|
12-10-2014, 12:52 AM
|
#1
|
Guru
City: Everett
Vessel Name: LIBERTY
Vessel Model: TOLLY 48
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 502
|
Water tanks
A previous thread regarding bleach in water tanks reminded of a water tank issue I was forced to deal with on my Canoe Cove 53 a few years ago. In short, the OEM water tank (~25 years old at the time) began leaking. Investigation revealed a tank that, by the nature of the original build, was simply not inspectable, nor certainly repairable in-situ. So, out it came, with considerable effort and expense, and in went a replacement.
The original tank material was aluminum (alloy unknown), and nicely fabricated (quality welds, proper baffling, etc.). After removing the tank, investigation revealed numerous "crusticles" coating the interior of the tank, each generating a corrosion pit underneath. One of these corrosion pits eventually made its way through the tank wall, leading to the failure. The crusticles were hard, white, calcium-like in appearance, and looked all the world like ossified buggers on the walls of the boy's gym in Jr. High School. I didn't attempt to have a sample chemically analyzed, but they appeared to this somewhat-knowledgeable guy as the byproduct of a chemical reaction between the chemicals and/or minerals in the water and the aluminum alloying elements that made up the tank.
I'm attaching (hopefully (sucessfully) a couple of pictures of the interior of the tank. Anybody else seen such a thing?
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 05:01 AM
|
#2
|
Hospitality Officer
City: Pittwater
Vessel Name: Sarawana
Vessel Model: IG 36 Quad Cabin
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,897
|
[QUOTE=jungpeter;289862] The crusticles were hard, white, calcium-like in appearance, and looked all the world like ossified buggers on the walls of the boy's gym.
Buggers?
I am assuming the American idiom for 'buggers' is different from the English version(at least I hope so).
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 05:26 AM
|
#3
|
Guru
City: Kitimat, North Coast BC
Vessel Name: Badger
Vessel Model: 30' Sundowner Tug
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 5,946
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy G
I am assuming the American idiom for 'buggers' is different from the English version(at least I hope so).
|
I think he meant boogers, as in snot, or crusty dried chunks of mucoid nasal drippings...
__________________
"The most interesting path between two points is not a straight line" MurrayM
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 05:33 AM
|
#4
|
Guru
City: Carefree, Arizona
Vessel Name: sunchaser V
Vessel Model: DeFever 48 (sold)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,186
|
Looks to me like Al203 or an Al hydroxide which are decomposition materials remaining as your tank ate away. Faulty wiring and plumbing are the nemesis of Al tanks and hulls.
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 06:59 AM
|
#5
|
Guru
City: Satsuma FL
Vessel Name: No Mo Trawla
Vessel Model: Hurricane SS188
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 2,300
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jungpeter
The original tank material was aluminum (alloy unknown), and nicely fabricated (quality welds, proper baffling, etc.). After removing the tank, investigation revealed numerous "crusticles" coating the interior of the tank, each generating a corrosion pit underneath. One of these corrosion pits eventually made its way through the tank wall, leading to the failure. The crusticles were hard, white, calcium-like in appearance, and looked all the world like ossified buggers on the walls of the boy's gym in Jr. High School. I didn't attempt to have a sample chemically analyzed, but they appeared to this somewhat-knowledgeable guy as the byproduct of a chemical reaction between the chemicals and/or minerals in the water and the aluminum alloying elements that made up the tank.
I'm attaching (hopefully (sucessfully) a couple of pictures of the interior of the tank. Anybody else seen such a thing?
|
I get a buildup like that under my pool waterfall where water falls over some tiles. It might be a little more white. Often wondered why it only built up on tile around the waterfall. I assume it is calcium. Acid will remove it but not something you want to put in your water tank. Does your water supply have a high amount of calcium?
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 07:22 AM
|
#6
|
Guru
City: Here
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,940
|
Lots of contradictory stuff on the web about aluminum and Alzheimers but drinking water with that crud in it can't be healthy.
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 11:19 AM
|
#7
|
Guru
City: Everett
Vessel Name: LIBERTY
Vessel Model: TOLLY 48
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 502
|
Andy G, Yup, boogers it is. My bad. I think I rely on Google spellchecker too often. Who'd a thunk my stupid computer couldn't tell a bugger from a booger?
Pete
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 11:34 AM
|
#8
|
Guru
City: Everett
Vessel Name: LIBERTY
Vessel Model: TOLLY 48
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 502
|
Donsan,
I tried scraping and both muriatic and phosphoric acid washes with little affect. Even if the boogers would have been successfully removed from the walls and floor of the tank, the corrosion pits would have remained. Given the baffling and poor access, few opportunities to coat the tank interior to mitigate these pits, nor to repair the leak itself were apparent. Trust me on this-I searched long and hard to find a viable in-situ repair for this tank. I was left (as mentioned in the original post) with the inevitability of a remove and replace operation.
In hindsight, not a terribly difficult or overwhelmingly costly replacement operation. For any Canoe Cove 53 owners that might be lurking and/or interested, I posted a detailed description of my fix, including pictures, on the Canoe Cove owner's association website.
Regards,
Pete
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 01:07 PM
|
#9
|
Guru
City: Here
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 2,940
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jungpeter
Andy G, Yup, boogers it is. My bad. I think I rely on Google spellchecker too often. Who'd a thunk my stupid computer couldn't tell a bugger from a booger?
Pete
|
As a short term inmate at an all boys school in the UK. I can attest to that difference
|
|
|
12-10-2014, 05:21 PM
|
#10
|
Hospitality Officer
City: Pittwater
Vessel Name: Sarawana
Vessel Model: IG 36 Quad Cabin
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,897
|
[QUOTE=jungpeter;289940]Andy G, Who'd a thunk my stupid computer couldn't tell a bugger from a booger?
Maybe it has led a sheltered life.
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Trawler Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|