Some automotive carburetors and fuel pumps are designed to leak. They have vents, which emit small amounts of gasoline if a carburetor float chamber overflows or a fuel pump develops an internal leak. The gas drips harmlessly out of the car. On marine carburetors, these vents lead into the carburetor throat so that any overflow is consumed by the engine. Marine fuel pumps eliminate external leaks.
Hazardous equipment is no bargain.
The following standards have made it a lot easier to buy safe marine equipment for your boat. By using any of these names, a manufacturer is stating that their products have either been produced following or been tested to meet these standards. Look for these in the descriptions of products in this catalog. This is one of the most common Underwriter Laboratory's marks. If a product carries this mark, it means UL found that samples of this product met UL's safety requirements.