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Fuel hose ratings - my experience

 
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Marco Flamingo



Joined: 09 Jul 2015
Posts: 1154
City/Region: Seattle
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2004
C-Dory Model: 16 Cruiser
Vessel Name: Limpet
Photos: Limpet
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 11:35 am    Post subject: Fuel hose ratings - my experience Reply with quote

When I installed a permanent tank this winter I looked at the various fuel hose ratings and bought A1 for the fill hose and A2 for the vent hose. A1 has a higher fire rating and a lower permeability. A1 is required for a hose that contains gas long term, like a fuel line, so I don't think that it is actually necessary for the fill hose, but I'm okay with that. The rating might also pertain to using the line in an enclosed space, which doesn't really apply to a CD 16. Still, I looked for 3/8" A1 vent hose and couldn't find any locally so I went with the more common A2.

It turns out that there is quite a difference and I am replacing the A2 vent line. Both hoses come up through the V berth platform against the side of the hull. When I painted the V berth area, I shot both hoses with paint (Krylon spray paint) just for cosmetic reasons. I also made a little storage bin to partially cover the hoses.

I noticed a week later that the paint on the A2 hose felt tacky. Since then, I've had a couple of things rest against the hose and get paint on them. Not so with the A1 hose. The difference in permeability is enough so that paint won't dry on the A2 vent hose. I know that it gets some liquid gas in it during a fill, because I have seen a drop come out the vent. But it hasn't had actual liquid gas in it for weeks and the paint isn't drying on that hose.

I read that A2 is three times as permeable as A1. That didn't make too much of an impression on me. The fact that paint won't dry on an A2 vent hose is more descriptive. I put in a low perm fuel tank and then learned that an A2 vent hose basically oozes petro solvents. Not good for me, not good for the gas, not good for things in my storage bin. I just ordered a piece of A1-15 vent line. A1-15 has an even lower perm rating than A1 (and also has an ethanol barrier). I may even look for some A1-15 fill hose now that I know that even fumes can leak out through gas hoses.

Whatever passes through the walls of the hose is likely the most volatile element of the gas. The gas may have been 89 octane, 10% ethanol, performance additives, etc., when it left the manufacturer. I wonder what it is after shipping, storage, pumping, and sitting six months in a permeable tank with permeable hoses?

Mark
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AstoriaDave



Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 994
City/Region: Astoria
State or Province: OR
PostPosted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you are on to something, Mark. Gasoline is volatile enough that its vapors, at least during summer when things are warmer, will certainly bathe the inside of a vent line as the tempersture cycles throughout the day/night temperature change. I suspect that the A2 rating does not include constant exposure to gasoline vapor. Rather, it is rated for short term exposure during a fuel transfer, with no other exposure to either liquid or vapor from gasoline.

When you cut those A2 hoses out, flay one and check its interior for gumminess. Bet you will find some.

In the larger scheme of things, the small added cost of using A1 hose for vent lines is well worth it, to assure no contamination of fuel.

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Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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