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Backfire Flame Control

The Law

Gasoline engines installed in a motorboat or motor vessel after April 25, 1940 except outboard motors, must be equipped with an acceptable means of backfire flame control. The backfire flame arrestor (BFA) must be suitably secured to the air intake with a flame-tight connection, and is required to be either U.S. Coast Guard-approved or comply with SAE J-1928 or UL 1111 standards and marked accordingly.

Other acceptable means of backfire flame control include: air and fuel induction systems usually found on personal watercraft, velocity stacks (attachments to carburetors), and reed-type (found in outboards).

Backfire Flame
Page Updated: August 16, 2011