I would like to know if anyone has added an access hole to the fuel tank on the Legend 35.5 (1995 model, the tank in my boat is a polypropylene tank and I can see part of it thru the starboard access openning in the swimming platform, I am concern about diesel junk accumulating in its bottom and comming loose at the wrong moment, I would like to have easy acees for inspection and cleaning, the only way I can see is adding an access hole in the side of the tank and i am leery about doing such a thing. Gene (SunCat)
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Assuming you had an access hole, what would you do if there were some accumulated grunge in the tank? You could either have it cleaned by 'scrubbing' or you could empty the tank out and buy new fuel. Unless your boat has a history of this kind of problem, you could do a once a year scrubbing of the tank with your winter layup as part of a maintenance plan. By disconnecting the fuel supply hose to the engine you could hook up a remote water separator/filter with an electric fuel pump and return the fuel back to the tank via the fuel return. By running the pump for a half hour you would easily be cleaning the fuel in the tank several times over. By examining the filter after you would see the condition the fuel was in.
Thanks
Alan, thank you very much for the response, my boat does not have a history of this kind of a problem, I just want to play it safe. Do you know which water separator/filter to use?, I would like to add this procedure to my winter list. Alan, you always are eager to help others in this group and your input and experience is greatly appreciated. Gene
Alan, thank you very much for the response, my boat does not have a history of this kind of a problem, I just want to play it safe. Do you know which water separator/filter to use?, I would like to add this procedure to my winter list. Alan, you always are eager to help others in this group and your input and experience is greatly appreciated. Gene
Gene
I would use a Raycor filter/separator. It has a clear glass(plastic) bowl that you can see through. You can pick up a universal electric fuel pump to put in line with the the filter. You can do this work right at the tank in the port swim platform locker where the fuel lines are accessible. PS another thought, try to do this with as little fuel in the tank as you can. That would help to concentrate whatever grunge is there and make for many fuel cycle turnovers.
I would use a Raycor filter/separator. It has a clear glass(plastic) bowl that you can see through. You can pick up a universal electric fuel pump to put in line with the the filter. You can do this work right at the tank in the port swim platform locker where the fuel lines are accessible. PS another thought, try to do this with as little fuel in the tank as you can. That would help to concentrate whatever grunge is there and make for many fuel cycle turnovers.
Just added one to my my legend
Do not put the port on the side of your tank. For several years the thought of getting a clogged filter at the wrong time has concerned me. I have friends that have added the port on your model and knew that adding the port to the top was easy, the biggest problem lies in losing the prime when you clean out the tank. Here is what I did several weeks ago before a cruise vacation. 1. Bought 8" port at West marine. The screw type, clear port used on every Hobie. 2. Made a stainless steel ring that was used inside the tank to clamp the tank tightly between the SS ring and port. The ring was cut in one place from OD to ID so I could slip it into the tank easily. This step is not usually done but I feel better that it was. 3. After cutting the hole in the center of the tank, I pumped out the remaing 5 gallons of fuel and wiped out the tank with paper towels. I was extremely glad I had done it by the time it was wiped out. There was enough black sooty gunk to plug up lots of fuel filters. I was also glad for the 8" port hole. 4. I painted the stainless ring with permatex, slipped it into the tank, put a permatexed paper gasket on top of the tank and then the port.(I made the gasket also) Using 10-24 screws with nylock nuts I assembled everything and tightened the screws with a screw driver. Then poured in 5 fresh gallons of fuel. 5. I had shut off the fuel petcock but during the pump down the pickup line had drained down from the point of the petcock on top of the tank. To refill this section to insure no air lock I used a very small diameter hose that would fit into this piece of fuel line and back filled it from the petcock. Fill up the small diameter,long hose - insert in fuel line to the petcock - lift the small hose high and pull it out, while the pickup hose is under the level of fuel in the tank. I had no starting/running problems. 6. Screw in the port. My tank is under the aft berth and we have no fuel smell. I have a much better feeling about what is going on in the tank. This whole operation took about 5 hours. I do not feel polishing would have worked because of the way the soot adheres to the tank bottom and sides, you would need a washing action to get it loose. You know, kind of like wave action.
Do not put the port on the side of your tank. For several years the thought of getting a clogged filter at the wrong time has concerned me. I have friends that have added the port on your model and knew that adding the port to the top was easy, the biggest problem lies in losing the prime when you clean out the tank. Here is what I did several weeks ago before a cruise vacation. 1. Bought 8" port at West marine. The screw type, clear port used on every Hobie. 2. Made a stainless steel ring that was used inside the tank to clamp the tank tightly between the SS ring and port. The ring was cut in one place from OD to ID so I could slip it into the tank easily. This step is not usually done but I feel better that it was. 3. After cutting the hole in the center of the tank, I pumped out the remaing 5 gallons of fuel and wiped out the tank with paper towels. I was extremely glad I had done it by the time it was wiped out. There was enough black sooty gunk to plug up lots of fuel filters. I was also glad for the 8" port hole. 4. I painted the stainless ring with permatex, slipped it into the tank, put a permatexed paper gasket on top of the tank and then the port.(I made the gasket also) Using 10-24 screws with nylock nuts I assembled everything and tightened the screws with a screw driver. Then poured in 5 fresh gallons of fuel. 5. I had shut off the fuel petcock but during the pump down the pickup line had drained down from the point of the petcock on top of the tank. To refill this section to insure no air lock I used a very small diameter hose that would fit into this piece of fuel line and back filled it from the petcock. Fill up the small diameter,long hose - insert in fuel line to the petcock - lift the small hose high and pull it out, while the pickup hose is under the level of fuel in the tank. I had no starting/running problems. 6. Screw in the port. My tank is under the aft berth and we have no fuel smell. I have a much better feeling about what is going on in the tank. This whole operation took about 5 hours. I do not feel polishing would have worked because of the way the soot adheres to the tank bottom and sides, you would need a washing action to get it loose. You know, kind of like wave action.
Top of tank
Bill, thank you for your reply, however I think it is impossible to put an access hole in the top of my tank, the swimming platform is really tight against the top and it is not accessible short of also putting another access hole on the swimming platform
Gene
Bill, thank you for your reply, however I think it is impossible to put an access hole in the top of my tank, the swimming platform is really tight against the top and it is not accessible short of also putting another access hole on the swimming platform
Gene35.5 fuel tank
There may be a screen on the pick up tube inside the fuel tank. A recent call to Hunter Tech confirmed that pickup tube screens were used during at least part of the Legend series production run. At some point Hunter discontinued the use of screens on the pickup tube because of owner complaints about clogging. IF your boat has the screen - being a '95 it most likely does not - it is prone to clogging by the gunk growing and accumulating inside the tank. The solution is to remove the pickup tube from the tank and un-install the screen letting your racor do the filtering job - not an easy task. First the bands, made of either fiber or stainless steel, holding the tank in place must be cut allowing you to slide the tank to port or starboard so that you can work on it, after you siphon off the fuel inside the tank. But dont pull the old bands through as they can be used to string the new ones in place. Remove the pickup tube, take the screen off, reinstall the pickup tube, replace the tank, re-thread new hold down straps, fill tank, bleed engine if necessary, go sailing. If your tank is foul there is a simpler procedure. Using a siphon, or fuel safe transfer pump (I use the TopSider oil changer sold at West Marine with a 2.5' long copper tube added to the plastic siphon tube) you can siphon off the fuel - hopefully the tank is near empty - and suck out the gunk with the fuel by inserting the copper into the tank through the fuel guage hole and continually moving it around the seams of the bottom of the tank. You can see the stuff come out through the clear plastic tubing. The fuel can then be re-filtered and put back into the tank or you can use fresh fuel. However, you must now get rid of any microbes that are attached to the walls of the tank. This can be accomplished by purchasing the fuel polishing kit sold at West Marine and follow the directions for your size tank, which would use about 1/4 of the product. Fill the tank completely so the biocide comes in contact with all the tank walls and do some motoring to mix it up and get the stuff all through the system. If your tank is not foul and you want to prevent problems you must 1) keep any water out of your tank (easier said then done), 2) filter your fuel at every fill up using a good quality filter, 3) Use Biopor, but remember, less is better then more, 4)drain the tank for winter lay-up instead of topping it off (condensation is not so much of a problem with a poly tank) By the way, Hunter has gone back to using pickup tube screens because owners complain about clogging fuel filters. I can't believe that anyone would want to deal with a clogged pickup tube screen instead of a clogged filter, but to each his own. Sorry for such a lengthy response, good luck.
There may be a screen on the pick up tube inside the fuel tank. A recent call to Hunter Tech confirmed that pickup tube screens were used during at least part of the Legend series production run. At some point Hunter discontinued the use of screens on the pickup tube because of owner complaints about clogging. IF your boat has the screen - being a '95 it most likely does not - it is prone to clogging by the gunk growing and accumulating inside the tank. The solution is to remove the pickup tube from the tank and un-install the screen letting your racor do the filtering job - not an easy task. First the bands, made of either fiber or stainless steel, holding the tank in place must be cut allowing you to slide the tank to port or starboard so that you can work on it, after you siphon off the fuel inside the tank. But dont pull the old bands through as they can be used to string the new ones in place. Remove the pickup tube, take the screen off, reinstall the pickup tube, replace the tank, re-thread new hold down straps, fill tank, bleed engine if necessary, go sailing. If your tank is foul there is a simpler procedure. Using a siphon, or fuel safe transfer pump (I use the TopSider oil changer sold at West Marine with a 2.5' long copper tube added to the plastic siphon tube) you can siphon off the fuel - hopefully the tank is near empty - and suck out the gunk with the fuel by inserting the copper into the tank through the fuel guage hole and continually moving it around the seams of the bottom of the tank. You can see the stuff come out through the clear plastic tubing. The fuel can then be re-filtered and put back into the tank or you can use fresh fuel. However, you must now get rid of any microbes that are attached to the walls of the tank. This can be accomplished by purchasing the fuel polishing kit sold at West Marine and follow the directions for your size tank, which would use about 1/4 of the product. Fill the tank completely so the biocide comes in contact with all the tank walls and do some motoring to mix it up and get the stuff all through the system. If your tank is not foul and you want to prevent problems you must 1) keep any water out of your tank (easier said then done), 2) filter your fuel at every fill up using a good quality filter, 3) Use Biopor, but remember, less is better then more, 4)drain the tank for winter lay-up instead of topping it off (condensation is not so much of a problem with a poly tank) By the way, Hunter has gone back to using pickup tube screens because owners complain about clogging fuel filters. I can't believe that anyone would want to deal with a clogged pickup tube screen instead of a clogged filter, but to each his own. Sorry for such a lengthy response, good luck.
Pickup screen
I removed the screen on the pickup tube on my 1995 35.5 (yes that year still has it). I did not have to cut the bands on the tank to get the pickup screen out. When you pull out the pickup tube from the tank you can access the bottom of the tank through the hole and remove contaminants from the bottom of the tank with a pump and a long thin hose if necessary. I would not recommend cutting an inspection hole in the tank as it should not be required under normal circumstances - all you would accomplish is to introduce another possibility for leaks and the diesel smell which would go along with it. I use a biocide with every fill and since removing the pickup screen have had no problems with my fuel.
I removed the screen on the pickup tube on my 1995 35.5 (yes that year still has it). I did not have to cut the bands on the tank to get the pickup screen out. When you pull out the pickup tube from the tank you can access the bottom of the tank through the hole and remove contaminants from the bottom of the tank with a pump and a long thin hose if necessary. I would not recommend cutting an inspection hole in the tank as it should not be required under normal circumstances - all you would accomplish is to introduce another possibility for leaks and the diesel smell which would go along with it. I use a biocide with every fill and since removing the pickup screen have had no problems with my fuel.
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