Does any one know the most likely plastic for this vintage boat would have been? I am guessing polyethylene but I don't know whether it would be high density or low density. Thanks
Goodwinds
DaveM
Goodwinds
DaveM
89 o'day 35 water tank
- Thread starter damauney
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They were made by Todd industries, Howard Goldsmith ran the company and was still around the industry last I looked, he could answer for sure but Low density is a pretty good bet. Fuel would have been high density.
There are two kinds of polyethylene--linear and crosslinked. Linear PE is either low density or high density. Water and waste tanks are low density linear polyethylene (LDPE). Very little HDPE is used for tankage in the marine industry.
Fuel tanks cannot be made of high OR low density linear ...because linear PE will permeate low density or high...in fact, can even "melt" it. So plastic fuel tanks must be made of CROSSLINKED polyethylene.
I wouldn't recommend going with another Todd tank...90% of the "off the shelf" rectangular water and waste tanks in the marine catalogs are Todd.... they're cheap, because they're thin and low quality--too thin to support the weight of the contents....so unless a Todd tank is supported on all sides, it will flex and bulge which will cause it to crack. A good quality thickwalled tank will last as long as the boat unless it's abused.
Your best source for a new water tank is Ronco Plastics Ronco Plastics Marine Catalog (no relation to the VegoMatic Ronco). They make TOP quality thick walled (at least 3/8") water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price--that's even more reasonable if you order it through the online store at this site--and have more than 400 shapes/sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular. And they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank. So you can prob'ly find an even larger tank to fit your space than you have now.
Fuel tanks cannot be made of high OR low density linear ...because linear PE will permeate low density or high...in fact, can even "melt" it. So plastic fuel tanks must be made of CROSSLINKED polyethylene.
I wouldn't recommend going with another Todd tank...90% of the "off the shelf" rectangular water and waste tanks in the marine catalogs are Todd.... they're cheap, because they're thin and low quality--too thin to support the weight of the contents....so unless a Todd tank is supported on all sides, it will flex and bulge which will cause it to crack. A good quality thickwalled tank will last as long as the boat unless it's abused.
Your best source for a new water tank is Ronco Plastics Ronco Plastics Marine Catalog (no relation to the VegoMatic Ronco). They make TOP quality thick walled (at least 3/8") water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price--that's even more reasonable if you order it through the online store at this site--and have more than 400 shapes/sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular. And they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank. So you can prob'ly find an even larger tank to fit your space than you have now.
I stand corrected cross-linked is what I meant to say for fuel. Todd built what the boat builder asked for, usually driven by price. Back then Todd was one of the higher quality rotational molders. Generally Oday tanks were molded to fit the space, so fit fairly well, after all the tank is 27 years old, and fully depreciated. My 1986 Oday 322 tanks, water, fuel and holding were all molded to fit the tight spaces where they are installed and are all still serviceable. I don't have any experience with Todd's current product.
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