Fuel tank disaster... Now what??

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Bigfish

Bigfish

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Messages
297
Location
USA
Vessel Name
My Lady
Vessel Make
Formosa 42 Double Cabin
Ok, I paid the boatyard $4200 for cleaning up the diesel spill from my leaking tank last week. At 291 gallons into my 1981 Formosa 350 gallon tank, my bilge pumps kicked on! Tanks hadn't been topped off in 5 years. I'm hoping the leak was a split fill hose or something at the very top but I can't access it to see yet... I transferred maybe 150 gallons to the other tank to level the boat but that tank is almost full now. I just ordered two 50 gallon drums that I was planning to put on the back deck so I can empty the leaking tank so I can inspect things. NOW, I'm wondering if all that weight on my back deck is a good idea... I have the "42' double cabin," model with the full beam aft cabin... Maybe I should have gotten a bunch of 15 gallon drums to spread out the load... Any thoughts???
 
50 gallons of diesel is about 350 lbs. So not much more than a large person, and the drum is likely a bit more surface area than a pair of feet. Don't put the 2 drums right next to each other and you should be fine. If you're worried, get a piece of plywood to put under them to spread the load a bit.
 
Thanks... I thought about using the plywood too, probably what I'll do...
NOW, what do I do next? I tought of using a 5" or 6" hole saw to cut a hole in the deck close to the fill so I can at least look in there... Or possibly cutting a 8" x 8" square around the deck fill... My deck doesn't feel soft but the water's getting in somewhere...
 
Is there a good spot in the cabin to cut an access hatch to get to the underside of the fill?
 
No such luck...
 
Greetings,
Mr. B. Before you start cutting holes is there any way you can use one of these to give you a better picture of what you may be up against?


https://harborfreight.com/digital-video-inspection-camera-64170.html


64170_I.jpg
 
Search for USB bore scope cameras.
Use a laptop, MUCH cheaper.
 
"...this was my biggest concern with the boat since I've had it. Even bought a boroscope to check out the tops of thanks but couldn't find a way to get it in there... It's "


He bought one, this is from his other fuel tank disaster thread....
 
Greetings,
Mr. B. Well, so much for MY great idea.... What is the issue or what is in the way of snaking the boroscope over the top of the tank? Can you drill an access hole in a deck joist in the ER perhaps? As I alluded to, cutting up the deck, at this point, would be my last resort to attempt to find any leaks.


Is it possible to take some pictures and post here to give a better idea of just what you're dealing with?
 
Yeah I bought a boroscope when I bought the boat but couldn't find anyway in... I'll take pictures tonight...
 
I know some trawlers have that acoustical tile wall in front of the fuel tanks in the engine room If that is your case I think that whole wall has to go. Even on my much smaller 36' boat I can see the tops of all fuel tanks from the engine room. Can't see the back against the hull ( that bothers me ) but seeing the top is very important. How can you disconnect the filler pipe to pull the deck fitting? Deck fitting should be rebedded now and then. Pictures of your engine compartment and any fuel tank images would maybe help us make better suggestions.
 
Yeah, I've hot the tile wall...
 
The ends of my vents got sheered off in hurricane Irma so a little water could be getting in there but not gallons... Can't figure out how to replace them...
 
Bigfish said:
The ends of my vents got sheered off in hurricane Irma so a little water could be getting in there but not gallons... Can't figure out how to replace them...
Click to expand...

Sooo, as opposed to your Avatar, you are not in the PNW?

Drill a hole; poke the scope in there; and get some rain on the deck while you watch. A mate with a bucket of wawa can substitute for rain. :)
 
Lets go back to the engine problem for a minute. Did you get the engine started ?

pete
 
Does your fuel tanks have sight gauges? If so are they placed where you could remove the top one to insert a borescope? My old Celestial was built that way. It had a wooden panel up against each tank, but the tank ends were visible. I don't remember where I got it, other than eBay, but I bought a 15' cable with a camera on the end (could get up to a 30' cable).
The other end had a computer connector. The cable came with a computer program, which was quite terrible, but I found a different program online. The camera has its own light source. I used it with my old laptop computer. I used it to track down a leak in the Celestial's deck. Turned out, it was a screw that had penetrated all the way through an imbedded teak "screw" strip and through the fiberglass deck. Once I found which screw was the culprit, I removed it, put sealant into the hole and put the correct length screw back in. I would never have found the leak without this scope, as the leak was about 5' from where the water was coming out. Google "borescopes". I ordered it on eBay directly from the Chinese vender (all in English) and received it way faster than I thought I would, despite international shipping and customs. The following URL is an eBay vendor that has one for less then $3.00. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2M-USB-Wat...172467?hash=item3b390c37b3:g:yYsAAOSwJ9ldfgxo
It looks similar to the one I bought, but is 2 meters long. If not long enough, The vender probably has longer ones. Good luck!
 
fill port for camera access?

If you have a long enough camera you can look at the INSIDE of your tank through the deck fill.

Can you remove the deck fill enough to slip the camera in so you don't have to drill a hole?

Good point that the leak and the water in the tank are different problems. There is a crappy boatyard in my area that sold me a lot of water along with the diesel. I had just installed the tank after cleaning. I was way bummed to see my bowls full of crude and water....
 
I removed both tanks on my 1979 Formosa 46 cutter (sailboat). Both tanks were original black iron, impervious to diesel but not to rust.
Since I was replacing the Ford Lehman 80 hp with a 100 hp Iveco (Fiat), the port tank was easy to take out. Both tanks held 90 gallons. The port tank was sound on the bottom and sides but I could put my fist through the top. It was completely rusted to the point of being just rusty flakes of metal. The fill and returns were still intact but it was a disaster waiting to happen.
After seeing the port tank, I cut away a bulkhead to expose the starboard tank and removed it. The starboard tank was in even worse shape.

Tom at Coastline Tanks fabricated new aluminum fuel tanks to the exact dimensions I gave. I have a phone number if you want it.

I installed two portside tanks. One is a tall tank 73 gallons and the other is 94 gallons. I installed a 60 gallon fresh water water tank (plastic) and my new water heater where the starboard tank had been.
Another comment - After using the horrible, little, manual pump on the Lehman to prime the injector pump, I made one of the fuel tanks tall enough that I can always use gravity to prime the system.

Bottom line is - empty your tanks and find a way to remove them. Probably best to haul the boat to prevent any spills. If you can not remove them immediately, use a temporary tank for fuel. Even a small fuel drum fitted with supply and return lines might work.
 
taxi?

my guess is tank top rust out, 300 gal. + what was in the tank already probably overfilled est. 350 gal capacity. happened to me once.



my dipstick fuel gauge reads empty when the tanks are still 20% full of fuel as my tanks get deeper as they follow the hull toward the center, fore aft trim also changes things a bit.


your most frugal neighbors might buy your current excess fuel, i have a 12V transfer pump you can use if needed.


i'm still at outta the blue doing Irman renewal, stop by.
 
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