filler mounting

[munkymush]

a quick question for pro installers, ive seen some boats running on lpg where the owners havnt mounted the filler rigidly on the outside of the boat ,ie they have the bayonet fitting just hanging loose inside the boat on a flexi pipe
my take on it is everytime they release the filler hose theres a good slug of lpg going straight into the bilges and cant get out which i think is not safe or good at all..and its not really good enough to fill a boat inside the hull anyway?
just wondering how the pro installers see it , im sure you wouldnt get away with having the filler sitting on the floor of a car? thanks .

[Gilbertd]

No, you can't do it on a car and I suspect you shouldn't do it on a boat either. Most boats with enclosed inboard engine compartments have bilge blowers to suck any accumulated gases out before you fire up the engine but even so deliberately dumping a load of Propane in there isn't a good idea.

[mondeoman]

Section 2.1.1 of the Boat Safety Scheme, the maritime equivalent of the MOT states that fule fillers must be installed in such a way as to prevent overspill entering any part of the boat, so the arrangement you suggest is not acceptable on a boat. The BSS does not as far as I am aware deal specifically with LPG for propulsion but refers to fuel in general and makes requirement on it's storage etc. Almost all UK inland waterways and Coastal marinas now require a boat to hold a vallid BSS certificate and third party insurance, and insurers too insist on a BSS so the boat you describe is not likely to be overly welcome anywhere.

[LPGC]

Maybe an un-fixed filler on length of pipe isn't too bad an idea for a boat..

If the pipe is long enough that the connection between the fill gun and filler can be made away from the boat, that should prevent leakage into the boat when connecting/disconnecting the filler.

Overspill is a bit of a loose term.. overspill from over-filling the tank wouldn't be possible with LPG but the tank pressure relief valve is a much worse potential spill point. Drips from a petrol/diesel fill gun after refuelling might be considered overspill, so too might gas leaked during the usual hiss when disconnecting the LPG filler. The LPG filler could be fitted in the side of a boat but on many boats this would mean it is constantly splashed, may be underwater some of the time, will probably be in a position to make refuelling difficult; On many boats fitting the filler on a horizontal surface might allow gas to roll into the boat when connecting / disconnecting the filler.

Vent systems are difficult on boats and always compromised in some way or another.. tank will be low in the boat, the filler and/or any vents will be above that level, the vent system will probably fill with water (might not be a massive deal but will probably damage electronic level senders and maybe have unknown consequences on the PRV etc). The most important thing to vent would be the tank valve housing followed by any vented design fill point. The ideal situation would be to overvent all LPG components but that wouldn't be practical.

A sensible solution would be to use a loose fill pipe, overvented and connected to a 70mm standard round housing... Any leaks from the PRV would be vented via the filler, refueling connection could be done away from the boat, when not refueling the fill housing could be clipped into a position that is overhanging the side of the boat.

On less powerful boats and particularly boats that are used far from LPG refueling pontoons, forklift bottles could be used if securely strapped in... this route coming with it's own dangers that need to be thought through.

Simon