My generator gas tank blew up like a balloon...weird.

[Huntindad]

I built a 3 sided w/ roof cover for my generator to quieten it down while at the lease. It worked, it was quieter, but it seemed hot in there. I thought I built it big enough to air out well.

Had it going yesterday and thought it was hiccuping(running out of gas). When I saw it, it looked strange... then it hit me. the gas tank(plastic) was blown up like a balloon. !

hmmm... I turned it off and drug it out in the open. It felt pretty hot. I let it set for a few minutes, then I unscrewed the gas cap. there was a LOT of pressure coming out. I pushed the tank back down to normal. put the gas cap back on.

After a few minutes, it had blown up again. I unscrewed the cap and another whoosh of pressure????

Did the gas get hot? and generate the pressure ??

I used the generator today with no problems. Sure was strange and scared me somewhat.

Anyone else run into that sort of situation?

[glen]

David I wouldn't run it in the enclosure any more or while you are sleeping until you have it figured out. If it's a small portable they are not designed for long use such as powering a cabin. You should look into a small diesel unit

[kashmoney]

I built a 3 sided box to cover ours and I never noticed anything like that.

Following this thread

[mac0515]

Check the vent in the fuel cap it should have a little hole in it to vent the fumes if they get clogged it will build pressure in the tank

[Huntindad]

Glen, it was during the day(watching the rangers). It was on for a couple hours.

it is a 5600 watt gen.

[TheGasMan]

Your tank vent is plugged. A lot of them are vented through the cap, so if you don't see an obvious tank vent change the cap. Also get some more air circulation. If the tank feels hot, then there is not enough air flow. You can build up fumes from vented fuel and have a bomb if you aren't careful.

[Tubby]

check the tank vent!

[GR5]

Had mine hooked up to the entire house during Rita power outage. Diesel 12KW. It started shutting down during the middle of the day, right when we needed the a/c the most. Overheating. Removed the top and put a big box fan on it. Problem solved

[Huntindad]

It has a vent hole in the gas cap. Wonder if it did get clogged up.

But, still baffled as to why it popped back up after removing the cap the first time. Second time I removed cap(engine had not been on) there was a lot of pressure coming out.

I will run it during the day for a few hours and monitor it. ... in the open.

[Tubby]

It has a vent hole in the gas cap. Wonder if it did get clogged up.

But, still baffled as to why it popped back up after removing the cap the first time. Second time I removed cap(engine had not been on) there was a lot of pressure coming out.

I will run it during the day for a few hours and monitor it. ... in the open.

Being inside a 3 sided sound buffer, there is extra heat in there. If the vent is clogged, the gas vapors (without the extra added heat) will cause the tank to swell anyway. Add the extra heat of the room and it's instant balloon....

[Txjourneyman]

It should be easy enough to cut a small fan into the back of the enclosure. Do this after clearing the cap vent.

[bwssr]

bad gas cap

[Huntindad]

It should be easy enough to cut a small fan into the back of the enclosure. Do this after clearing the cap vent.

Hmmm. not so sure that work. the backside is one of those 20.00 storage sheds folks were getting a few years ago. And it is generally shut.

I guess those vented gas caps are pretty easy to find. I wonder if the caps are all the same size.

[Tubby]

What brand of generator is it?

[texasdeerhunter]

Don't know if this has anything to do with your problem, but last summer when it got so hot, the gas tank on my mule built up pressure and bowed out the tank under the seat and cracked the gas cap. I wasn't even running it, it was just sitting outside in the heat. Had to buy a new gas cap