5 Tips For Green Fueling

Don’t let one single drop of that fuel go overboard!

No matter how hard we boaters try to be green, and no matter how hard we fight to keep the fuel where it belongs, we need to fess up: mini-spills and spritzes are incredibly common. Boat fuel fills are notorious for gurgling up gas and dribbling out diesel. You say you’re ready to go the extra mile to help protect our watery environment? Good. We are, too. So here are

five tips that will help you keep every molecule of that fussy fossil fuel where it belongs.

1. Listen for the gurgle. On most boats, the clearest indication of a full fuel tank is an audible gurgling sound created when the tank is full and the fuel line is filling up. This gives you a very brief heads-up a few seconds before you feel the pump handle click. But if you wait too long, fuel will likely still burp out the top, so shut off the pump the moment you hear the gurgling sound. Be careful to not let the fuel splash onto your face or body.

While everyone should listen for the gurgle, note that this isn’t a reliable cure-all to our fueling ills. Some boats gurgle louder than others, and some will spit either at the fill or at the vent even when you let off on the handle at the first hint of a gurgle. It’s also easy to become distracted while fueling, and listening for the subtle change in the sounds requires complete concentration. Turning off the stereo and tuning out the conversations going on around you will help, but you should still apply one or more of the following tips in conjunction with listening for the gurgle.

2. Employ a no-spill device. There are a number of these on the market, some for fills and others for vents. Each works in different ways to prevent spills, according to the manufacturers. The Clean Way Fuel Fill, for example, has a baffle that is designed to catch overflow at the fill and drain it back into the tank. It comes with several adaptors, so it fits the widest range of nozzles and fills. There are also versions for both horizontal and vertical applications, and the Clean Way allows air to escape so it doesn’t build pressure to potentially push fuel through the vent.

Another option is the Clix, ­(clixfueling.com), a simple and inexpensive funnel-like device, which, the manufacturer says, is designed to narrow the fill port so the fuel nozzle shuts off automatically as it would with a car. But for some common types of fuel fills it needs to be paired with a check valve in the vent line to be effective. And note that sometimes a nozzle shut-off mechanism can be defective.

If you have problems with fuel spilling or spurting from your vent, there are products that may help. These include fuel/air separators that can be installed into the vent line of boats. The BoatU.S. Foundation tested several and found only one (the Racor LG100) worked reliably on both 10- and 20-gpm fills.

There are other vent products available, but you must still be very careful. When using products involving suction cups, it is often important to thoroughly clean the hull and the underside of the suction cups with a suitable solvent and to have an absorbent spill pad handy.

All boats are different, and there are numerous types of fills and vents. Some of these products may work better or worse – or not at all – depending on your specific boat and how it’s rigged. Still, in our endeavors to help protect the aquatic world we love, it’s more than worthwhile to carefully try some options until you find one that works well for your specific boat. In fact, it’s not merely worthwhile – many of us would consider it mandatory.

3. Carry diapers, bibs, or pads. Not the ones you use for little Johnny, but the ones made to absorb gasoline and diesel fuel. These can be placed around the fuel nozzle and/or fuel vent to catch spritzes and burps. Using them to prevent spilling via hullside fuel vents can be tough, as it requires a crew member to hold the pad and constantly mind the vent, but it does provide a good backup to a spill-prevention device. They can also be used to wrap the nozzle during transfer between the fuel dock attendant and the boat, and many fuel docks keep pads on hand and can provide them on request. Store and dispose of them properly.

4. Leave some expansion space. We know that you want that tank to be full, but filling it to the brim isn’t necessary and is asking for problems. This is especially true for many boats with old-style venting systems, which may spit fuel even when the boat is at rest due to temperature swings. Gasoline’s volume expands by about 1% per a 15-degree rise in temperature, so older systems need a bit of room for expansion (most boats built after 2013 have systems designed to redirect the fuel back into the fill). The bottom line? Never “top off” the tank. That extra bit of fuel isn’t likely to ever make a difference to you, but squirting it in only to have it be spit back out will certainly make a difference to the environment.

5. Monitor the flow. Most modern power systems have digital fuel flow monitoring and will track how much fuel you’ve burned out between fill-ups – if, that is, you reset the flow after every fill-up. While these systems aren’t perfect, most are fairly accurate, usually within 2% to 3% of actual fuel burn. So at a glance you can know how much fuel to expect to pump on any given fill-up. Then you’ll also know when the tank is very close to being filled.

The data may be buried in a menu and isn’t always obviously displayed at the helm, but if your boat is less than five years old and has digital gauges, it’s almost certainly in there. If it’s five to 10 years old, it’s likely. If you’re not familiar with tapping into the total fuel burn tally, check the owner’s manual for your specific digital gauge and familiarize yourself with tracking and displaying burn between every fill-up.

Which of these tips should you employ as you refill the tanks on Mom’s Mink? All of them. Listen close and pay attention as you fuel up, use the appropriate no-spill device, keep absorbent pads on hand just in case, leave some room for expansion, and keep track of the fuel burned so you know how much to add before you begin pumping. The watery world we all love so much will thank you. And we will, too