Looking for suggestions or alternatives to the situation described below.
My 37 year old aluminum 30 gallon diesel fuel tank located on a OEM shelf near the port side lazarette seat has finally started to leak. Very slowly though. A single sheet of paper towel in the aft end of the bilge absorbs the leak rate over the course of a month.
The location of the leak at the tank can’t be reached for any sort of outside repair with epoxy. Anyway, I expect that more pinhole leaks will appear over the next few years. So repairing is probably a fool’s errand.
The only way I can remove the tank in one piece is by reciprocating saw surgery to my cockpit liner. Not a happy option.
I am thinking to:
- Empty the offending tank of diesel using the in-line electric fuel pump (installed by a PO to aid bleeding the system). Then add a bit of water. Drain again. H2O once again for good measure.
- Use my reciprocating saw to cut the tank apart so I can remove it and clear the space. Donate the tank to the local aluminum recycler.
- Replace it with a Moeller “Roto-molded, cross-linked polyethylene” plastic tank with dimensions to fit in the existing space through the lazarette seat opening. The tank probably will be less than 30 gallons … But I don’t need anywhere that capacity for the type of sailing I do.
Another option is just to drain the tank. Decommission it but leave it in place. Instead, install a new tank on the starboard side where I have a currently empty space.
My 37 year old aluminum 30 gallon diesel fuel tank located on a OEM shelf near the port side lazarette seat has finally started to leak. Very slowly though. A single sheet of paper towel in the aft end of the bilge absorbs the leak rate over the course of a month.
The location of the leak at the tank can’t be reached for any sort of outside repair with epoxy. Anyway, I expect that more pinhole leaks will appear over the next few years. So repairing is probably a fool’s errand.
The only way I can remove the tank in one piece is by reciprocating saw surgery to my cockpit liner. Not a happy option.
I am thinking to:
- Empty the offending tank of diesel using the in-line electric fuel pump (installed by a PO to aid bleeding the system). Then add a bit of water. Drain again. H2O once again for good measure.
- Use my reciprocating saw to cut the tank apart so I can remove it and clear the space. Donate the tank to the local aluminum recycler.
- Replace it with a Moeller “Roto-molded, cross-linked polyethylene” plastic tank with dimensions to fit in the existing space through the lazarette seat opening. The tank probably will be less than 30 gallons … But I don’t need anywhere that capacity for the type of sailing I do.
Another option is just to drain the tank. Decommission it but leave it in place. Instead, install a new tank on the starboard side where I have a currently empty space.
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