First, in response to Rick's question. On a poly tank install, no bonding is necessary, not even the fill. Any physical contact with the tank (through the fill hose) is with a non-conductor...plastic. Thus, no static electricity can accumulate. What I would suggest on the tank sender (I think this is your big gripe here, Scotty...) is quality adhesive lined heat shrink terminals, a proper application of either dielectric grease or anti-corrosion spray, and stick with the gauge wire that does the trick...16GA. Yes, you can step up to 14GA, but with a proper install, and proper maintainance, the 14 won't offer any less resistance than the 16.The problem with tank senders and the wiring turning into something that looks like a spore colony in a petri dish is that nobody pays any attention to them!! How many people pull their inspection pies and look at their wiring on a yearly basis? How about every 6 months? I'd say about 5% of the boater population. And how many people, when they see a bit of water accumulating on top of their tank, stop their boating activities until they can track down the source and eliminate it? I'd say about .05%! The point I'm trying to make is that there is no CORRECT wire size for bonding. Yes, in theory, if the bonding system is part of a lightning protection system, and thus is terminated to a Dynaplate in contact with the water, then I would want 8GA. But trust me, with the copious amounts of voltage a direct hit can produce, even 4/0 cable will be toast!! The key is proper install and maintainance. That keeps the resistance to a minimum, and keeps nasty little critters from colonizing on top of your sender...
Bob, you are correct, E-01 does state that any metallic components of the fuel system must be grounded. However, as an "out", typically, on new boats, which is what I am used to, boats which have poly tanks typically have plastic fills.
]So, to be clear, if I am going with a poly tank and a metal fill, should I at least bond the fill? Is there anything wrong with bonding the whole thing as if it was a metal tank?
When the conditions are right, humans discharge all the time.
