Setback

[Roger Long]

Even though my list has been getting shorter, I've been starting to panic since there is an awful lot going on this month. My youngest son is graduating from high school, I have to fly to Ohio to help my father drive back, I'd planned to attend the Mystic Small Craft Workshop with two wooden boats I designed.

I just filled up my new holding tank for the first test and it leaks. I'm in shock. The whole thing has to come out.

So you want to be a yachtsman, do you?

 

[Bill Roosa]

And you thought the rudder was going to be your glitch for this mission!

I find the following helps:
Repeat the following till it gets better

There is nothing so good as going down to sea and mucking around in boats.

 

[sailingdog]

well, good thing you tested it first, rather than finding out in USE... ;-)

 

[25yearslater]

Cheer up Roger. It's all part of the process of making them good and uniquely our own. Just this morning YOT revealed another flaw as I was stipping the core from the starboard side. A puzzling crater I hadn't noticed was quite apparent on the cabin side where a smooth transition to the combing should be. Oh well just one more thing to add to the list. In retrospect I often just sit and take in just how far I have come in the restoration process. It's often refreshing to take a look back and see from where we came.

 

[Mario G]

After 2 months on our E=32 the water pump went bad, O-well it was 14 yrs old and the only pump not replaced, so I put a new one in. After only a few months the new pump no longer auto shuts down. So I've learned sometimes when you think you have things fixed its not always the case.
Roger hope its a simple fix and you can come out and join us soon.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Prob'ly doesn't have to...

I just filled up my new holding tank for the first test and it leaks. I'm in shock. The whole thing has to come out.

Give me a shout tomorrow, Rog...I'll be surprised if it's not fairly easy to fix.

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

I'm with Peggy. It is probably something simple. I had the same problem when the holding tank was first replaced on Emmanuel. Hang in there buddy-you will be on your way in no time.
POTL

 

[Roger Long]

I'll be surprised if it's not fairly easy to fix.

I hope you are right. I'll try to call but may be heading down the road to see the tank builder.

He's done good work for me before and extrusion welded the inside bottom and side corners with a nice fillet that he said would be stronger than the usual welding from the outside only. The outside was welded in the usual way for essentially double welding on the most critical seams.

However, he had problems with heat build up doing the inside extrusion welding and could only do a few inches at a time letting it cool before continuing over a period of several days. Looking inside with the tank out in the daylight, I can see that some of the joints between fillet welding sections look cold. I suspect that there is a void all along the corner and, when water get through to that, it follows along to the corners where it's found very small gaps in the structural welds done from the outside.

I'm a little uncertain about whether fixing this now that there is water all along these leak voids is possible or if I want to trust this tank. It could end up tight but the only thing holding the contents back could be a 1/16" or less of plastic at the end of the leak channel.

I'd appreciate your thoughts about whether this tank can be saved as I need to make a decision my mid day tomorrow. I've sent an email to Triple M. Starting fresh would give me the greatest peace of mind but the support framework is now built exactly to fit this tank so a new one would have to be built with great precision to avoid a lot of ripping out and reconstruction.

Do you think this tank can just have all it's corners routed out and be re-welded to be reliably tight?

 

[Roger Long]

It is probably something simple.

I hope you're right too. 3 of 4 corners doesn't seem simple to me.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Did Triple M make this tank? 'Cuz that's sure not typical of their work!

Call me to tonite if you see this...I'll be up for a couple more hours at least.

 

[Roger Long]

Did Triple M make this tank?

No, it was another outfit and it's not typical of the other work they've done for me or what I've seen in their shop either.

 

[Rolltacker]

RE:the holding tank leak, see, I would try fix-a-flat first, but that's just me.

 

[Roger Long]

R I would try fix-a-flat first.

No, no. If you spend this much money for a tank it's either going to be made right at no charge or refunded and try again with someone else. Fix-a-flat? Yikes!

I'd rather have a hole in my hull than my sewage tank. You can always call the coast guard if you are sinking but, if the holding tank is leaking....

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

I hope you're right too. 3 of 4 corners doesn't seem simple to me.

Ah, you are right. 3 of 4 corners = not simple. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Roger Long]

We're suspecting some kind of systematic failure like the wrong welding material being put in a package. China strikes again?

He's picking it up this evening.

 

[sailingdog]

Good luck Roger and keep us posted. I hope he does right by you.

 

[Rolltacker]

If you didn't like the fix-a-flat,then you probably wouldn't like Marine-Tex for a cracked tooth,either.

 

[Roger Long]

you probably wouldn't like Marine-Tex for a cracked tooth,either.

Context, my man, context. If I were out at sea with a cracked tooth and fixed it with Marine-Tex I'd count myself clever and the stuff wonderful. If I had just returned from the dentist after a spending several hundred dollars for a tooth restoration and it cracked immediately, would I stick Marine-Tex in it? Would you?

 

[Roger Long]

The tank is back with seams routed out, re-welded, and a second layer of flat extrusion welding on top. I'd never accept a metal tank that had been reworked like this because of locked in welding stresses but plastic should be more forgiving.

It passed an initial soap and water test with enough air in it to bow the top slightly but measurably. The Uni-Seal fittings are tight as well. I'm going to leave the air in it a couple days and see how it holds up.

 

[Roger Long]

I decided to set up a more exact test set up this afternoon and I'm sure glad I did. The tank failed.

It was tested with a manometer set up to avoid over pressurizing. The water column is pushed up by the air and, when it reaches the pressure pre-determined by the length of the "U", simply blows out into an open circuit.

The first test was a 4 foot head, the height to the overflow plus a foot of margin for vent blockage. This is 1.73 psi, pretty minimal.

Here is the history of the pressure.

Going down pretty fast.

This is the bubble:

You can see a very short video of the bubble I made to send to the builder here:

http://www.cruisingonstrider.us/videos/Tankfail.wmv

This leak could probably be fixed like the others but I'm done. Triple M would have produced a whole new tank in the time I've let the builder screw around with this on. I'm especially concerned because it repeatedly seems to be tight initially and then develops another leak. I'm already out quite a bit of time and some real money for testing, fittings, running around, and I now need a new tank monitor sensor.

Even if it ended up tight, I would be worrying and thinking about this tank for the rest of my cruising days. I'm done. I'll be on Triple M Plastic's doorstep when the open Monday morning with this tank for them to use as a pattern.