Fuel Tank

[Brian Hofler]

For all who may be troubled by the bilge fuel tank - - don't be... Although
it takes a bit of time, the fuel tank can be removed from the bilge. It
helps if you have an extra elbow in your right arm, but even this is not
absolutely necessary.
I removed the plastic [nylon?] tank from VESPER, #1868 last year to clean
it. My experience taught me to be aware that the 'split-ring' on the
underside of the flange at the top of the tank is tough to get back on if
removed while the tank is in-place. The secret to removing the tank is to
disconnect the diesel fill line juder the gunwhale on the port side of the
cockpit. This gives enough slack in the fill line to be able to lift the
tank far enough out of the bilge to disconnect the fill line from the tank.
After that is off, it is fairly smooth-sailing.
Good Luck.

Ed Davis aka SaylerEd@...

 

[purplerobbie1968]

Hello
Would anyone have a picture of the fuel tank in the keel (one at the
battery end and the filler end) they could send me?
Cheers Rob

 

[lars_sandstroem]

Hello
If you´re still missing the fuel tank picture I can send you one or two pictures probably next week. I took it away to clean the keel and it´s still outside the boat. Just let me know.

Greetings Lars S Vega 2007

purplerobbie1968 <skydiver@...> skrev:
Hello
Would anyone have a picture of the fuel tank in the keel (one at the
battery end and the filler end) they could send me?
Cheers Rob





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[alan_critchlow]

Hello, Look at

Taking the tank out

You can also get to it from the links page "Rebuilding tarka the
Otter"

Alan V1639

 

[vega1860]

I am finally going to remove the bilge tank and install a new fuel tank in the port side cockpit locker. I would welcome any tips from anyone who has done this. There are not many jobs I have not done on my Vega but this is one. I have tried to avoid it for years but it is apparent I can no longer put it off.

Thanks

Chuck

 

[groundhogyh]

Hi Chuck,I just did this job about a week ago and posted a recipe. Do you know how to search the old posts on the vega yahoo page? There are also many good other posts on the subject.
Roy

 

[groundhogyh]

Im sorry, I didn't realize it was the hawaii chuck... Roy

 

[groundhogyh]

Also, yesterday, I installed the original tank in the port side locker. Lashed it in aft using rachet straps to the wooden sidewall. I decided I didn't want to take on a project that will ruin my spring sailing. This gives me time to get used to the concept and think about it. All the same hardware is there and it just all plugs toghether.roy

 

[pjacobs55]

Chuck,
I've read somewhere that it's easier to remove if the boat is out of the water ... something to do with the keel cavity being squeezed by water pressure.

Good luck with you engine overhaul, too!
Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[Vega1447]

Hi Roy I'm sure that you won't do what some previous owner of my vega
did:
Move the tank from keel to cockpit locker
Re-connect fuel feed and fuel return pipes
NOT reconnect tank vent pipe to breather on side deck coaming!!!
Obviously the tank unvented would form a vacuum and starve the engine
of fuel.
But here is the insidious bit.
The fuel return pipe had to be extended to reach the tank in it's new
position.
My predecessor fitted an extension to the original fuel return pipe
without a brass "olive" compression fitting.
For the last 4 years it has been leaking slowly and breathing diesel
out in warm weather as tank expanded.
The absence of diesel smell is already noticable. I'm hoping the
residual smell will soon fade.

My wife always complained about the smell of diesel - maybe now she
will come for a sail John

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie

 

[groundhogyh]

Hi John,I reconnected every thing as it was before.
But yes, the return hose I had on hand was too short to reach the new position. The supply line was far too long. So I cut one and used a female-female barb fitting to extend the return line. Is that not good?roy

 

[Vega1447]

Hi Roy you did same as me - fine I think.

What my predecessor (a very nice guy I'm told) forgot to do was to to
transfer the vent pipe from the old tank to the new one.

Normally the engine would have stalled due to a vacuum forming in tank
but in a wierd combination of events there was a bad connection in
fuel return (no barb fitting) through which thetank vented and leaked
slowly.

For years!

Took me 4 years to figure it out.

But at least I did in the end.

John V1447 Breakaway

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie

 

[trevy_kins]

John, what, pray tell, is an "olive" compression fitting? And why is it
necessary in this case?

Trevor - V2915



________________________________

From: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of John.Kinsella
Sent: April 19, 2010 6:23 PM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Fuel Tank





Hi Roy I'm sure that you won't do what some previous owner of my vega
did:
Move the tank from keel to cockpit locker
Re-connect fuel feed and fuel return pipes
NOT reconnect tank vent pipe to breather on side deck coaming!!!
Obviously the tank unvented would form a vacuum and starve the engine
of fuel.
But here is the insidious bit.
The fuel return pipe had to be extended to reach the tank in it's new
position.
My predecessor fitted an extension to the original fuel return pipe
without a brass "olive" compression fitting.
For the last 4 years it has been leaking slowly and breathing diesel
out in warm weather as tank expanded.
The absence of diesel smell is already noticable. I'm hoping the
residual smell will soon fade.

My wife always complained about the smell of diesel - maybe now she
will come for a sail John

John Kinsella
Mathematics and Statistics Dept
University of Limerick

Phone 0035361202148
Web jkcray.maths.ul.ie On Apr 19, 2010, at 9:46 PM, "groundhog" groundhogyh@...
mailto:groundhogyh%40yahoo.com wrote:

 

[Vega1447]

I was afraid someone might ask - a vaguely remembered phrase used by a
friend when making up a gas joint.

What I *meant* was what Roy referred to as a barb fitting - two s/s or
brass pipes joinedback-to-back to form a union that can connect two
rubber diesel pipes. (Using jubilee clips to tighten the rubber pipes
down on the "barb fitting".)

My predecessor didn't use the "barb fitting"; simply slipped the larger
diameter rubber extension pipe over the smaller diameter less flexible
original fuel return pipe and secured with a jubilee clip - the
junction leaked and eventually cracked through flexing.

But allowed the tank to vent/breath - an example of the little known
extension to Murphy's Law:

Sometimes a combination of two things that are set up wrong gives a
ghastly bodge that sort of works... (TM)

John V1447 Breakaway

Trevor Leech (CLCYR) wrote:

 

[groundhogyh]

Hi John,Thanks for the tip. Yes, I can see that happening. If the vent is blocked, it could create positive pressure in the return line? If a pin hole is there, it would probably drip.Another hidden problem i have heard of is when my friend had a pin hole leak in the metal tube that sucks fuel inside the fuel tank. This was above the "water line" so air was being sucked up. Took a while to find this problem.roy

 

[vegatern]

I don't know if this comment is worth anything but when a new tank (I think it is an 18 gal Tempco from West Marine) was installed in the port locker the fuel delivery pipe was run up to the side deck above. I don't think that was necessary as fuel can be added to the tank simply by lifting the locker lid and using the inspection plate. It eliminates the chance of a fuel spill and also the possible contamination from a loose deck plate.
Craig Tern 1519

 

[tom_rutter]

Hi,

This varies. In British inland waterways you're supposed to have a deck
filler positioned such that overflows don't go into the bilge. I guess
they're more worried about flammable boats than small drips of diesel in the
canal. (or perhaps it makes spills less likely?) This applies for some
seaboat mooring places that are run by British waterways, like the marinas
on the Caledonian canal but only if you're permenantly moored there, not for
transit. I'm not sure how strongly this is enforced though.

Tom

P.s. I agree that I'd rather have the filler inside the cockpit locker if I
had the choice. It's a sailing boat, after all!

 

[SVFlyAway]

For what its worth. To be legal, the same goes for the US. USCG regulations
require a fill pipe be located so that so fuel can not get into the boat, or
the cockpit (even self-draining), if there is an overfill. There are also a
number of regulations regarding the size and flow rate of a hose, the
grounding, etc. Also specific regulations regarding the venting of a fuel
tank. Even though diesel fuel isn't as combustible as gasoline one still
doesn't want the stuff getting into the boat. I once has a leak in a fuel
tank and it took me forever to get the smell out of the bilge, after I
carefully removed the fuel so as not to pollute the waterway (secret, try
fabric softener to cut the odor).

Fuel tanks don't last forever as is the case with most things on a boat.
They should be tested every so often. A new tank should be build, and
certified, to comply with USCG standards. The compliance procedure requires
a pressure test. Even stainless tanks can develop leaks. Usually this is
caused from the sludge that builds over the years because of the little
amount of water that always gets into the tank (this can just be
condensation build-up over the years). Stainless does corrode, especially
the welds.

Chris

 

[dougpol1]

I ran a machine shop a lot of years here we made all kinds of things
including fuel tanks for the Chesapeake bay Watermen and fishermen.
Very small tanks can be made from stainless but bigger ones cannot. We
made most tanks of hot rolled steel or black steel as some call it. It
does rust but lasts a long time because tanks can be made of thick
material because of it's cheapness. It does not oil can and rupture
welds. Aluminum tanks are very good for the same reason and of course
plastic tanks are the best. It used to be that tanks had to be
pressure tested to 3 lbs per square inch and I don't know what present
regulations are now, but it is easy to find out. A tank down in the
keel will oil can in most cases if the filler hose is at deck level and
filled to the top. At some point the welds in the tank will rupture
because a fill hose reaching up six foot will create 2 or 3lbs of
pressure per square inch. That is the reason for the the 3 lb test.
Remember there are thousands of square inches in the surface of a tank
and each inch will have 3lbs pushing on it so even a small tank might
have two square feet of surface on any one side. That is 288 square
inches times 3lbs to the inch for a total of 864 bounds pushing outward
on each side and doward on the bottom and upward on the top. Don't fill
your tank hose to the deck level. This is especially true if the tank
is in the keel. As a now and then thing it is ok, but as a matter of
practice it will eventually break a seam in the tank.
Doug

Douglas Pollard Albin Vega Sealegs 2225
Chris Brown wrote:

 

[vegatern]

Thanks for the input. I had been planning on removing the deck fill but I won't now. thanks Craig