Gasoline fumes..

[jrys]

I winterized my A30 last month and topped off the gas tank 2 weeks ago. I went down to the boat today for other work and when I entered the cabin it smelled like gasoline like never before...Wow!
I quickly opened additional hatches to vent and looked for some type of fuel line leak. Found nothing.
Is this a common phenonomum after topping off a gas tank (this is my first winterizing experience)?
Since I suspect my fuel guage may be broken, I was worried I 'overfilled' the tank. The gasoline never rose to the deck fitting, but I could hear a different filling noise towards the end (maybe fuel was starting to back up the fuel line?).
Any comments or words of caution?
Thanks,

Joe

[Don Moyer]

Joe,

I'm not sure if anyone else responded to your question or not, but it's definitely not normal to find fuel fumes in your cabin area. You seem to be relating the odor of fuel with the fact that you had just filled your tank, which is of course a possibility. I'm not sure how to help you to resolve that issue, other than to inspect the area of the tank and vent lines thoroughly.

A much more common way for fuel fumes to enter the cabin is by fuel dripping into the intake throat of the carburetor from a leaky float valve. I would remove the flame arrestor housing and look back up into the throat of the carburetor to see if any fuel is puddled there. If it is, there is probably a tiny speck of dirt caught between the needle and seat of the float valve.


Don