Leaking fuel tank-34 MT DC W/ 250 Cummins

In response to an earlier poster -- When I converted from the manual pump to an electric one I removed the manual pump and fabricated a metal plate to cover the hole. I would not advise leaving the old pump in place as one of these days the diaphragm will fail and you'll have oil everywhere.

Interesting discussion about trim -- Recoring the decks and approximately 25% of the house plus the smaller tanks raised the waterline four inches (Wet wood is very, very heavy) -- vessel handles exactly the same, just goes faster.

Alan Robbins
1976 34' D/C "Sea Moose"
Anchor Pointe, OH

"vessel handles exactly the same, just goes faster."

A fast Marine Trader. Now that's something to think about.....

I have just repaired my fuel tank due to a minor leak. If I had to change tanks it would be a nightmare with the lifting of an engine.. I cut an access oval hole at the end where it was leaking big enough to work inside the tank. It was full of sludge which obviously has tobe cleaned out, then using a cleaning solution like thinners (beware of the fumes) sand blast 60/80 grit a good area around the leaking section and within 2hours cover with 105/205 west system epoxy use a thin coat to start to allow to enter into the small orifices caused by the corrosion, keep the area above 20C to allow to cure then rough over with 80 grit paper and re do but thicken the epoxy this time. Leave for around a week before putting in fuel to test not leaking. Have covers made to fit hole and secure. If your tank is not to badly corroded internally this should give you a few more years.
Regards and good luck Castrol

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Interesting repair. What material is the tank made of?

Hallo RT Firefly, the fuel tank is steel 8' long approx it was the forward end that leaked at the bottom, the repair was carried out up to the first baffle. On opening the tank it was found to be pitted only at the bottom and at the end only where water obviously had lay for some time even though the tank had been drained a few years ago and refilled, so it may have turned a bit acidic. Cannot complain though the tank is 33years old. I would not advise aluminium tanks, there are bladders that can be used. There are several options but to cut out the tank in situ would be a lot of work and to have smaller tanks made and butted together to give the same volume is also expensive.
Regards
Castrol

Castrol said:

I have just repaired my fuel tank due to a minor leak. If I had to change tanks it would be a nightmare with the lifting of an engine.. I cut an access oval hole at the end where it was leaking big enough to work inside the tank. It was full of sludge which obviously has tobe cleaned out, then using a cleaning solution like thinners (beware of the fumes) sand blast 60/80 grit a good area around the leaking section and within 2hours cover with 105/205 west system epoxy use a thin coat to start to allow to enter into the small orifices caused by the corrosion, keep the area above 20C to allow to cure then rough over with 80 grit paper and re do but thicken the epoxy this time. Leave for around a week before putting in fuel to test not leaking. Have covers made to fit hole and secure. If your tank is not to badly corroded internally this should give you a few more years.
Regards and good luck Castrol

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Castrol,

Yours is an interesting way to fix a leaking tank, have you experience in doing this kind of fix before?, or have knowledge of it being done this way?. Do you plan to replace the tank in the future and are just using this fix as a band aid temp repair?. With the dissimilar properties of steel and epoxy and adding fuel to the equation I wonder how it will last. Most times when a steel tank is coated the entire tank is coated to form a tank within a tank. Please keep us informed as to the success of the fix.
HOLLYWOOD

I had one of my tanks fixed in a similar way. Only difference was that we used an aircraft fuel tank sealer on the inside. Been fine for 8 years or so now. I figure if it's good enough for the FAA, it's good enough for my boat.

Keith said:

I had one of my tanks fixed in a similar way. Only difference was that we used an aircraft fuel tank sealer on the inside. Been fine for 8 years or so now. I figure if it's good enough for the FAA, it's good enough for my boat.

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Keith,
Did the tank get completely coated ( wing tank coatings normally coat the entire surface of the inside of the tank ). Also gas tanks are a lot cleaner
(like in aircraft or a hot rod for that matter ) than a 20+ year old boat diesel tank. It sounds like this fix was just a spot fix. If this is a long term fix it may solve issues for some of the old Taiwan trawlers that are prone to these problems.
HOLLYWOOD

Yes, pretty much up to the top. I'd post pix but I'm on a work computer now. They are here somewhere in an old thread. The guy that does it around here has done countless fuel tanks like this, as did his dad. The key of course is getting the tank perfectly clean. He gets everything out, cleans with what smelled like lacquer thinner, sanded to bright metal, washed with another solvent, dried then applied the coating. Not cheap at all, but easier than replacing entire tanks. You could do this yourself if you don't mind getting grungy and pay attention to fresh air/respirators. Those fumes are nasty!

Leaks in Al tanks can be sealed similarly to Keith's description. I've seen it done on +2000 gallon Al tanks where welds started seeping. It you are selling your boat, the full disclosure issue arises - a different topic obviously.

You do not need to coat fully if it is not necessary as long as you come up the sides above any pit holes by a few inches. It is abosolutely necessary though to carry out the repairs asap but within 2 hours as after sand blasting the steel starts to oxidise straight away and the more it has oxidised the less chance of a good adhesion. I am hoping this is a permanent fix, it has worked previously on other types of work. Before carrying out the procedure I worked with a Materials Engineer and with West Systems. Tank has diesel in it now and so far so good.

ff

hollywood8118 said:

Castrol,

Yours is an interesting way to fix a leaking tank, have you experience in doing this kind of fix before?, or have knowledge of it being done this way?. Do you plan to replace the tank in the future and are just using this fix as a band aid temp repair?. With the dissimilar properties of steel and epoxy and adding fuel to the equation I wonder how it will last. Most times when a steel tank is coated the entire tank is coated to form a tank within a tank. Please keep us informed as to the success of the fix.
HOLLYWOOD

Click to expand...

Thumbs up the fuel tank repair has now proved successful, tank is closed up after making tank covers for the access hole, tank full and engines primed and running with lovelly clean fuel. Hopefully will not have to do again unless the other tank leaks. Looking forward now to a good summer here in Scotland and a good cruise on the west coast.
Will update at the end of the season if still ok.

alormaria said:

"vessel handles exactly the same, just goes faster."

A fast Marine Trader. Now that's something to think about.....

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I'm an ex-sailor, anything over 4 knots is flying to me.

Here we go..Your 110 gallon tanks are secured by metal straps, insulated from your aluminum tanks with what appears to be tarpaper. Any electrical contact from those straps will set up electrolysis and aluminum will get eat away, anywhere on the tanks a dissimilar metal touching will do it. Even the screws holding down the decks the tanks sit on. My fix: Pull floors from salon, empty tanks, tanks come out easy. Cut windows 8x8" widows 3 per tank to access baffles. Get alum plates 10"x10" to cover windows with gasket material Get orange cleaner and scotch brite, reach in each baffle and scrub like hell until the 33 years of shi* is gone. Use saw horses..good ones to save your back. After tanks r clean inside, scrub outside top and bottom. Orbital sander 80 to 120 grit, sand them down. Where you find pits, and you will, heavy wire brush on grinder to clean pits. Now set tanks top up put in ten or so gallons of water and look for drips, air pressure if you like but I did not. Holes identified, get a kit of heavy epoxy called Splash by Peddit. Follow directions. Turn tanks up and do the water test again. Once you are sure the leaks are plugged flip tanks back over and cover with very light weight fiberglass cloth. Use EPOXY and go 2 or 3 inches up the sides with cloth and thick coat. Replace sub floor that got saturated with diesel, counter sink and seal all screws, set repaired tanks back in boat on top of heavy coating of 5200..NO METAL STRAPS... Hook em up, fill em up and go another 30 years. My buddy used a welding shop and had to do it twice. This works and new boats manufactures epoxy the bottom of their tanks now.
I am the guy that sold him the diesel...we did his like I did mine...no problems 2 years later. Would not do it with steel, stainless or oath wise.

Another Fuel Leak Story

Here is what we did last year

@ TheOffice: September 2013

Hope this helps,
S

Fuel tank repair

hollywood8118 said:

Castrol,

Yours is an interesting way to fix a leaking tank, have you experience in doing this kind of fix before?, or have knowledge of it being done this way?. Do you plan to replace the tank in the future and are just using this fix as a band aid temp repair?. With the dissimilar properties of steel and epoxy and adding fuel to the equation I wonder how it will last. Most times when a steel tank is coated the entire tank is coated to form a tank within a tank. Please keep us informed as to the success of the fix.
HOLLYWOOD

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Hi Hollywood, just an update on the fuel tank repair, it's now over a year and touch wood still ok.

For temporary repairs we use a product called 'Petro Patch' with 100% success.
When replacing tanks we always advise stainless steel, built with a slightly sloping floor to a sump and drain tap and drain any moisture or dirt off once a month into a glass so that you can verify it.
When installing the tanks, set them on a rubber mat then insulate the tank, it stops the tanks magnifying engine noise like a drum, stops condensation and water in the fuel (eliminating diesel bug), some guys spend fortunes on cleaning systems and would be far better going to the root cause of the problem and changing the tanks, if it's done correctly is a lifetime job.
Aerosol cans of expanding foam are great for filling any voids around the tank installation.
I hope this is helpful.

If the patching works... great. My opinion is you will revisit this rusty tank issue. My 30 ft Lein Hwa started leaking on the top of the starboard tank. I bit the bullet and ordered two 52 gallon poly tanks (port and starboard setup) from Moeller (PN:FT5218S), 100 gallons combined less than original tanks. They fit in through the cabin engine access hatch with taking off alternator and thermostat housing, and moving around house batteries. The have cross feed fittings to keep tanks level. 2 Tanks combined were appx $900.00 US. New fittings, lines, fuel gauge was an additional $600.00 US. It took me part time 3 weeks to complete the job on my own... no labor fee but beer . I cut the old tanks out piece by piece with a sawzall and demo blades (expensive blades appx $7 a blade... used 20 blades in total for the whole job). I took the time to completely re-do my engine compartment along with asbestos removal and re-insulation (proper ppe at all times). My engine room looks new! I crawl down into it and come up with no grease! It is so nice. People are truly amazed when the see the holy place. The old tanks I cut out were full of rust and sediment down in the bottoms appx 1 1/2 thick. After long exhaustive talk over cocktails with my fellow Captains and Maintainers, calls to American Marine, Bomac, and Lancing Marine... I decided taking out those old rusty tanks would be the best for the heart of my boat...the engine. Otherwise they become a lingering nightmare. I do interisland cruising year around and the last thing I want to be haunted by are maintenance issues. I also figured if I ever sale my beauty... the next guy will get a solid boat (increases re-sale when surveyor looks at the new system)! Good luck!

I am having the same problem with my fuel tank. I was woundering what people thought about cutting out the old tanks and replacing them with fuel bladders.

I'm in process of replacing my rusting leaking steel tanks with newly fabricated aluminum. I, too am down sizing my storage to one tank per side, 110 USG each. I cut my old tanks from the stbd side using a sawzall; even cutting it into small pieces was still a chore getting them out due to the weight of the material but did not have to remove any of the running gear to do so. New tank cost $1K and change. One down, one to go.

Replaced both tanks on a 45 Jefferson 3 years ago with aluminum. Had tanks made after figuring how to get new tanks in thru rear side window. Set up A-frame in saloon and lifted engine off bed and postioned it over other engine while cutting and removing old tank ,put engine back down on bed after . .Did it again when installing new tanks . Did it with free help from my bubbas who I give fuel to. Took two wkends and several after work hours in prep to get all disconnected and together again. All this was caused by having the tanks cleaned and breaking away the rust and scabs inside the tanks. The leaks would of come anyway I guess .

Any recomendations sugestions on a company/individual for tank replacement work on an Albin 43? I want to replace tanks on it as I have a leak on one tank. I am in the Rhode Island area.Please advise asap!