We Have Ignition

Houston, we have ignition! After putting 50 gallons in the port aft tank and priming the fuel lines, Nellie started right away. I looked everywhere and found no fuel or raw water leaks--this was the first test of the new exhaust hose too. The Webasto heater, which needs to pull fuel out of the new tanks, worked too. Lowering the height of the tanks by 1/2" wasn't enough to make the existing vent system work. Same problem as before--the tanks' vents are higher than the bottom of the joists.



Since the vent tube must go under the joist and then rise to the tank, this violates the rule that 'the vent tube continuously run downwards'. The pictures below show a way to mitigate the problem. The good news is that drowned vents only effect re-fueling operations, thus the vent line would only need to be cleared prior to refueling.



The vent tube attaches to the top of the tank in the bottom center of this photo. The tube then travels inboard to a 'T'. The right leg of the 'T' goes to the aft tank. The left leg, composed partially of semi-transparent tubing, goes to the cabin-side fitting. The semi-transparent tube rides in copper saddles and will be filled with diesel if the vent is flooded.

A flooded vent can be cleared by lowering the 'T' while raising the other end. Then the 'T' is raised and the fuel drains back into the tank.



What a mess. Time to clean up!