Carver 405 fuel tanks, pickup tubes

[krawdad]

Hello all, I have a 1999 405. My fuel tanks were made by Florida Marine. Has anyone here ever tried to take the fuel pickup tube out of their tanks for cleaning. I took off the anti-syphon check valve and the 90 degree elbow that screws into the top of the tank but it is difficult to tell if the pickup tube is just a really tight fit or welded in. Mine appear to be welded in.

The tank in question is the starboard main tank and it is the fuel pickup for the Kohler 8E generator that I'm trying to remove.

Any one have any thoughts?

[km1125]

Have you contacted Florida Marine? Not 100% sure it applies to your tanks, but they made many tanks near that year that used a copper dip tube. It would start to disintegrate and shed particles of copper into the fuel system plugging up filters. FMT issued a recall for certain tanks and had a "repair kit" with a new dip tube that was to be used instead.

Also, I'm just curious but why do you think it needs cleaning?

Also, you may already know this, but the genset dip tube (or fuel pickup tube) is typically shorter than the engine tubes, so the fuel level needs to be a bit higher or the generator won't get fuel. From what I've heard it usually won't work below 1/4 tank.

[krawdad]

I am having fuel (gas) issues with my Kohler generator. It will run as long as I pour gas down the carb, otherwise it will not even try to start.

Changed filter, unstuck seized anti diesel solenoid, cleaned carb, replaced fuel pump, etc. Working my way back from the carb to the tank checking for fuel I found that removing the line from the tank and pouring gas in the line, the generator will run. I then checked the anti syphon check valve & found very hard to open so I punched out the ball, primed the line and reconnected to tank. Runs for a moment & quits. The dip tube is the only thing left, either that or the new Carter fuel pump does not have enough suction on the inlet to pull gas from the tank up to the pump inlet. Incidentally, I was not aware that the genny dip tubes were shorter, that is a valuable bit of info.The tank is nearly empty supporting your thought but I did stick a stiff wire down the dip tube and compared this to the outside of the tank & seemed to reach the bottom.

Out of curiosity, I hooked the old Carter pump up with the lines in a bucket of water and noted that there was almost no suction on the inlet until it was primed & pumping water otherwise it would do nothing. While it is pumping the suction on the inlet increases substantially and the outlet flow is full and strong. This tells me the pump must remain primed at all times and to hold the prime the anti syphon check valve must be installed and functioning properly.

Not sure where to go from here, Now that I know these pumps do not self prime I may re-route the hoses so there is a good slope from tank to pump...... although the fuel system did work for years as Carver designed it.

Many thanks for the input, if you happen to have any other thoughts please let me know.

[bud37]

Try hooking up an outboard fuel tank and run it that way to test the hose system from the tank. Fwiw, if the dip tube is open at the bottom in the tank then your test with the wire is no good, sometimes the tubes corrode further up as well etc.

Be Careful playing with gasoline, vapors are heavier than air so will sink....be sure to ventilate well.

Actually sounds like you need a fueling unfortunately....is there only the one feed for the gen?

[km1125]

I agree with Bud... your test on the length of the dip tube was likely faulty, as the stiff wire would just go to the bottom of the tank.

If you have (or can get) a simple priming bulb from an outboard, you could hook that to the generator dip tube and see if that will pull fuel. If it doesn't, then fix THAT problem before blaming anything else on the generator or its fuel systems.

You might fin you just need to add some fuel to the tank!

BTW, the anti-siphon valve is not to keep the fuel pump primed. It is **not** so fuel won't "siphon back to the tank" (someone on a different forum thought that's what it was for). It is a protection device in case the fuel line from the tank to the engine (or generator) gets compromised and it would prevent fuel from siphoning OUT of the tank into the bilge of the vessel. They do frequently get debris clogged in them, but a fuel pump should be able to overcome a properly working one to pull fuel from the tank.

[g36]

My 405 has a fuel selector valve for port and stbd mid tanks. Do you not have that installed from Carver? I do believe my pick ups are screwed in. But I would have to check to be certain.

[krawdad]

All great suggestions / thoughts, many thanks for the help guys. I'll give these ideas a go and see what happens.

I did phone Florida Tanks today but no one answered the phone, I got a recording that they were no longer accepting tank orders but parts and service would remain available. Hopefully they are not in trouble, they made some of the best tanks on the market.

G36, yes I have the selector, sounds like we have identical systems. I can't switch over to port tank as it is bone dry and my full Aux tanks to not connect to the genny.