. I was going to fit a line to the top of the main tanks up midships and run the hose down through the bilge to the aft area. Simple case of drop the bilge pump in the hole in the top and let it pump away. A simple small valve at the pump end that can shut of the line to ensure no accidental flow back when non pumping or when changing containers.

How much fuel can you carry in your main tanks and what does she burn per hr??

[NoTies]

She burns about 1.4 l/hr and holds 100 litres. The main tank could have been made a lot bigger but I'm not going to change things now.
She has no quarter berth on the port side and this space is accessed from the cockpit so huge amount of storage, even if it's not in the most ideal part of the boat weight wise. I need to check that it is sealed and not open to the bilges before I put much stuff in there.

[Alan Wheeler]

We can talk when you get home again, but one other idea, I can get my hands on FREE scrap alloy from the boat builders for the course I run. We could look at building a purpose tank as just a thought.

[NoTies]

Free scrap sounds like a good thing. I have unlimited access to EBA engineering workshop while I have the boat there in March for a few small jobs, but don't want to abuse their generosity. The bigger fuel tank will be in the too hard basket for a while though as it would entail pulling the engine when all I really want to do is go sailing.

[Alan Wheeler]

Yeah well you have full access to my workshop as well. But I don't have as good a gear as a real place. I do have a good Mig though.

[NoTies]

Sounds good.
Wow, it's February. Now I can say I'll be home this month.