26M fuel tank installation

[jg9546]

At last my Honda 50Hp motor has arrived today after 9 week delay . I missed half of summer. Anyway, I would like to know if you guys run gaslines from the tanks to the motor by leaving them on the floor or you run them below the deck. Another question is how do you deal with switching between two tanks. My dealer sugested to manually disconecting one gasline from the engine and connecting another tank.

Thank you,

Jacek

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

One fuel line across the deck and change it manualy when needed. I have an but would do it the same for an .

[Harrison]

Have a '05 M, and that's exactly how I do it.

---Harrison

[DLT]

I actually have a valve in the engine well which allows me to select between a starboard hose and a port hose, each of which can be connected to one of two tanks on their respective sides.

This allows a great deal of flexibility, although I'm not certain it is really needed... You might do just as well with one hose.

In any case, all fuel lines should be kept out of the cabin. Just run them along the deck...

[Paul S]

Don't get me going about the Honda 50

FWIW...

I bought 2 12 gallon tanks. I went through only about 10 gallons for the entire season last year.

Have 3 outings this year, have used about 5 gallons.

I took one of the tanks out, and put the grill, propane, spare 2.5 gallon gas can as well in the other side.

The Honda uses no gas...I'm serious...Then again, I am coming from a v8 I/O powerboat. Unless you are powering in places that there is no chance of getting gas, I would recommend using one tank.

If you stick with 2 tanks, it takes an entire 4 seconds to switch tanks. I used a 90-degree adapter on the tanks to reduce the hose from hitting your legs

Check out my www below for pics and other mods.

Paul

[jg9546]

Thank you guys for your advice. I am going to see my mechanic tomorrow.
Paul you did really good job with the modifications and making so many good pictures. I took some ideas from your mods.

Thank you,

Jacek

[richandlori]

Honda's do sip gas, but on our recent channel island loop trip, we used about 30 gal of gas, because we motored the WHOLE time, as there was no wind. I too just swap the one line from each of my 4 6 gal tanks. I would recommend 4-6gal instead of 2-12gal so you can carring them to and from the boat. Here are some photos of my tanks and straps:





Link to Mod



Aslo, I would recommend doing a search on 26M fuel tanks and you will find some good threads discussing this topic, and I used them to help me decide on the best option.

Rich

[mike]

I second the recommendation for 6-gal. tanks if you think you'll need to haul them on/off the boat. I have two 6-gal. tanks and one of those oddly-named Tempo "9Gas" (or whatever it's called) 7.5-gal. tank that we take along when we know we'll need a lot of fuel. This larger tank is a bit more difficult to carry than the 6-gal. tanks, but I can't imagine trying to board the boat with one of those 12-gal. monsters in my arms.

Of course, the 6-gal. tanks mean more fuel line switching, but with a fuel-efficient motor like the Honda, it's not a big deal.

One handy thing to have is one of those clear inline fuel filters... in addition to its primary function of, well, filtering fuel, it also serves as a handy "you'll be running out of gas soon" indicator. I glance back there every now and then, and when I see some bubbles starting to appear in the filter, I know the level is low in the tank. If we're in open water, I just let it go until it's dry, but if we're in (or are about to be in) a situation where a loss of power would be unsafe/messy (like heading into the harbor), I go ahead and switch to the full tank.

--Mike

[ALX357]

Filling plastic tanks ( not grounded to a metal frame ) on the boat is illegal in many states, as is posted on their gas pumps.... static discharge has been known to cause explosions. Required to remove the tank, set it on the pavement and fill there. Whichever is actually safer, i don't know, considering the task of loading four tanks of 6 gallons thru the transom .... at least it's feasible on a X; what a P.I.T.A. on the M boats, with their tighter entry.
I drive to the gas station with the empty tanks in my minivan, (open windows, close tank vents ) , fill the tanks on the gas station island, set them in the van, hold nose, and put them in the boat in the back yard. Slipped boats, that's another thing..... sitll i like smaller tanks.... pros and cons either way.

[Moe]

There are tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of boats with large plastic tanks in the bilge between stringers, not much different from 12 gallon tanks tied down in an X or M, and the only way to fill them is in place.

The problem with static comes from plastic tanks sliding around on a plastic truck bed liner, and possibly in a small fiberglass skiff. While the 6.6 gallon tanks are tied down in our Whaler, they're under the seat and have to be slid out to access, so I take them out of the boat and sit them on the ground.

My philosophy is that the Mac is a 26' boat and I know of no other boat that size using portable tanks. While others feel differently, and I respect that, I wouldn't want to try to carry 6 gallon tanks over the X transom, much less the M.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

My philosophy is that the Mac is a 26' boat and I know of no other boat that size using portable tanks. While others feel differently, and I respect that, I wouldn't want to try to carry 6 gallon tanks over the X transom, much less the M.

That is probably because there aren't many other 26' boats running a 50 HP engine. The smaller tanks carried off the boat gives you access to the "cheeper" very expensive gas at the gas station rather than having to buy the "very expensive" very expensive gas at the fuel docks.

[Frank C]

... The problem with static comes from plastic tanks sliding around on a plastic truck bed liner ... the Mac is a 26' boat and I know of no other boat that size using portable tanks. While others feel differently, and I respect that, I wouldn't want to try to carry 6 gallon tanks over the X transom, much less the M.

Scooting a plastic tank across a plastic bed liner is one of the "plastic fuel tank risks," but not the only one. The simple fact of high-speed fuel delivery into a plastic tank, given certain "dry" atmospheric conditions, can also induce static.

Somebody posted a Coast Guard reg that defines a "portable fuel tank" at a max of 6 gallons, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Any tank larger than that is "supposed" to be a permanently mounted tank with attendant multiple requirements, venting & grounding (somewhere in archives). That much observed, probably half the Macs have 9 or 12 gallon tanks.

An industry trade group, the Petroleum Institute, wrote a report on plastic fuel-container fires. The basic problem is that gasoline molecules induce a static charge during delivery through the pumps, hose and especially while exiting the fueling nozzle. All commercial fueling systems are grounded, but fuel exiting the nozzle into the container builds static and the plastic container insulates it from natural grounding. The report quoted some recommendations for "avoiding plastic tank fueling fires." Sorry, I couldn't find that article any longer (somewhere in the archives).

Don's description sounds perfectly safe, matching the guidelines as I recall them.
1. Fill slowly, because high-speed delivery induces more static charge.
2. Keep the nozzle always in contact with the tank filler neck, and before breaking that contact ...
3. Immerse the nozzle into the liquid fuel before removing it from the container.

The critical problem happens if you permit the (grounded) nozzle to break contact from the container while in the highly explosive fumes at the fuel's surface, top of tank. A spark at that moment is a killer. These steps are intended to shunt any static charge to the nozzle's grounding system.

[Zavala]

Chevron put together a Safety Bulletin on the whole refueling subject that seems worth calling out. It discussed lots of different situations, some of which apply here.

[DLT]

Don's description sounds perfectly safe, matching the guidelines as I recall them.
1. Fill slowly, because high-speed delivery induces more static charge.
2. Keep the nozzle always in contact with the tank filler neck, and before breaking that contact ...
3. Immerse the nozzle into the liquid fuel before removing it from the container.

The critical problem happens if you permit the (grounded) nozzle to break contact from the container while in the highly explosive fumes at the fuel's surface, top of tank. A spark at that moment is a killer. These steps are intended to shunt any static charge to the nozzle's grounding system.

Referring to #2:

Sorry, I just can't see how keeping the nozzle in contact with a plastic filler neck grounds the plastic tank... If you are trying to ground the fuel in the tank, wouldn't you just do better trying to keep the nozzle in the liquid fuel the whole time?

Where is this spark coming from? Where is the voltage differential? Is is between the nozzle and the fuel in the tank? Is it built up due to the impact of the moving fuel from the nozzle into the stationary fuel in the tank? If that is the case, then wouldn't immersing the nozzle into the liquid (#3), be the worst thing to do? Wouldn't keeping the nozzle in the fule the whole time stop any volate potential from building up in the first place?

Yeah, I know you can't keep the nozzle in the stationary liquid fuel in the bottom of a tall tank as the filler neck prevents to nozzle from going in far enough...

[Don T]

Hello:
My reasoning is, if I keep the nozzle in contact with the surface / filler neck a large charge cannot accumilate. If the nozzle is in contact with the fuel the chances of creating a spark within the vapor layer is greatly reduced. This is difficult when the tank is empty and you are just begining to fill. Filling too fast creates lot of static and a large vapor plume that a spark anywhere in the vacinity will set off. After 10 years I have yet to explode. That being said, my fire extinguisher is at the ready when I'm refueling.

If you want to test the static build up, put a little solvent/paint thinner on the outside surface of the tank. Keep the cap on and the vent closed or use a small sealed plastic gas container for the test. Now, wipe it off. You will hear the static build up and discharge across surface of the plastic. I endeavor not to spill any fuel and what little may happen, I let evaporate.