Water tank sources?

[bugbitten]

I was sure my water tank gauge had gone on the fritz, as it dropped from nearly full to empty just about overnight. Well, it looks like I'm facing the dreaded demise of the aluminum water tank. I'm going to do some further checking before I start ripping things out, but I would like to investigate replacements. I've searched the forum and not found all that much, although there was mention of the Ronco Plastics 414, which they currently list at over $600! Any info on what's worked for folks would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
John (13 months on the hard and counting!)

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Aluminum is acceptable WATER tank material...lifespan averages about 20 years. You may be able to find local fabricator.

 

[Mark Maulden]

I replaced my water/fuel tanks several yrs ago. The old ones had mfgr placards with part numbers etc. I found the company and gave them the p/n and had new ones in hand two weeks later..No new mounting issues.. whatever you do, make sure they can pass through companionway..

 

[bugbitten]

I tried finding a replacement fuel tank based on the information on it about a year ago, and, as near as I could tell, they were no longer available. That one is still actually in pretty decent shape. I'll see if there's any identifying info on the old tank once I've removed the plywood above it. Does anyone have the rough dimensions of the tank's area?

And I'll double-check the companionway opening before I order anything!

Thanks.
John

 

[Jim 5757]

+1 on Mark's comment! The water tank on our Morgan 28 is toast! Fortunately, Ronco has the exact replacement. Unfortunately, I was all set to order it when I noticed the passageway into the V-berth is smaller than the tank! Solution: I'm gonna cut the top off the original tank and install a bladder tank from Vetus.

 

[bugbitten]

I think the passage to the v-berth will me more of a limitation for me as well. An older discussion of this mentioned this Ronco unit: http://www.ronco-plastics.net/newRonco/product_details.php?prodID=304
but that's a good deal more capacity than what's in there, so I'm suspicious about whether it would fit. I'm not thrilled with that price, either!

 

[FastOlson]

Ronco is probably your best bet. They have oodles of tank shapes and capacities. Nice folks to deal with also.
Have an accurate drawing of where you want any inlets/outlets. Their prices are very reasonable.
Another great choice for a water tank is a local custom SS tank. We did that many years ago -- local ss fabricator that was used to food service and brewery-grade work. I built a plywood mockup and he duplicated it in SS. Baffled, with 6" clean-out ports on each side of the baffle. It is great to be able to reach inside and scrub it clean each season.
Good luck!

 

[bugbitten]

I'm in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and a stone's throw from a major shipyard, so SS fabricators are easy to find. I'll know better what the situation is with the tank in the next day or two, then I'll start the cutting and measuring. That tank is nearly 40 years old, so it's no doubt ready for a decent burial.

John

 

[bugbitten]

I've had good luck with Trionic tanks in the past, and I emailed them about my situation. They've got this 40 gallon bow tank that seems quite a bit more compact than the Ronco unit another 9.2A owner recommended some time back. I'll post the dimensions, in case Woody or someone else who's replaced this particular tank can weigh in on whether they'll fit. The Trionic is only $350!

John

 

[BobM]

https://www.ntotank.com/44gallon-ronco-marine-water-tank-x6112321 for $549.

 

[bugbitten]

Thanks, Bob. I'll check it out. Oddly enough, I've not had a recurrence of the massive leak from the water tank, so I'm hoping to put that job off at least until after the season. I broke one of the flanges for the salon's table's pedestals, pulled it out, and found water in that area, under the sole. I'm pretty sure it's one of the old water supply lines leaking, so that's my current focus. I'd definitely like to keep the area under the sole bone dry, particularly given your situation with the mast. It sure makes me want to create all sorts of access panels, I tell you.

John

 

[py26129]

When I installed my bigger holding tank, I build a mockup out of cardboard to make sure I could get it below.

 

[jviss]

Oddly enough, I've not had a recurrence of the massive leak from the water tank, ...

Are you saying it's not the tank, or that there's a fault in the tank that makes it leak massively, intermittently? I'm curious.
I'm looking at a boat with two aluminum water tanks. The boat is 21 years old.
I'd like to know how the tank failed. Did it rot through, at a corner or seam or perhaps some isolated spot? I would think a talented welder could fix this. If need be, if the tank won't fit out of the boat, he could do it in-situ.

 

[jviss]

Aluminum is acceptable WATER tank material...lifespan averages about 20 years. You may be able to find local fabricator.

Peggy, can you comment on the failure mode? Is it a seam, a weld, just the aluminum plate rotting through? I am thinking something like this could be repaired.

 

[bugbitten]

My water tank issue (and it is an aluminum, 27 gallon tank, 36 years old, under the v-berth cushions) is perplexing. The boat was on the hard all winter, in SE Virginia, where we did see a fair amount of sub-freezing temps. I like to be able to wash up on board after working on projects, so I keep the tank close to full year round. I keep a space heater going and felt the tank should not have frozen, but it's a possibility. I was working above the tank running wiring for a bow thruster. I noticed that the water tank gauge was reading empty all of a sudden, and I thought I'd knocked a connection loose on its wiring. Eventually I determined that the tank was completely empty and, since no taps had been left open, suspected tank failure. There was no evidence of water in the area immediately around the tank, but that was just a cursory check of those areas I could easily access. The water seemed to all go right to the bilge and then was automatically pumped out. I've since refilled the tank and have kept it full for three months. It's held everything fine, as far as I can see. I think I may have a minor leak in the lines, but there's no indication of major tank issues. I still have been unable to account for those thirty or more gallons suddenly going missing.

John

 

[Gunni]

The aluminum tanks fail by corrosion. Typically large areas of the tank interior are thinned by corrosion and weld repair is a waste of time. If I had a hard to remove tank I would pad it and install a potable bladder. Vetus and Nauta both make lots of sizes.

 

[Gunni]

Bug bitten; you are asking for trouble keeping water in your system over the winter. Your climate will not support that and one power outage will put that heater solution out the door. You should be checking every single hose connection, pump fitting and valve for freeze-swell leaks....and resolve to go find your wash water somewhere ashore. Drain and winterize your water system. Whatever convenience you think you may have will be disabused by the amount of work to fix a freeze damaged water system.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Peggy, can you comment on the failure mode?

As someone else has already said, it's corrosion. Cumulative damage from carrying chlorinated water and/or adding a little bleach to each fill (note the word "cumulative"...an annual or semi-annual recommissioning using bleach that's completely flushed out within a few hours has negligible impact)...the pH level of the water...
What fails first depends on the wall thickness, type/quality of the metal (aluminum will fail a lot faster than steel...different grades of steel fail at different rates), quality of the welds....etc. Nothing lasts forever and +/- 20 years is a pretty good run for most things on a boat.

 

[bugbitten]

Bug bitten; you are asking for trouble keeping water in your system over the winter. Your climate will not support that and one power outage will put that heater solution out the door. You should be checking every single hose connection, pump fitting and valve for freeze-swell leaks....and resolve to go find your wash water somewhere ashore. Drain and winterize your water system. Whatever convenience you think you may have will be disabused by the amount of work to fix a freeze damaged water system.

I hear you. This was my first winter with the boat on the hard. I normally keep the boat in the water year round, close to home, and check it frequently. I also have a cellular boat monitor that I use to check cabin temp. It will text me when the power is interrupted. Nonetheless, it WAS nerve-wracking knowing how quickly the interior temp will plummet without power, and I won't put myself or the boat through that again.

John

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Bug bitten; you are asking for trouble keeping water in your system over the winter.

Maybe, maybe not. Boat hulls and what's in 'em at or below the waterline take their temperature off the water, so as long as the water around the boat stays liquid, the water in the fresh water system will too. An overnight or even a couple of days hard freeze isn't enough to do more than put a skim of ice on the water.

However, all that only applies to boats in the water. Boats on the hard take their temperature from the air, which is often much colder than the water...A "hard freeze" on land is any temp below 32 F longer than overnight. So if you pull your boat for the winter, winterize it!