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View Full Version : TO BOND OR NOT TO BOND?



kevin
03-29-2000, 05:08 PM
AFTER INSTALLATION OF A ALUM. FUEL TANK IN A BOAT WHEN THE FILL TUBE IS RUBBER SHOULD A BOND WIRE BE RAN FROM THE TANK TO THE BLOCK TO GROUND OUT ANY POSSIBLE STATIC ELECT. THIS WAS NOT DONE ON MY 68 ORIGINALY BUT I QUESTION IF IT SHOULD BE DONE NOW. THERE WOULD BE NOT CONTINUITY FROM THE FILL NECK (ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOAT) TO THE TANK TO GROUND. ANY IDEAS? THANKS KEVIN

Hotboat
03-29-2000, 05:19 PM
Just replaced the tank in my 18. It had a ground wire from the tank to the metal filler on the deck as well as being grounded to to engine ground. I think this is correct from all the research I have done.

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Hotboat

kevin
03-29-2000, 09:07 PM
I AGREE THANKS FOR THE INFO ILL GET STARTED

CDMA
03-29-2000, 09:26 PM
Bonding the fill directly is the correct way to do it. During the filling process electrons need a path to follow. without this path enough excess static electricity can be caused to create a spark and as you all know sparks and gasoline do not work well together.

Chris

PaulO
03-30-2000, 10:09 AM
Interestingly, all gasoline hose ( such as that at your service station ) has a high resistance wire that runs through it to the metallic nozzle that goes into the tank fill. The differnece in potential energy between your boat/car and the gas pump is normalized through this wire. Also, the flow of fuel through the hose will create static electricity during fueling and must have some place to go to normalize the two objects or a spark will occur. Never transfer fuel between 2 containers such as a gas caddy and you boat without this wire present or another ground. If you need to extend the hose on a gas caddy or something similar, be sure to use the correct hose and make sure that the integrated wire makes contact on both ends. Also, it is a common misconception that plastic tanks do not pose a threat since they are not conductive. Actually, plastic can generate enormous static electricity.
Paul

wufwee
06-04-2010, 10:05 PM
I know this is an old post, I'm getting ready to fire up my 16 w/4.3 OMC after a rebuild. Is the ground wire light green for the fuel filler? This is the only wire I'm not 100% sure of. It comes from the harness at the transom, and I didn't mark it. It looks to me like a wire that goes to the engine ground. I climbed under the deck, and what looks to me the same color and guage wire is attached to the fuel filler. It also branches out (fuel tank ground?). I'm just used to ground wires being black. Thanks, Russ

thehow33
06-04-2010, 11:44 PM
mine is the same color as yours....green and black can be grounds

zelatore
06-05-2010, 02:01 AM
Actually, the correct colors are green for bonding and yellow for DC ground.

Never use the bonding system as a ground - that's asking for corrosion issues due to stray current.

Black used to be used for DC ground, as it is in most things like cars, but on boats the use of both AC and DC means you don't want to accidentally mix up the black hot of a 110v AC circuit with a DC ground, so they changed the DC ground to yellow some time ago.

Sorry to come off preachy - don't mean it that way. I've seen people make that mistake before. While it's not likely to be an issue on a smaller boat, it's good to stay with convention.
(that said, there are plenty of black negative battery cables still out there)

MOP
06-05-2010, 05:51 AM
Added note the fill should be checked for continuity during spring wake, it should go full scale on your OHM meter if not clean up the connections.

wufwee
06-05-2010, 06:56 AM
Thanks for all the help!! Now I'll go out and pre oil the engine, and crank her up. Russ