Hello all, Has anyone pulled their fuel tank out of the bilge? What is the trick to getting this tight sucker out of the hole?...LOL. I was going to use other words for this, but I couldn’t spell them...lol. HELP. Larry Sent from Windows Mail
Fuel Tank:
- Thread starter lewills30
- Start date
HI Larry!I pulled my tank from the pilge. It was difficult to do but finally it succeeded. One need's to lift tha tank first straight up as high it goes, then pull it towards the aft of the boat, somewhere doing that one can pull the tank so that the tank's aft-end is a little bit higher than the other side, and it will come out.After pulling out the tank and after cleaning the bilge, one can consider to Place the tank at the bottom of the pilge, it goes there after the stay made of glassfiber is also pulled away, that keeps the tank high in the pilge.Or one can consider to put extra battery there, which I am considering. It makes Vega more stable.Ray
Hi Larry - Yes I've taken my tank out several times over the last 30 years. First you will not get it out with the boat afloat as the sides of the keel are pushed in by water pressure. With the boat ashore pump as much fuel out of the tank as you can. By laying on the cabin floor you can reach the plate on the top of the tank and undo all the pipes (fuel filler pipe, fuel to engine, return to tank and air breather pipe) I've never managed to undo the large fuel filler pipe so I undo it at the other end by the filler cap.Next get yourself get yourself some of that flat woven parcel tape that is used on heavy parcels. Drop a bight of the tape down the forward end of the tank and work it underneaththe tank. Lift the tank up while pulling it forward. It is not easy but it will come. Hope this helpsMike
Thanks Mike...I am on it like a fat woman at a hot dog stand. Larry Sent from Windows Mail From: MICHAEL FREEMANSent: ?Wednesday?, ?October? ?23?, ?2013 ?10?:?38? ?PMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Hi Larry - Yes I've taken my tank out several times over the last 30 years. First you will not get it out with the boat afloat as the sides of the keel are pushed in by water pressure. With the boat ashore pump as much fuel out of the tank as you can. By laying on the cabin floor you can reach the plate on the top of the tank and undo all the pipes (fuel filler pipe, fuel to engine, return to tank and air breather pipe) I've never managed to undo the large fuel filler pipe so I undo it at the other end by the filler cap.Next get yourself get yourself some of that flat woven parcel tape that is used on heavy parcels. Drop a bight of the tape down the forward end of the tank and work it underneaththe tank. Lift the tank up while pulling it forward. It is not easy but it will come. Hope this helpsMike
Hi Larry - Yes I've taken my tank out several times over the last 30 years. First you will not get it out with the boat afloat as the sides of the keel are pushed in by water pressure. With the boat ashore pump as much fuel out of the tank as you can. By laying on the cabin floor you can reach the plate on the top of the tank and undo all the pipes (fuel filler pipe, fuel to engine, return to tank and air breather pipe) I've never managed to undo the large fuel filler pipe so I undo it at the other end by the filler cap.Next get yourself get yourself some of that flat woven parcel tape that is used on heavy parcels. Drop a bight of the tape down the forward end of the tank and work it underneaththe tank. Lift the tank up while pulling it forward. It is not easy but it will come. Hope this helpsMike
I did it while in the water.
I used a multiple purchase blocks from tank up to a 2x4 wood laying on companionway roof instead of tape. Rope under front end of tank.
Also, make sure you remove fuel fill hose which is hiding from view on the very back side of the tank.
Then, one other thing. The big round opening where the metal plate is screwed on....
That will try to catch itself on the aft floor opening edge and will drive you crazy. Get a really
thin piece of wood and stick it in between like a shoe horn so they slide by each other when
pass rather than catching.
groundhog
I used a multiple purchase blocks from tank up to a 2x4 wood laying on companionway roof instead of tape. Rope under front end of tank.
Also, make sure you remove fuel fill hose which is hiding from view on the very back side of the tank.
Then, one other thing. The big round opening where the metal plate is screwed on....
That will try to catch itself on the aft floor opening edge and will drive you crazy. Get a really
thin piece of wood and stick it in between like a shoe horn so they slide by each other when
pass rather than catching.
groundhog
Hi There, Well I am ready to start drinking...LOL. I pulled and removed everything you mentioned in your notes. Lifted the galley end of the tank to clear the floor opening, and pulling the cockpit end of the tank towards the galley. It is so tight that I fear I am going to crack the floor if I put anymore pressure on the tank. It is so tight even with the one end clear and coming out in the galley...it seems as if the cockpit end is wedge in the bilge to where I can move it ? I am not sure I want to reuse this sucker if it is this hard to get out, it needs to come out as it has brown mud in the bottom of the tank. I am thinking here...LOL. Larry Sent from Windows Mail From: groundhogSent: ?Thursday?, ?October? ?24?, ?2013 ?7?:?05? ?AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
I did it while in the water.
I used a multiple purchase blocks from tank up to a 2x4 wood laying on companionway roof instead of tape. Rope under front end of tank.
Also, make sure you remove fuel fill hose which is hiding from view on the very back side of the tank.
Then, one other thing. The big round opening where the metal plate is screwed on....
That will try to catch itself on the aft floor opening edge and will drive you crazy. Get a really
thin piece of wood and stick it in between like a shoe horn so they slide by each other when
pass rather than catching.
groundhog
I did it while in the water.
I used a multiple purchase blocks from tank up to a 2x4 wood laying on companionway roof instead of tape. Rope under front end of tank.
Also, make sure you remove fuel fill hose which is hiding from view on the very back side of the tank.
Then, one other thing. The big round opening where the metal plate is screwed on....
That will try to catch itself on the aft floor opening edge and will drive you crazy. Get a really
thin piece of wood and stick it in between like a shoe horn so they slide by each other when
pass rather than catching.
groundhog
Another thought the after end of the tank has to be lfted up as well as the forward end so that the plate on top of the tank has room to get out. I also helps to be a four armed contortionist.Mike
All hoses ALL disconnected?Plate removed?Shoehorn?Should be hard. Then it pops up and out. Loop rope under fwd end. As far back under tank as u can.
Hi there, I am sitting on my trailer in a nice warm shop...LOL. The only thing I can think of here, is the keel is made a little tighter than normal? Maybe when they laid up the glass a new guy was on the task and did a really good job? The only option I am seeing is to cut the tank and pull it this way. It makes me wonder if something has gotten wedged under the front of the tank in the keel that I can’t see with the tank in place? This has now become a quest...my life is focused on a plastic 8 gallon fuel tank...LOL. I am going to the shop right now...try pulling it one more time...and then I breaking out the demo tool...LOL. Larry Sent from Windows Mail From: MICHAEL FREEMANSent: Friday, October 25, 2013 1:13 AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Is your boat afloat or ashore. The sides of the keel do get pushed in by water pressure.Mike
Is your boat afloat or ashore. The sides of the keel do get pushed in by water pressure.Mike
IF the tank is not leaking clean as advised by Bob. IF you want it
out for some other reason plug all the holes but one and pump some
of the air out and it will shrink up or completely collaps actually
ruining the tank if you pump out too much. So be careful. Doug
On 10/25/2013 02:14 PM, horjus2003
wrote:
out for some other reason plug all the holes but one and pump some
of the air out and it will shrink up or completely collaps actually
ruining the tank if you pump out too much. So be careful. Doug
On 10/25/2013 02:14 PM, horjus2003
wrote:
Hi Larry.
Why go to the trouble of removing it?
Maybe just swab it out with denatured alcohol or similar?
I did that with my plastic/nylon tank and it was as clean as a baby's elbow..
(Disclosure; my elbow smelled of diesel for a week...
)
John V1447 Breakaway
Why go to the trouble of removing it?
Maybe just swab it out with denatured alcohol or similar?
I did that with my plastic/nylon tank and it was as clean as a baby's elbow..
(Disclosure; my elbow smelled of diesel for a week...
)John V1447 Breakaway
Well men... The tank is out, there was 40 years of bolts, nuts , plugs , wood, mud, dirt, oil and God knows what else under that tank. And it was being wedged so I couldn’t tilt the tank up or push it in any direction. The sending unit was gone, the lines were rusted solid and the filler end ...someone did a do it yourself fix, which caught on the floor everytime I tried to move this sucker. So, I will build a new S.S. tank to fit with the lines moved to the floor board , so I can check for leaks and have a chance to fix a problem. I think I just lost my last hair...I am now totally BALD. lARRY Sent from Windows Mail From: John.KinsellaSent: Friday, October 25, 2013 10:48 AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Hi Larry.
Why go to the trouble of removing it?
Maybe just swab it out with denatured alcohol or similar?
I did that with my plastic/nylon tank and it was as clean as a baby\'s elbow..
(Disclosure; my elbow smelled of diesel for a week... )
John V1447 Breakaway
Hi Larry.
Why go to the trouble of removing it?
Maybe just swab it out with denatured alcohol or similar?
I did that with my plastic/nylon tank and it was as clean as a baby\'s elbow..
(Disclosure; my elbow smelled of diesel for a week...
)John V1447 Breakaway
Hi Vegafriends,There is a more elegant solution for the mud-in-the-tank problem. We found a very very satifying solution in drilling a hole in the top of the polyethyleen tank of about an inch. Suck the mud out with an oil extractor, close the hole with a neoprene 'cork'. And fixed is your mudproblem. We cleaned our dieseltank once a year within a quarter of an hour. Ideal methodMet veel groeten,Bob Horjus MICHAEL FREEMAN mikeandv@... schreef:
Is your boat afloat or ashore. The sides of the keel do get pushed in by water pressure.Mike
Is your boat afloat or ashore. The sides of the keel do get pushed in by water pressure.Mike