Progress on boat fix up
Hi crew, I managed to get one job out of the way that i wasn't looking forward to . Removing the carpet and glue from the hull. Sorry to say i found no easy way to do this exept rip into it. I pulled all the carpet up to find lots glue and parts of carpet stuck to the deck.
The only thing to do was use paint scrapers followed buy the grinder with a wire cup brush.
Many hours later and a bucket full of paint and glue scrapings it was looking a bit better.
I removed the seat box and floor plate to inspect the fuel tank . Not a pretty site, Oily water and dark stains on the tank and inside the hull.
Also note the cables from the console on the floor. This had a cover over the top and i have tripped over it a few times already, so i will be organizing these under the floor with a removable cover to access them if needed.
With the tank removed i cleaned out the area as much as posible.
Now i have a problem, The fuel tank has worn underneath from sitting on the stringers in the hull. Over all its not too bad but there is a repair on the tank ( resin ) and i am thinking of just making a new tank for peace of mind.
The repair on the bottom of the tank
What i started to wonder was should i go with aluminium again or should i make it out of stainless steel ?
Has anyone ever had problems with stainless ? I have heard of issues with cracking.
Cheers Grant.
thesupervisor
Posts: 1136
Date Joined: 10/06/09
i would go with a ali tank
i would go with a ali tank but make sure they use marine grade ali
and the correct baffles are fitted in the right spots
getting the bottom line final answer from a bunch of blokes that use false names and put smiley faces at the end of paragraphs is not the best place in the world to get the information you seek.
adam87
Posts: 291
Date Joined: 16/05/11
its looking good nice to see!
its looking good nice to see!
DhuBoi
Posts: 896
Date Joined: 25/05/09
yeh i would definatly get a
yeh i would definatly get a full tank re-build, did exactly that when we re did our chivers. Dont take chances like you said. Looks good so far all the best.
living is fishing
smash
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 01/12/10
If the rest of the tank looks
If the rest of the tank looks ok and its just a small area thats worn through, I dont see the point in replacing the whole thing unless youve got too much loot.
There wont be any corrosion inside so what you see outside is what youve got.
fisho-ron
Posts: 2539
Date Joined: 26/09/09
yer grant, we have a
yer grant, we have a stainless in our boat that had cracked, with ss being heavy they tend to use thiner metal and thats why it cracks, if you can handle the extra weight i would go heavier ss with more baffels than you would think of.
our tank (250l) is about 1.8m and (i would think only 1mm sheet) in lenght with only 3 baffles, it had cracked at the end where they fused the sheets together, i think if they had of put some welding into it with a rod and built the area up it wouldnt of happened.
ally is lighter but weaker so they tend to go thicker plate.
good luck mate
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Last time this came up people
Last time this came up people mostly recommended ali tanks for ali boats to reduce galvanic corrosion. That said, even different alloys of aluminium will do it so be careful how its mounted I guess.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Agree
with till on the corrosion issue but sadly where the tank is placed is right in the bash/pound area, as we call it so what ever you decide to put there it will have to be supported and suspended to prevent any movement.
Personally I would make it out of 1.2 316 stainless as this material allows much tighter folds and will not corrode at all. The fittings that are needed to connect all the appropriate lines to come in 316 so that will make the task a little easier.
Just make sure you use a good neutral rubber to separate the staino from the ali.
I've had a 100 ltr 316 staino tank for 10 yrs and it's like the day we put it in and I picked the sheet up from the scrap yard.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Personally I'd probably fit a
Personally I'd probably fit a rubber or plastic join between them, rather than hard mounting, for either ali or SS.
I have also seen ali tanks resin-coated to prevent exterior corrosion and contact problems.
Whats the deal with earthing fuel tanks? Anyone know?
barneyboy
Posts: 1392
Date Joined: 08/01/09
Till
the main concern with fuel tanks is static from the pump handle. A braided wire(usually copper) from the filler cap to the tank is used. This is a survey requirement for commercial boats.
FEEEISH ONNN!!!
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
As far as i understand
As far as i understand, it is different metals contacting each other, with salt and moisture being the source of corrosion. My filler tube and cap are plastic, the hose to the tank is a fuel resistant rubber.
The problem i had was moisture trapped between the tank and the hull. This is what caused the hole and pitting in the fuel tank. As far as copper fittings go, they creatate a problem of their own, if i could get aluminium fitting to suit my tank, fuel lines and filter that would be great. But it seems no one wants to supply these items within Australia because of leagle requirements and OHS bullshit. ( ie red tape )
I would be happy i anyone could link me to a supplier for aluminium fuel fittings within Australia, but its too late. I should have some pic's up Monday of the finished tank. With fittings and a home made pick up . ( cause i couldn't find one to buy that was not plastic )
I will also post some pick's of the remote oil tank i made, after trying to purchase one from a local Yammy dealer ( But that's an other story i will share later with full details )
.
glastronomic
Posts: 892
Date Joined: 16/02/11
Bit hard to see the detailed
Bit hard to see the detailed overall condition of this tank, but it seems to be OK.
The crack/wear part of th tank is easily repaired (if you can and have ali welding capability and know what you are doing welding used ali fuel tanks)
Then I would re engineer the fuel tank cradle/mountings.
This seems to be the problem area, not the fuel tank itself.
*Just my oppinion*
dan1
Posts: 379
Date Joined: 11/07/07
fix it with a bit of weld you
fix it with a bit of weld you could even put a bit of extra plate over the top to make it thicker and for piece of mind you will still need to pressure test the tank anyway not hard to do either
thesupervisor
Posts: 1136
Date Joined: 10/06/09
should get a tank build new
should get a tank build new 100ltr in ali for $650 incl materials
just depends on how much money you want to spend you could repair this one but if i was doing it i would tig weld extra angle to the external corners to beef them up but if you have to pay some one to do this i would say $150 plus
getting the bottom line final answer from a bunch of blokes that use false names and put smiley faces at the end of paragraphs is not the best place in the world to get the information you seek.
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Thanks for the comment's
Thanks guy's ,great feed back on the subject.
After inspecting the tank a bit more, I dont realy see any problem other than the repaired area. The problem was the result of the tank resting on stringers in the hull. I did think of putting rubber between the area , but after reserch and advice this is not a good idea ,as this is what causes alot of corrosion . Water gets trapped and oxidizes causing galvianic corrosion.
The reason i thought to replace it was i can make it myself and that led to thinking , why not do it in stainless.
I think i will repair the tank and lift it about 1cm of the stringers in the hull. I will reinforce the brackets that hold it in place. This should alow air to flow around the whole tank stopping water from being trapped in any crack or crevace.
Before i do any welding on the tank it has to be cleaned , flushed out and purged with an inert gas . Trying to weld a fuel tank that has been used is not recomended without the propper preparation.
Thanks for all the advice crew, I will let you know the results soon..
Cheers Grant
smash
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 01/12/10
certainly does need cleaning
generally though a wash out with some degreaser or detergent then flush air thru it for a day or so is about as much as anyone will do, HOWEVER, if you dont have a gas detector you can also stand it up with the weld area at the highest point then fill it with water.
This immediately reduces the potential explosive gases from 250 litres to about 1 or 2 litres.
sea-kem
Posts: 14983
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Grant, which way did you go
Grant, which way did you go with the tank in the end? I've had a lot of encounters with cracked stainless tanks I have to repair for one of my clients. Not fuel tanks just inhibiter tanks that are mounted on generator type units so the vibrations lead to hairline cracks along the tig welded seams.
Love the West!
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
4mm Aloy
I ended up making my own tank after looking at many options, After a lot of research i decided not to go with stainless, ( more problems than aloy or plastic, mostly with corossion and cracking ) I almost bought a plastic tank but couldnt quite get the size i wanted and would have lost too much fuel storage.
I also looked at some samples made localy and to be honest was anything but impressed with the quality and material thicknes used.
In the end i used marine grade aluminium 4mm thick. I folded as many edges as i could to eliminate a few welds , the way i did it alowed me to weld inside the tank and outside exept for the last piece ( the top of the tank )
I had one set back , My TIG couldnt cope with all the thick aloy and i melted the hand piece, so this has set me back AGAIN " I opted for a new TIG wich arived this week . This one has the amps i need to finish the job and draws a quarter of the amps my other machine does .
I hope to have the boat finished at the end of march . I'll try to find time to add some photos.
Joodles
Posts: 362
Date Joined: 19/11/10
Cool, looking foward to some
Cool, looking foward to some progress pics Grant.