Of course one should always run the blower before starting the engine. And a sniff of the exhaust is also excellent practice. Nevertheless, you guys running the blower constantly are forgetting that the engine is itself a vacuum sucking up air from the engine compartment and keeping a steady stream of fresh air entering. Furthermore, I have never, ever, ever had a gasoline drip while my engine is running. Never. A few times in my 30 years of running an Atomic 4 I have had a blockage in the float bowl that caused a drip and I learned to shut off my fuel supply as a precaution. But never while the engine was running. I guess it is possible, but the uptake of fuel by the engine as well as the draw through the scavenger tube makes a drip from the engine nearly impossible. If a fuel line comes undone while you’re underway your blower isn’t going to clear all those fumes anyway.
Somebody posted previously that the history of gasoline explosions is very rare. That has been my experience too. In 35 years on the water I have only heard of one locally—a power boat. I’m all for safety, but what really are you accomplishing by running that poor little electric motor for all those hours?
Somebody posted previously that the history of gasoline explosions is very rare. That has been my experience too. In 35 years on the water I have only heard of one locally—a power boat. I’m all for safety, but what really are you accomplishing by running that poor little electric motor for all those hours?
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