Fueld sender charred up

[Skiray190ob]

Hi, I bought my boat last summer which did not have a working fuel guage. I didn't think much about it as other boats I've owned had similar issues. I decided to tackle some repairs this spring and was shocked when I pulled up the floor over the fuel tank. The bottom of the floor was all charred like there had been a fire. The fuel sender wires are all charred up as well but not melted. I ordered a new sending unit but don't know if the way this was wired previously is to blame. Seems like there is extra wires mounted on here. I attached a picture to see. Any ideas what happened here?

 

[dwco5051]

The pink small wire goes to the fuel gauge. The sender housing has a black ground. If you trace the wires the other black one my go to the filler fitting on the hull to dissipate a possible static charge spark during filling. If they were clean tight connections I doubt they were responsible for the fire.

 

[mike_i]

what does the floor that was over the sender look like? there's a lot of black stuff I would guess any fire would have melted the plastics. And if there was a fire what caused it to go out if there's still fuel to burn.

 

[Skiray190ob]

what does the floor that was over the sender look like? there's a lot of black stuff I would guess any fire would have melted the plastics. And if there was a fire what caused it to go out if there's still fuel to burn.

The floor over the filler was flaking black over its entirety. Only thing I've ever seen look like it was wood burnt. Nothing plastic is melted and the top of the plywood floor looks completely normal. Could any type of mold cause this same effect?

 

[eterry]

I'd say you had a fire there. My fireman friend says you need fuel, heat, and oxygen to make fire. A depletion of any one of those and the fire goes out. Or the owner grabbed an extinguisher and put it out.

I Watched a loudmouth drunk at Hippie beach "prime" his inboard/outboard with a gallon can of gas. He put the cover back on but smoke was still visible. I called to him and told him he had a problem, he told me to mind my own. I continued to fish as the smoke got stronger. and chuckled as his wife and him scurried to put it out. Talk about an Asian fire drill!! She opened cans of beer and sprayed it on the blaze. What a Maroon, as Bugs would say.

 

[matt167]

I'd say you had a fire there. My fireman friend says you need fuel, heat, and oxygen to make fire. A depletion of any one of those and the fire goes out. Or the owner grabbed an extinguisher and put it out.

I Watched a loudmouth drunk at Hippie beach "prime" his inboard/outboard with a gallon can of gas. He put the cover back on but smoke was still visible. I called to him and told him he had a problem, he told me to mind my own. I continued to fish as the smoke got stronger. and chuckled as his wife and him scurried to put it out. Talk about an Asian fire drill!! She opened cans of beer and sprayed it on the blaze. What a Maroon, as Bugs would say.

years ago we lit my dads boat up quick doing that first start of the season ( on trailer )... I learned how a halon extinguisher worked. Not even a soot mark and it was out in ~10 seconds. sucks that it's production is banned, and thus very expensive

 

[dingbat]

Not “charred”...it’s the dried up remains of multi-generations of mold that grew on top of the tank from moisture.

See this all the time in bilges

 

[Skiray190ob]

Not “charred”...it’s the dried up remains of multi-generations of mold that grew on top of the tank from moisture.

See this all the time in bilges

I was wondering if that could be possible! Thanks for the info. I'll feel better about hooking up the new sender. Any tips to try to cut down on that for the future or is it just inevitable?

 

[dingbat]

I was wondering if that could be possible! Thanks for the info. I'll feel better about hooking up the new sender. Any tips to try to cut down on that for the future or is it just inevitable?

I was wondering if that could be possible! Thanks for the info. I'll feel better about hooking up the new sender. Any tips to try to cut down on that for the future or is it just inevitable?

Nothing you can do to stop condensation. Your going to get condensation in the Spring and Fall.

Not much you can really do except keep the access cover sealed up, if you have one, and provided good air flow to the area if possible.

If I store my boat for more than a week, I pull a couple of access covers to allow air to flow under the deck.

 

[mike_i]

The OP said he "pulled the floor up" which makes me assume, and I could be wrong, that there is no hatch or easy access to the tank to put out a fire with an extinguisher. Since he says no plastic is burnt and the top of the plywood floor looks completely normal, I'm guessing and could be wrong, there was no fire. I'm guessing, and could be wrong", it's mold.
OP, if there isn't a hatch or inspection cover over the sender unit can one be installed? This way you can look at it once in a while and leave it open when the boat is being stored so that area can have air flow and keep that area dry. Also, what is at the top of the picture that looks like a sheet of paper?

 

[Skiray190ob]

The OP said he "pulled the floor up" which makes me assume, and I could be wrong, that there is no hatch or easy access to the tank to put out a fire with an extinguisher. Since he says no plastic is burnt and the top of the plywood floor looks completely normal, I'm guessing and could be wrong, there was no fire. I'm guessing, and could be wrong", it's mold.
OP, if there isn't a hatch or inspection cover over the sender unit can one be installed? This way you can look at it once in a while and leave it open when the boat is being stored so that area can have air flow and keep that area dry. Also, what is at the top of the picture that looks like a sheet of paper?

I was planning to put a hatch in when I rebuild the floor there as I had to take the entire back bench apart to access. The paper looking item is what has flakes off the bottom of the floor. Nothing had a Smokey smell either which I would assume wood that was burnt would have. The fuel tank is plastic not metal and also had no indication of melt anywhere. Seems like all the signs are pointing to mold.