# Leaky gas gap on new machine



## plow (Feb 28, 2015)

I just bought a new 30 inch deluxe ariens machine last week. I noticed that it leaks a lot of gas out of the gap. This is a very poorly designed tank, I would guess made in china from stamped metal, the cheapest way to make a tank like this. I contacted the dealer who told me he will take care of it soon. So without waiting I contacted ariens, and they said they would send me a new gas cap, still waiting for it. I have decid3d to try to contact the consumer protection agency here in Canada. Well no one answers the phone there so now I have to write a letter stating the problem. I told the ariens people gas leaking from a tank only 5 inches away is downright dangerous, the machine is a fire hazard, they said they will send you a new gas cap. I do not think the cap will work as the design of the tank is at fault.
Should I return it to the store and ask for a refund if the new cap does not stop the leaking problem.


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## liftoff1967 (Jan 15, 2014)

Welcome to the forum Plow. I can tell your clearly frustrated with this.

Ariens does have a gas cap issue. There is a new gas cap design with a screen insert. I tried finding that thread, but had no luck.

Here is what I recommend you do. 

There is an Ariens Employee by the name of Mary Lyn on this forum. She is a huge asset for us and has aided in bailing a lot's of us out. Send here a private message with your name, address, model number ans serial number and she will get you taken care of. 

If you cannot find her on the forum, she goes by ariens company, click my profile, and to the right in the "friends" box will be ariens company. Click that and you will get their detail. Just below their name will be a "send message" button, Click that then click send private message.


With all the snow that has hit the north east, Areins my be a little backed up in helping to resolve situations quickly. (yes I understand this is a safety issue) For now, if your concerned, try taking half the fuel out of the tank, and see if that stops the leaking.


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## gto4evr (Feb 6, 2015)

Welcome to the forum, from another newbie! There's a few recent threads on here concerning this. The new cap they're sending you will fix the issue. It has a thicker rubber gasket that snugs the cap much tighter. Almost too tight -- I'm waiting to see how long before the rubber relaxes enough to allow it to leak again. I just went through this with my new machine as well. the screen and insert that will come with the cap update kit are identical to what's already on your machine so those you can either swap or leave the originals in.

We should start up our own company making replacement larger and better designed tanks, we'd probably make a killing on it until we got sued by someone for swapping it incorrectly and voiding their warranty along with it bursting into flames and burning their house down!


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## Loco-diablo (Feb 12, 2015)

While I understand it's a good more than capable engine, why do they put that small cheap tin tank on there? That was the first thing that caught my attention when I first saw an AX powered machine. It's not very functional.. Rust may be in issue as well down the road.


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## PixMan (Feb 14, 2015)

Gee, I don't think the fuel tanks on mine are bad at all, and I must have the "new and improved" gas caps on both.

These are powder coated tanks, so rust from the inside is the only possibility and I can't see why one of these newer ones would any different from an older one. These machines get handed down to other generations.


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## Snowhawg (Feb 20, 2015)

The gas tank on my LCT engine is an embarrassment. I wish I paid more attention to the capacity before I bought the Platinum 30. The recall kit will fix the leaking, but actually make the capacity problem worse if you use the insert and screen and fill it to the red full line. I only used the cap myself and the leaking I get is very minor. These residential grade machines must be made for people who live in the suburbs with smaller driveways. That's why I went wit the Pro machine next.


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## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

So being the stamped metal tank does that mean it has the larger capacity of the tanks offered on the LCT's?


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