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Odd deal gas tank will not accept gas from a 5 gal can

Myvizsladog

Myvizsladog

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Big Sandy Lake Nebraska
I've owned boats for well over 20 years and this is my first Bennington and first issue I've had with the simple task of fueling a boat. While trying to put gas in from a 5 gal can (ample length nossle) it would only accept about a cup of gas then virtually spew any other gas out (basically acting like it is full although is reality it has less than a 1/4 tank). Also I would hear noise coming from the fueling area that sounded like venting. So, fortuantely I was able to make it to an actual gas pump and the boat fueled no problem.

When my boat was originally delivered by the time we got it to my dock which is only a few minute drive an alarm went off saying there was water in the tank. The technicians came out and discovered nearly half the tank was filled with water (the gas had just been put in the boat a 1/2 hour prior from a busy station). They weren't exactly sure of the problem but moved the venting area for near the top of the center tank up toward the fuel cap (reasoning was higher out of the water less likely to suck in lake water). It was odd as I found it hard to believe Bennigton would have a design flaw such as this and the techs said they hadn't heard of it but thought better safe than sorry so they moved it.

I'm curious if anyone has had either of this issues and if they did how was it resolved? I would hate to think I would need to rely on finding a marina every time I'm in dire need of some fuel (ie stranded). I've tried getting the dealer to respond but being our weather has finally turned tolerable for the first time in 3 weeks I understand they are swamped rigging boats and getting new Benningtons delivered.

Other than that I love the boat and can easily say good-bye to my years of owning a Godfrey San Pan.
 
Wow - I'd be on the phone to Bennington customer service my dealer in a heartbeat. I too can not imagine a largish center toon fuel tank filling up 1/2 way through a vent tube in a few minute drive. I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if the vent tube had an id as large as 1/2". That's a lot of liquid to pass through a small diameter tube so quickly. There has to be another problem. Did they pump out all of the fuel and water from the tank in addition to moving the vent line? You might want to check your gas gauge periodically over the next day or so to see if it 'refills' at the dock.

Edited - my bad!
 
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Welcome and congrats on the new Bennington, you'll love it!

Here is a long thread about fueling the boat that's probably worth a read

http://club.benningtonmarine.com/index.php?/topic/1156-fueling-your-bennie/page__hl__tank

There were some fixes where someone rearranged the vent and fuel line routing to improve the situation, though I don't recall the specifics. This should be a start. Under no conditions should water be coming into the tank though.
 
Thanks, if I don't hear back by Monday I'll give THE DEALER not Bennington a call. I will say the problem with water in the tank was resolved but I hope it wasn't done so at the expense of not being able to fuel my boat from my dock. Commodore I'll look at that thread. Thanks for the prompt responses!
 
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Bennington will contact this poster and help the dealer resolve the issue.

Thanks.
 
I did find a post on your thread about a kinked vent line which makes a lot of sense. When the boat was being delivered the guy said he filled the boat completely with gas although the fuel gauge only read 3/4 tank...therefore this possible kink in the vent line sounds like the "issue".
 
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To our Club members, please remember that Bennington is not a consumer-direct company, although we are definitely consumer-friendly. We use our dealer network exclusively to resolve service, parts and warranty issues. When retail customers call Bennington directly it compounds the already high call and message volume when in fact your dealer has most likely already contacted us. Bennington always goes directly back to the dealer to resolve issues.
 
I had this problem last year. Hapehour came up with the solution. I took "before and after" photos of my problem. They are linked below. Thanks again Hapehour!

If some gas inadvertently gets in the vent line, and there's a "pee trap" (see the arrow below) in the vent line, it can prevent fuel from going down the gas line to the tank. These are two separate hoses. In order for gas to go in, air from the tank MUST be able to come out the vent line at the same rate that gas goes down the gas line (since the tank is closed). If gas gets trapped in a low spot in the vent line, it can seal off the tank. When you try to fill the tank with gas, the blocked vent line creates enough pressure in the tank to keep gas from going in, and instead it coughs up all over the side of your boat.



The solution is to wiggle the hoses and cable ties around until you work the low spot out and gravity will drain the stuck gas. You want every section of the vent line to have a downward slope.



This may, or may not be your problem, but it is easy to spot, and easy to fix.
 
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Got a new 22SL last year and had the same problem. Gas spit back out using a 5 gal. can or at a gas station. Read the discussion on this forum and decided to try raising the bow of the boat by raising the hitch ball on the suburban. That solved the problem and can now easily put gas in. Something to do with the EPA required vent locations.

I am not familiar with Big Sandy Lake. Where is that located? Always looking for boating destinations. We live near Lincoln and get out on the local lakes as much as possible. This last week's rains have them all filled back up again. Branched Oak is the biggest one near here.

We used to love taking our sailboat to Lake Calamus and Lewis and Clark but haven't made it there with the pontoon yet. May try for one of them around the end of August. I have had 5 sailboats, the last one a 26 foot cabin cruiser. Am 64 now so like the ease of the pontoon. Hope you have as much fun on yours as we all do. Great for kids, dogs, seniors (father in law is 90)

Gary and Buffy

2012 22SL Merlot Red 75 Yamaha

1999 Chevy Suburban
 
Now that you mention that Corn, I think that was another problem people reported as well.

On my tank, the hoses all go in the front end of the tank. When the boat is in the water, the bow generally rides a little high, so filling the tank from the dock allows you to totally fill the gas tank, since the "air bubble" works it's way to the front of the tank where the hoses enter.

If your trailer is set up so the bow of the boat rides lower than the stern, the air bubble in the tank moves to the back of the tank and gets trapped before the tank is full.

The difference between the two problems is with the bow low, you won't be able to get the tank completely full is all. Only the last couple gallons won't go in. The rest of the fill goes fine, until the very end. Since the fuel level senders are in the back of the tank (as me how I know), the gauge won't read full.

If your tank is 3/4 full or LESS, and you are having trouble with gas going in, then you likely have a vent line problem.

That said, there are many different tank setups, and I don't know for a fact that the gas/vent lines enter at the front of ALL tanks or not. But it is my recollection that there were two similar, but different problems people were having.
 
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Thanks again for the great posts and pics everyone was very helpful. Bennington has contacted me as well as the dealer. Evidently I was the second person this week to have the same problem so I'm sure they'll be as glad as myself to rectify the situation. Happy boating and again thanks for the great information!
 
Evidently my dealer is coming out 6/13 to resolve the issue. There is another Bennington on a nearby lake with the same problem. I'm very curious to see what they come up with for a solution and I'll post it when I find out. I've noticed my temp gauge on the dash hasn't changed from 58 degrees for the water temp whereas my Garmin changes constantly and thankfully much warmer than 58. They'll look into that issue as well.
 
Thanks for keeping us posted.
 
Mission accomplished and tank has been filled. Well, I can fill to 94% while on the water and from what I've read this is common for all of them unless the bow is somewhat tipped up on a trailer. The changes made were created by the EPA requirements which had been previously noted in this forum. They actually modified the filter that is near the top of the filler tube. The standard filter (looks about the size of a small pencil) has a 45 degree cut at one end. They were able to modify the filter by cutting a like type angle on the back side (opposite) which now allows the gas to flow into the tank. I apologize for not knowing exactly how this modification worked and all is good.
 
Glad to hear it was resolved, great service!
 
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