Leak from Fuel tank

Athena

Athena

.
Apr 21, 2014
3
Beneteau 393 Portsmouth
We have a Beneteau 393, 2006 model, with a very slow build-up of diesel in the bilge that has been tracked down to be coming from the underneath of the fuel tank. Possibly a crack in the plastic tank ? Or is there a sump fitted for draining the tank that might be leaking ? Are their sealants that be used to fill the leak rather than replace the whole tank ? Advice & Guidance welcome.
 
C

Captn TJ

.
Nov 24, 2012
586
Athena said:
We have a Beneteau 393, 2006 model, with a very slow build-up of diesel in the bilge that has been tracked down to be coming from the underneath of the fuel tank. Possibly a crack in the plastic tank ? Or is there a sump fitted for draining the tank that might be leaking ? Are their sealants that be used to fill the leak rather than replace the whole tank ? Advice & Guidance welcome.
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Are you positive it's the tank and not the hose? First I've heard of a tank going bad so soon.
 
Athena

Athena

.
Apr 21, 2014
3
Beneteau 393 Portsmouth
Fuel leak

We put a camera on the end of a long tube under the fuel tank and that is where a few spoonfuls of fuel was found. The rest having flowed down into a hard to reach gap between the engine and wooden paneling on the port side under the stairwell.

My understanding is that we need to have a "pressure test" done to confirm whether the fuel tank is leaking. Not sure if this is a professional job or not. If the leak is confirmed I thought we could seal it externally. But not sure with what.

Checked all fittings and they were dry.

The leak eventually builds up in the bilge over time.
 
Ralph Johnstone

Ralph Johnstone

.
Jan 4, 2006
7,264
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
Do Not .....................

Athena said:
My understanding is that we need to have a "pressure test" done to confirm whether the fuel tank is leaking.
Click to expand
....................... under any circumstances, let some dock rat perform a pressure test on your fuel tank. With the flat surfaces on the tank, it's not capable of withstanding anything more than a few PSI "AT MOST". The chances of a complete rupture are excellent once some clown gets on there with a compressed air hose. The only pressure test I would be comfortable with is a hydrostatic test with your tank fuelled to the top. PERIOD.

As TJ has mentioned, a cracked plastic tank at this early age is highly unlikely (but not entirely impossible). I've never seen ANY mention of a failed plastic tank on this site to date.

One thing I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion from another mechanic if you're not comfortable in sourcing the leak yourself. This site is overloaded with a history of dock rats creating near disasters with their handywork. It's epidemic in the trade.

Good luck in finding a competent mechanic. They're few and far between. Maybe someone here can suggest a good one in your area.
 
A

aquanut

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Feb 3, 2014
9
Beneteau 32s5 Cork, Ireland
Maybe pulling the tank is an option. We recently purchased a 32s5 which is 25 years old. The first job I did was to remove, clean out and refit the fuel tank. The whole job was straight forward and took about 2 hours. To do this, I removed the fuel input hose at the tank, used a small pump (powered by a hand drill) to remove the fuel, detached the outbound and inbound fuel lines. Then the tank easily lifted out. Our fuel tank is under the starboard seat/couch and easily accessible.
 
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