Issues with water in gastank?

BoatLover

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This spring we bought our 1st Bennington - a 2017 SX24. We LOVE it! However, this past week, it started "running funny" and we ended up getting stranded 2 hours away from home. We took it to the shop & they told us that we had a lot of water in the gas tank causing it to run bad. But the problem is that they told us that they've had a lot of these boats with this problem but can determine what it is. Then they charged us a hefty fee to have the gas tank flushed, etc. just to check it and then told us just to go & run it & see if it happens again.
So, is anyone else out here having this problem???? Would love to hear from you. I'm worried about taking the boat out now & getting stranded again!
 
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I'd be checking the fuel from where you are purchasing it. Are you running a fuel/water separator? Are you using marine Stabil. How often have you run it? Are you running ethanol free fuel? Where do you live? These are all important questions for water in the fuel beyond "defect" issues. Warm temp, high humidity, boat sitting on water, not being run often, with ethanol fuel, and no stabilizer or separator is like sticking a sponge in water.
 
Also, can someone access your boat to sabotage it? Might be some envy out there.
 
Actually we just found out that it's an "engineering defect" and they want to "move" a charcoal filter. We're going to meet tomorrow to find out exactly what that means.
 
It's an EPA required item like a car has, to filter fuel vapors prior to venting. If you look in the technical section there's a post about the Enviro-Fill brand. It's a sealed system other than the vent, so I'd wonder how that much water is accumulating "through" this filter.
 
It's an EPA required item like a car has, to filter fuel vapors prior to venting. If you look in the technical section there's a post about the Enviro-Fill brand. It's a sealed system other than the vent, so I'd wonder how that much water is accumulating "through" this filter.
I really do love my older boat!
 
Yup, I miss my 2011 with a big old 2-1/2" gas tank opening .... now I have to use a mini funnel, even though it still fills fairly fast, just more of a PITA.
 
Actually we just found out that it's an "engineering defect" and they want to "move" a charcoal filter. We're going to meet tomorrow to find out exactly what that means.

And I believe you are entitled to a refund for their previous flushing the tank expense. That should not be on you. I'd fight it big time.
 
We were told by our dealer that there is an engineering defect of where the charcoal filter is placed. They have actually had to move it on our boat to stop so much water from going into the gas tank. We pick it up this week so hopefully it will be all better!
 
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We were told by our dealer that there is an engineering defect of where the charcoal filter is placed. They have actually had to move it on our boat to stop so much water from going into the gas tank. We pick it up this week so hopefully it will be all better!
="lakeliving, post: 105427, member: 1866"]And I believe you are entitled to a refund for their previous flushing the tank expense. That should not be on you. I'd fight it big time.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely agree!
 
Yup, I miss my 2011 with a big old 2-1/2" gas tank opening .... now I have to use a mini funnel, even though it still fills fairly fast, just more of a PITA.

Even our 2016 is a PITA to fuel. The gas nozzle has to be at exactly the right angle in the tank opening or it pukes gas all along the outside of the fence. Also, filling too fast causes the same problem. With a big tank in the center Pontoon, and the location of the filler neck it is sometimes a painful job to fill the tank. Thank God the F150 Yamaha sipscfuel and does not need filling every time we go out.
 
We were told by our dealer that there is an engineering defect of where the charcoal filter is placed. They have actually had to move it on our boat to stop so much water from going into the gas tank. We pick it up this week so hopefully it will be all better!
I own a 2016 SSXAPG Benny and have had nothing but issues with this for the past few years!! I’m still under warranty. Do you recall if Bennington has a bulletin to the dealers regarding this issue?? Problem for me is the dealer we bought our boat from is no longer dealing with benningtons and I would need to haul the boat 5-6 hours to the nearest dealer to get this addressed.
 
This spring we bought our 1st Bennington - a 2017 SX24. We LOVE it! However, this past week, it started "running funny" and we ended up getting stranded 2 hours away from home. We took it to the shop & they told us that we had a lot of water in the gas tank causing it to run bad. But the problem is that they told us that they've had a lot of these boats with this problem but can determine what it is. Then they charged us a hefty fee to have the gas tank flushed, etc. just to check it and then told us just to go & run it & see if it happens again.
So, is anyone else out here having this problem???? Would love to hear from you. I'm worried about taking the boat out now & getting stranded again!
Don't use ethanol gas...ever!
Add gas treatment to remove water
It's basically isopropyl alcohol. Auto parts stores have it..
It's cheap to buy.
And when you store pontoon for the winter fill gas tank to eliminate air which holds moisture.
Again Don't mix ethanol gas with ethanol free gas...makes a chemical cocktail mess
Also check or replace fuel water separator at beginning of the season
Thanks
 
Don't use ethanol gas...ever!
Add gas treatment to remove water
It's basically isopropyl alcohol. Auto parts stores have it..
It's cheap to buy.
And when you store pontoon for the winter fill gas tank to eliminate air which holds moisture.
Again Don't mix ethanol gas with ethanol free gas...makes a chemical cocktail mess
Also check or replace fuel water separator at beginning of the season
Thanks

These are all great tips, all of which I have diligently followed since my boat was brand new. These are not my issues. I only ever use premium fuel, I have changed countless fuel water separators and have now had my tank drained and flushed completely TWICE. This most recent time the dealership where the boat is now told me there was roughly 2 INCHES of water in the bottom of the tank, leading to the Etec bogging down and sometimes cutting out completely. This amount of water is not coming from the pumps, especially because the marina where I fuel up fills hundreds of boats every day and no one else is having these issues (I have numerous friends with boats here and no one else EVER has this issue). I have spoken to Bennington and have sent them an email regarding this issue and am awaiting their response. They have already owned up to an “engineering defect” on other similar cases as stated in the above thread. I will be very curious to hear and see what the actual fix is. I am beyond frustrated.
 

As Semp noted there are only so many ways water can get into your fuel system, so if the marina is eliminated then it's either atmospheric or being pulled/forced in somehow.

I thought this thread was interesting that the vent location was potentially pulling in water. Probably worth starting with the vent lines and going from there. Maybe some DIY test where you relocate the vent line and make sure it is completely isolated from water sources?
 
This spring we bought our 1st Bennington - a 2017 SX24. We LOVE it! However, this past week, it started "running funny" and we ended up getting stranded 2 hours away from home. We took it to the shop & they told us that we had a lot of water in the gas tank causing it to run bad. But the problem is that they told us that they've had a lot of these boats with this problem but can determine what it is. Then they charged us a hefty fee to have the gas tank flushed, etc. just to check it and then told us just to go & run it & see if it happens again.
So, is anyone else out here having this problem???? Would love to hear from you. I'm worried about taking the boat out now & getting stranded again!
What motor do you have? Mine is Yamaha 150 HP (2020) but Ii don't think it has a charcoal filter
 
What motor do you have? Mine is Yamaha 150 HP (2020) but Ii don't think it has a charcoal filter

If you scroll up to their original post in this thread, they have/had a 2017 24SX. They never mentioned anything else about their boat: motor, hull, etc… Based on their report of talking to both their dealer, and more importantly Bennington with their issue, it was a recently recognized engineering defect with venting/charcoal filter. My assumption is that got addressed by the following year in the 2018 lineup, but how knows. I think it was isolated to very specific models/configurations.

For instance, I have a 2017 SSBXP SPS with a 200 Merc. I have never had any sort of fuel or gas tank issue whatsoever..

Anyway the OP hasn’t been back in the forum since they posted in this thread back in 2017, so I am guessing you are not going to get a reply from them. Since you replied to them directly, i thought I’d flag this for you so you are not left hanging waiting for a response from them.
 
These are all great tips, all of which I have diligently followed since my boat was brand new. These are not my issues. I only ever use premium fuel, I have changed countless fuel water separators and have now had my tank drained and flushed completely TWICE. This most recent time the dealership where the boat is now told me there was roughly 2 INCHES of water in the bottom of the tank, leading to the Etec bogging down and sometimes cutting out completely. This amount of water is not coming from the pumps, especially because the marina where I fuel up fills hundreds of boats every day and no one else is having these issues (I have numerous friends with boats here and no one else EVER has this issue). I have spoken to Bennington and have sent them an email regarding this issue and am awaiting their response. They have already owned up to an “engineering defect” on other similar cases as stated in the above thread. I will be very curious to hear and see what the actual fix is. I am beyond frustrated.
Here is mine dump from separator filter and what you described is EXACTLY a what I am also going through
 

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