The management of petrol

My tip is never tip the dregs out of the 5l cans as this is the part that any water and dirt accumilates in. I used to store the petrol in the outboard well as this ensured the fumes vented over board and helped me not worry about heavy petrol fumes in the wrong Place
 
Fuel for O/B

IMHO for the main long range outboard you need a big remote tank. If you look at sources for tanks for large o/bs you can get tanks that are really big. Like 50 litres. Or buy 2 largish tanks. being prepared to changeover from one tank to the other on the run.
Buy a plastic o/b tank as the steel ones inevitably rust around the bottom lip and leave marks.
I think decanting fuel from containers into an o/b tank is quite foolish as you may well be in rough water. Get a tank that is big enough in the first place. The limit seems to be the size you can lift out to take to petrol station for filling.
Of course tank must be kept outside in cockpit for safety. This might also dictate the size and shape of fuel tank. good luck olewill
PS I have had a 10l plastic tank for mine for 30 years no problem.
 
Dylan,

I'd say top priority is a 'splash proof' funnel for topping up.

I leave the remote tank in its' place beside the well ( not sure of your arrangement ) and top up via 5 litre plastic cans.

Fitted a tannoy vent - the type closeable in heavy weather by sliding up an internal collar - in the fuel locker top, seems to work as there's never any petrol smell.

Before that I had a solar vent which worked 24 / 7 by charging an internal ni-cad battery for the night time; the salesman at Earls Court assured me it was spark-proof, but I later found ( when the bearing / spindle was knackered and set up a vibration felt & heard all over the boat ) that it was anything but, and I am lucky not to be blown into orbit !

After a little research, I can say no solar vent I know of is spark proof.

Call me paranoid, but I stop the engine whenever topping up the petrol, and have an auto extinguisher above the fuel tank; I suspect that by the time it was actuated I'd be a footnote in a sailing mag, but it seems better than nothing...

Splashproof funnel, as you may remember;

th_Splashprooffunnel001-1.jpg
 
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stevebrassett said:
It's in the lazerette locker, which is vented. I only have a 23-footer, and there is nowhere else. The anchor locker maybe alright for an Oyster, but I doubt that many of those are propelled by an outboard.
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Vented from the bottom? And not communicating with the bilge? Petrol vapors are heavier than air and very dangerous. Should be treated like butane.
 
Dockhead said:
Vented from the bottom? And not communicating with the bilge? Petrol vapors are heavier than air and very dangerous. Should be treated like butane.
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Oyster have an extensive knowledge base ( even have my build file from 33 yrs ago) & keep all lnown owners up to date if any probs arise.
we all received a letter by post about the petrol tank explosion
 
We carry outboard fuel for the dinghy in the anchor locker, as it is sealed from the hull and drains overboard.
Apart from anything else, petrol stinks.
You just don't want it below decks. Maybe in a properly installed tank vented outside.
Those with outboard wells, are they effectively sealed at the bottom by the water?

Keep an eye on plastic tanks, particularly the screw caps, they can split after a few years.
 
On my Copland Harrier I have found that I can store a 10l steel jerry can type can and 3 green plastic 5l cans safely. All of them can be carried in a rucsack (10l at a time) for transport to the petrol station.
Sailing from a base is no problem, the car is there to get to the petrol station and back. When you are cruising it's a pain. Marinas don't usually have petrol. Petrol stations are often a mile or more walk and public transport don't like fuel cans, I can't think why.
I also have a 13l dedicated tank to feed the outboard. I use the pouring spout with the 5l cans. I purchased a clip on metal spout for the 10l can, I don't need either a funnel or a syphon to fill the 13l tank.
I can fit 2 5l cans in my anchor locker but the 10l one won't go, it's good to try different combinations.
I hope that your 4 stroke is less thirsty than my 6Hp 2 stroke, working out where the next fuel is coming from and whether to sail/motor/motorsail to get there is added stress that I can do without.
 
Rucksackable

I had not thought of that....

good point

I am told that I should expect to use a litre an hour while motoring with a 5 hp four stroke at about 4 knots in flat water.

With a 3 gallon fuel tank in the back of the cockpit and a second three gallon tank in the anchor well I should have quite a bit of capacity

Does that figure of a litre an hour square with your experience?

Dylan

by the way, I am re-digitising films at the moment and I was listening to one where I took the slug under the Bridge over the River Ant on the Broads. The engine was behaving beautifully during a six week lull between breakdows. I shall miss the sound of that single pot singing in harmony to itself.

which it does at about 3 mins in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzwkmFaOsSA
 
dylanwinter said:
Does that figure of a litre an hour square with your experience?
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I have never worked out exactly how much fuel my motor uses, we never had flat water, I suspect it was worse than 1L per hour.

The difficulty obtaining fuel suprised me. We had to drive to get fuel to start with but I expected that. There was petrol at Oban, but I had to hide it in the rucsack to use the ferry from Oban Marina. A very kind man gave me a lift @ Dunstaffnage but it was only a mile to walk. Tobermoray was good, it was local. Fort William I had to walk the length of the town. I wouldn't like to speculate what it's like going round the top.

It was enough to convince me that the Centaur was the best option for using out of Tayvallich.
 
transfer syphon avail here

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_197771_langId_-1_categoryId_255216

we use a folding shopping trolley to fetch petrol (got it from lidl) using several options to carry it in 6 gall outboard tank , 1 gall, and 2 4 gall jerry cans ,
the shopping trolly will take the 6 gall and only in one place have we had a problem with the fuel station not letting us fill

we find plastic best as the 4 gall jerries require constant checking for rust , salt water very aggressive even on the expensive ones
 
Working on 1L per mile would be about right for your 4 stroke, our Yamaha 6 does better than that on a Westerly 22.
 
I think the best system is two plastic fuel tanks, the largest that will fit in your storage area.
Best to have connections at both ends of your fuel pipe then when you run out on one, disconnect the pipe at the tank then connect to the new tank.

That way the engine will keep running on the fuel in the pipe while you change them.

And also have a couple of 5L tanks as spare if you think you might get close to your cruising limit.

(I had a big problem starting a hot engine half way across Cardigan bay.)

I know I know....You should shut your engine down ,moor the boat and have the fire brigade standing by before you mention the word petrol.
 
Croak said:
I think the best system is two plastic fuel tanks, the largest that will fit in your storage area.
Best to have connections at both ends of your fuel pipe then when you run out on one, disconnect the pipe at the tank then connect to the new tank.

That way the engine will keep running on the fuel in the pipe while you change them.

And also have a couple of 5L tanks as spare if you think you might get close to your cruising limit.

(I had a big problem starting a hot engine half way across Cardigan bay.)

I know I know....You should shut your engine down ,moor the boat and have the fire brigade standing by before you mention the word petrol.
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its perfectly ok as long as the gas box is adjacent :D
 
Assuming as stated you burn 1 litre per hour @4 knots in good conditions and you want a range of 60 miles = 15 hours = 15 litres
For safety and in case of a tank getting contaminated I would want double the capacity.

I would go for two identical tanks - proper outboard fuel tanks with hose, connector etc and preferably with a guage, but you can judge how much is in by lifting them. So when you run out in the inevitable howling wind, rain and big sea its easy to swap from one tank to the other without danger of spillage or contamination.

When you get half way down the first tank swap to the second tank if you find the petrol in this is no good, you still have enough good petrol in the first tank to retrace your steps.

At the end of you voyage try to leave a full one on board by topping up from the other, take the other ashore and empty into the car, then you can fill with fresh on your return.

A quick glance says that the common sizes are limited to 12 or 22 litre.
A full 22 litre tank can get very heavy if you have to carry it any distance, so i would be inclined to got for 2 x 12 litre tanks, not quite got the range but a good compromise easy to carry and if you find you are getting anywhere near that useage you could always get a third.
 
In case it's any help, I get 2.5 hours per gallon at near max throttle from my Mariner 5hp 2 stroke, pushing a probably 3,000lb + slippery hulled sailing boat; taking the load off by motor sailing in very light winds increases the range considerably, but I don't have accurate figures for this.
 
We used to have steel jerry cans on board and one rusted in a season. 5 gallons of petrol gone. I now have 2 very old but sound yamaha 5 gallon containers as the main tanks in a vented locker and another 2 decent 20 litre red plastic 'cans' as reserve that sit in a well vented 'wet' locker. This gives around 26 hours motoring. As others have mentioned, I swap the fuel line over between the working tanks to save stopping the engine on a long voyage. Storing petrol over winter does not seem to cause a problem as long as the tank vents are shut to keep the 'goodness' in. I also filter the fuel at the beginning of the season and when transfering beteween tanks.
 
Fuel consumption and management.

dylanwinter said:
I am told that I should expect to use a litre an hour while motoring with a 5 hp four stroke at about 4 knots in flat water.
Click to expand...

We recently had to motor pretty hard for 2 hours into a force 4 headwind two weekends ago.

9.8Hp 2 stroke with high thrust 4 blade prop driving our 7.3M TS 240 weighing about 1.5 tonnes straight into a force 4 doing 4.5 knots through the water.

We consumed 12 litres of fuel :eek:

A previous weekend we were doing 3.5 knots at 1/4 throttle in calm water and we consumed around a 1 litre per hour!:)

Last weekend we could just hold station against a 40 knot wind and 3 knot tide at full chat! Good job it was only for 10 minutes waiting for lock in.

IMHO You will only get a litre per hour in ideal conditions!

We use a 22 litre tin can remote and a plastic 22 litre back up that on average is half full. Both are strapped firmly into a bottom vented rear cockpit locker. All fuel transfer done by syphon even under way. I can top up without any spillage by syphoning from 2 off 5 litre cans carried by car from Garage to boat or from plastic back up to tin can.


KTL shortly to becme becomes KFU:D

Keep Filling Up....
 
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