Dometic Marines Shields Marine Fuel Hose Excels in Permeation Test

Dometic Marine recently put its Shields 337 Series hose through independent testing at Intermodal Materiel and Nautical Nuclear Analysis, (IMANNA Laboratory, Inc.) in Rockledge, Florida. The test results show that the products exceed the requirements set by the US government. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established new laws regarding how much fuel can permeate through a fuel feed line.  Fuel odors or vapors permeating into the atmosphere are harmful to the environment — this is the reason why vapor recovery lines are commonplace on many fuel pumps around the country.

“As a manufacturer of products that help boaters enjoy the Great Outdoors, it’s important for us to make our products as environmentally safe as possible,” said Dometic Marine President Eric Fetchko.  “Like our customers, we enjoy spending time in the outdoors, and this makes protecting the environment a priority for us,” added Fetchko. 

When boat builders, engine manufacturers and other marine industry customers choose to use Shields Series 337 Series Outboard Fuel Feed Hose, they can be confident that the product has been rigorously tested and proven to provide superior durability and performance at a great price

They can also trust that Shields 337 Series Hose has been laboratory tested to minimize fuel permeation and protect the environment.  Dometic Marine takes protecting the outdoor and marine environment seriously and routinely tests its products to this extent.  

The specific EPA regulation set for outboard fuel feed lines is a maximum of 15g/m2/day or below, and is an amount recognized by the organization to be tolerable and safe to install on today’s vessels.    Shields Series 337 hose tested at far below this threshold, exhibiting a permeation level of just 2.39g/m2/day.

The testing procedure itself is quite involved and technical. Six hose/primer bulb assemblies were attached to a leak-proof reservoir containing more than 300ml of ASTM reference fuel CE-10. Following a 30-day “pre-soak” period in an ambient temperature environment of 110o F (+/- 9o F), the assembled systems were placed in an ambient environment held at 73o F (+/- 4o F) for a period of 24 hours.   Each of the assembled systems was weighed to the nearest 0.01 gram every 24 hours for the next 15 consecutive days, including weekends.   Each test assembly was carefully weighed, and the weight, date, time, temperature, relative humidity and barometric pressure were recorded.

By measuring and averaging the miniscule amount of weight loss over the 15 days of testing, the laboratory was able to calculate and document the impressively low permeation rate for the Shields 337 hose.

Dometic Marine is constantly looking for ways to make the products it provides to the boating industry better, safer and friendlier to the environment we all cherish.  This is yet another example of this commitment in action.