Fishinfireman
Well-known member
I have a 2002 DVSC that I have been running for 3 and 1/2 years. I have always had a problem with getting sea water in the gas tank when running in rough head seas. The water runs off the gunwale and over the fuel vent which sucks it into the gas tank. I discussed the problem with the Parker dealer and he suggested installing a clam shell over the fuel vent. I just couldn't make myself drill the holes to install the clam shell so I tried other remedies such as changing the vent to a flush mount and installing a Racor LG50 upside down in the vent loop. These attempts at solving the problem did nothing but cost me time and money. I also considered the Attwood water trap vent that someone posted on this site but it seems to have too small a reservoir and the hose barb points down. I continued to live with the problem while frequently dumping saltwater out of the separators and thinking about how to solve the problem without putting a big ugly clam shell on the side of my hull.
I came up with a solution the other day and I have tried it and it works. I ran out 40 miles in the Gulf last Saturday. We ran for 2 hours into a 2'-3' head sea. It was a wet ride in the back of the boat and a lot of water ran down the gunwales and over the side. I trailer my boat and I stopped on the way home and fueled up. While the fuel was pumping I reached under the gunwale and opened my home made water trap. Well over a pint of sea water came out. I put the cap back on and finished filling up the tank. The small amount of fuel that usually comes out of the vent when the tank gets full did not come out because it was also trapped in the new vent trap. I disposed of it later at the house in an environmentally safe manner :? .
This is how I made the trap. I found a plastic combination gas and chain oil can that was made for chainsaws. I separated the chain oil section from the gas section and used the smaller of the two for my trap. It holds about a liter. I had some starboard out in my shop so I fashioned a mounting plate with the starboard and a battery hold down strap. I drilled two holes in the reservoir with a spade bit making a tight fit for the vent hoses. The hose that comes from the hull vent extends all the way across the reservoir and butts up against the inside of it. I used tin snips to cut a slot in the bottom of that horizontal section of vent hose so that water coming in will be directed toward the bottom of the reservoir. The vent hose that comes up from the tank extends into the reservoir only about 1 or 2 inches.
I was so pleased with the way this thing worked that I thought I should share it with fellow Parker owners. I'm sure some of you have the same problem with water in the gas. I'm also sure that some of you will take the idea and refine it to suit yourself and some of you may reject it completely. Either way, here it is. I hope it will be helpful to some of you.
Here are a few pictures. I documented this after the fact so I didn't get any pictures of the work in progress.
I came up with a solution the other day and I have tried it and it works. I ran out 40 miles in the Gulf last Saturday. We ran for 2 hours into a 2'-3' head sea. It was a wet ride in the back of the boat and a lot of water ran down the gunwales and over the side. I trailer my boat and I stopped on the way home and fueled up. While the fuel was pumping I reached under the gunwale and opened my home made water trap. Well over a pint of sea water came out. I put the cap back on and finished filling up the tank. The small amount of fuel that usually comes out of the vent when the tank gets full did not come out because it was also trapped in the new vent trap. I disposed of it later at the house in an environmentally safe manner :? .
This is how I made the trap. I found a plastic combination gas and chain oil can that was made for chainsaws. I separated the chain oil section from the gas section and used the smaller of the two for my trap. It holds about a liter. I had some starboard out in my shop so I fashioned a mounting plate with the starboard and a battery hold down strap. I drilled two holes in the reservoir with a spade bit making a tight fit for the vent hoses. The hose that comes from the hull vent extends all the way across the reservoir and butts up against the inside of it. I used tin snips to cut a slot in the bottom of that horizontal section of vent hose so that water coming in will be directed toward the bottom of the reservoir. The vent hose that comes up from the tank extends into the reservoir only about 1 or 2 inches.
I was so pleased with the way this thing worked that I thought I should share it with fellow Parker owners. I'm sure some of you have the same problem with water in the gas. I'm also sure that some of you will take the idea and refine it to suit yourself and some of you may reject it completely. Either way, here it is. I hope it will be helpful to some of you.
Here are a few pictures. I documented this after the fact so I didn't get any pictures of the work in progress.
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