much more expensive than A1, you only need
a short lengths of it from the rigid piping to
the engine or generator.
Of course, all rigid tubing or pipe must be
well supported at regular intervals. There
must be a support no more than 4 inches
(100 mm) from either end, where it connects
to flexible line. Although copper tubing spirals
shouldn’t be used to connect between compo-
nents, there’s no drawback to using tubing or
pipe (of approved materials and type) for long
fuel runs—if this is convenient—as long as
flexible hose makes the connections at the en-
gine and—better still—at either end.Eliminating Sparks—
Bonding
Sparks are always a potential problem around
gasoline. To prevent static buildup, you mustfit jumper ground wires across all the gaps
between fill and tank created by the hose con-
nections. The jumpers must be number 10 AWG
(30-gauge metric) or larger wire and should be
either soldered to and under dedicated hose
clamps fastened around the pipes, or fastened
to the hose clamp with a dedicated ring termi-
nal and screw, not the double clamps around
the hose itself. (Yes, I’ve actually seen this;
you’ve got to wonder!) The tanks themselves, if
metal, should also be grounded with 8 AWG
(35-gauge metric) wire or larger connected to
the boat’s bonding system.
This wire may be soldered to a dedicated
hose clamp fastened separately to the pipe or
fill fitting, but this hose clamp can never be
used for any other purpose, and no portion of
this clamp or of the bonding conductor wire
may run under the hose, where it could cause
leaks.PART TWO:FUEL SYSTEMS
Figure 4-17. Twin
fuel tank
arrangement