Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

[bart98stang]

Boating season is probably ruined.....

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/va_beach/vb-crews-respond-to-marina-fire

 

[tincanman]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Wow. Glad to see everybody is alive. Hard way to learn a lesson. What is that lesson, get an outboard. Ask EZ, he will tell ya.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Yes that one and a similar incident were mentioned here http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=554321

 

[ricohman]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Wow. Glad to see everybody is alive. Hard way to learn a lesson. What is that lesson, get an outboard. Ask EZ, he will tell ya.

Proper operation of inboards is very safe. Getting an outboard does not mean you can't have a fire. Been there done that.
Carry a fire extinguisher!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Proper operation of inboards is very safe. Getting an outboard does not mean you can't have a fire. Been there done that.
Carry a fire extinguisher!

Outboards can catch on fire, but the risk of explosion tearing your boat in 2 with an outboard is pretty much zero.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Outboards can catch on fire, but the risk of explosion tearing your boat in 2 with an outboard is pretty much zero.

It's also pretty much zero for an I/O if you aren't stupid about it. I've owned both, and safe practices are pretty simple.

99% of the time, it's right after refueling. People don't close hatches beforehand, and afterward they don't do a sniff test. How the hell would you know if there's a leak or fumes unless you sniff for it? I don't let anybody rush me from the fuel dock, either- my boat, my passengers, my responsibility.

Amazing nobody got killed.

 

[Philster]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

It's also pretty much zero for an I/O if you aren't stupid about it. I
Amazing nobody got killed.

That's a big 'if' for too many of the intellectually challenged.

People are prone to forgetting stuff. Maybe a warning horn is needed to say, "Hey, dummy, you never ran the blower. Ya sure ya want to fire up the engine now?"

Oops... there I go again. Poor choice of words.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Watch the second video with the moron reporter. Didnt know they put the engine in the bow of those boats??

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

It's also pretty much zero for an I/O if you aren't stupid about it. I've owned both, and safe practices are pretty simple.

99% of the time, it's right after refueling. People don't close hatches beforehand, and afterward they don't do a sniff test. How the hell would you know if there's a leak or fumes unless you sniff for it? I don't let anybody rush me from the fuel dock, either- my boat, my passengers, my responsibility.

Amazing nobody got killed.

Sniff test works quite well for this and several other situations.
I was on site where a sailboat had a fuel explosion, and it was one scarey situation, I felt really helpless when I watched the owner frantically try to hose his 30 foot sail boat down. After the main mast fell over 4-5 docked boats next to his, the boat burned to the waterline. He looked like he had just stepped off a battle field. Turned out to be a white gas cooking fuel leak, but I will never forget the experience.

 

[jbetzelb]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

As noted above. If you smell any fuel at all don't touch the electronics. Run your blowers. I leave mine on a lot. They are cheap to replace if you wear them out.

 

[jpo1953]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

It is amazing no one was killed! My problem is I'm usually out running for 10 - 15 minutes before I realize I left the blower running. But like jbetzelb said... blower motor is cheap to replace.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

People are prone to forgetting stuff. Maybe a warning horn is needed to say, "Hey, dummy, you never ran the blower. Ya sure ya want to fire up the engine now?"

Yet another buzzer to ignore... What boats need is a flammable gas detector.

 

[superbenk]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Yet another buzzer to ignore... What boats need is a flammable gas detector.

Agreed. My pop-up has detectors for CO2 & smoke, why shouldn't a boat?

Definitely a chilling reminder.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

It's also pretty much zero for an I/O if you aren't stupid about it.

A slow fuel leak would be my biggest fear. Probably wouldn't realize you had one til......BOOM.

My previous outboard('67 Johnson), had a fuel line leak and fuel pooled inside the lower cowling. Engine was started and the cowling blew off the motor! This all happened the PO of the motor...not me.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

I trailer my boat and fill up at a regular gas station. Once I fill-up, I drive about 5 miles to the launch ramp at around 50 MPH. Is that sufficient to blow out the fumes or should I still be running the blower?

 

[MTYPockets]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Here is another that happen Memorial Weekend. Again right after fueling!
http://www.kait8.com/story/18636337/interview-with-lake-norfork-boat-fire-survivor

 

[jpo1953]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Mason, I also fuel at the gas station. Fuel at the marinas runs at 4.10 a gallon. But....... I still run the blower when starting the engine. The fuel is still sloshing around in the tank. I check every possible thing I can on the engine and in the compartment before it goes in the water. I don't want anything to happen that I could have prevented. My boat is equiped with a fire suppression system, but I don't want it to ever discharge!!!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

I trailer my boat and fill up at a regular gas station. Once I fill-up, I drive about 5 miles to the launch ramp at around 50 MPH. Is that sufficient to blow out the fumes or should I still be running the blower?

Still pop the hatch and do a sniff test before starting. A very good routine is that once you back the trailer in, go pop the rear hatch and a) check for water, and b) sniff while you are doing a).

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Yet another buzzer to ignore... What boats need is a flammable gas detector.

like one of these? http://www.fireboy-xintex.com/gasoline_detectors.html

I keep the blower on from 5 minutes prior to engine start until I shut it off.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Consequence of not using the blower motor to suck out fumes......

Proper use of a bilge blower is good practice. However you need to keep in mind that a bilge blower will only address a symptom and not a problem. A bower will remove the fumes which shouldn’t be there in the first place, and if there are fumes that are removed by a blower the source of those fumes is not going to be fixed. It is as important to stick your nose in the bilge and do a ‘sniff test’ as it is to run the blower. You will never know if there is a problem (like a bilge full of gas) if you only run the blower, and you can easily smell gas fumes LONG before they get to an explosive concentration. With that in mind my personal thoughts are that it is more important to actually check and smell the bilge than it is to just arbitrarily run the bilge blower.