We ended up steaming the bilge through several holes I drilled in the deck
and then had a "sniffer" check to make sure it was safe. We then cut out a
5' X 5' section of the deck and pressurized the tank to 3 psi and no bubbles
anywhere then up to 6 psi and bubbles started forming at the sending unit
only. Oh did I feel like an idiot, the tank and all connections were
perfectly air tight. I still can't understand how 2 gallon of gasoline came
out through the tiny leak at the sending unit. But then again every night we
topped of the tank and the head pressure from the fuel in the fill pipe must
have been enough that over 1 full year 2 gallons came out. We welded the
deck back down and I wasted $500.00. I guess it wasn't a complete waste
since we got all gasoline and vapour out of the bilge. Thanks to all.
"Rick" wrote in message
...
sorry to reply so late but, do you not have a vent for the bilge? run
it for a while and then if yon are still worried get some canned
nitrogen and flood the bilge with the N2.

Rick

habbi wrote:
I have a 31 aluminum work boat with an under deck fuel tank which must
be
leaking. The aluminum deck is welded in place. The tank is a 100 gallon
aluminum tank. The boat is only 1 year old. I removed the drain plug
from
the back of the boat and about 2 gaollons of gas came out, this leads me
to
believe that the crack must be on the top of the tank because the tank
is
almost full and this is the only time I ever opened the drain plug.
Before I
do any work I want to make sure I don't have an explosion. If I fill the
bilge area with dishsoap and water and then drain it will this remove
all
dangerous vapours? Any other ideas?

habbi says:

Oh did I feel like an idiot,

and few others here will admit to that, ever. Akthough we all are at some
point (someone back me up here - I'd hate to think it was just habbi and
myself)

We welded the
deck back down and I wasted $500.00

No, you spent $500 to ensure that you wouldn't blow up and/or burn up. Sounds
like a good deal to me. ;-)

Steve

habbi wrote:

We ended up steaming the bilge through several holes I drilled in the deck
and then had a "sniffer" check to make sure it was safe. We then cut out a
5' X 5' section of the deck and pressurized the tank to 3 psi and no bubbles
anywhere then up to 6 psi and bubbles started forming at the sending unit
only. Oh did I feel like an idiot, the tank and all connections were
perfectly air tight. I still can't understand how 2 gallon of gasoline came
out through the tiny leak at the sending unit. But then again every night we
topped of the tank and the head pressure from the fuel in the fill pipe must
have been enough that over 1 full year 2 gallons came out. We welded the
deck back down and I wasted $500.00. I guess it wasn't a complete waste
since we got all gasoline and vapour out of the bilge. Thanks to all.


You were careful. That is not being an idiot

and you are only an idiot if you fail to learn from your mistakes.

--
A significant part of courage is realizing that only you need to know
how terrified you are..