Fuel Tank Price Quote ?!?

[richardoren]

Hi Guys,

My Marina's mechanic was alarmed when I asked him to clean out my fuel tanks. I recently bought the boat and wanted some 43 years of sludge taken out of them. He told me that since there was only a filler hole and no other access to the tanks, that it would be a waste of his time and a waste of my money because he could never do a good job.

Then he exclaimed that they were "fiberglass!!!" as if that made them radioactive. "Don't you know about Ethanol?" he says. None up here in Vermont yet and I was hoping for a few more seasons before finding a proper repower solution to Diesel.

He says Diesel is foolish for a 34 footer, and that I should have him install new gassers (mine work fine, thank you!) and pay him for stainless fuel tanks.

He quotes me $2400 for the 2 custom stainless 100 gallon tanks, and another $2400 for labor. Seems like he likes that number.

Anyhow, what do you folks think of those numbers. I find them neither cheap, nor exhorbitant. But I would rather go diesel if only it weren't both a big cost and engine size/weight issue.

Thanks for your feedback, this is my first boat and it isn't easy starting out with complicated refit decisions. Much more fun refinishing the wood and polishing up the metal.

Richard

 

[Passages]

$4800 for a fuel tank conversion is A LOT cheaper than converting to Diesel. I have to agree, you really don't NEED diesel in a 34.

 

[Genesis]

For 100 gallon tanks I'd use poly (plastic) - they're available. I have a 120 gallon one in my little boat (23 footer)

Stainless has a checkered record for gasoline...... this is a job you only want to do once.......

 

[richardoren]

POLY Fuel Tanks ?

For 100 gallon tanks I'd use poly (plastic) - they're available. I have a 120 gallon one in my little boat (23 footer)
Stainless has a checkered record for gasoline...... this is a job you only want to do once.......

Hi Karl,

Would you have a lead or resource on where to buy a Poly fuel tank? It would help me figure out costs. Also, what is really bad about stainless and gasoline? My marina mechanic is awaiting my reply and will need some arguments to back off his expensive buddy bill (methinks it is his buddy who welds the tanks).

Thanks in advance!

Richard

 

[Boatsb]

I had tanks made for my old 28 pearson gas boat through Moeller. I am a reseller and they have the ability to make tanks from 12 to about 120 gal.

 

[smoothmove]

I have found the people at http://www.oceanlinkinc.com to be very helpful.
Website has quite a bit of info to help you determine sizes.

 

[Genesis]

I don't have a direct source on poly, but my Sailfish 23 has one in it..... I will see if I can find a manufacturer tag on it.....

 

[Boatsb]

I found ocean link to be 2 - 3 x the price when I got my tanks. No "professional discount" and extremely high on shipping.

 

[Boss Lady]

Hey guys, you might consider using a collapsible fuel tank as a liner for your existing fiberglass tanks. I will see if I can find the manufacturer we used when I was in the military and post it here. You would need to cut the top off your fiberglass tanks and cut out the baffles and grind them smooth and put the flexible tank in and if you wanted you could reglass the top back on. We used these tanks for long range capabilites for helicopters and vehicles. I think they were made of a nitrile material or similiar, we had them for gas and jet fuel. They were extremely durable, and we used to air drop via parachute as well. It seems that they are way cheaper than replacement tanks and the labor to remove the old ones. Stay tuned, I will call one of my old crew chiefs.

 

[Karl]

About three years ago I had twin 125 gallon aluminum tanks installed in my then trawler, it cost me about $5,000 in total. The tanks were custom made. The breakdown was close to what you quoted, which sounds good to me.

 

[Boss Lady]

Here is the company website. http://www.aircraftrubber.com/pillowbag.html we used to buy ours direct, of course the government price was different, but I would check them out. These bladders handle alcohol fuels as well. The company is in Oregon.

 

[fixin-to-cruise]

Anybody that would recommend stainless fuel tanks is clueless. I had some in my previos boat (Albin Trawler) and found out that stainless cracks and the welding rod material is a magnet for rust corrosion.

I got a copy of "A Study on Problems with Aluminum Fuel Tanks on Recreational Boats" that was written by Underwriters Laboratories, Kevin R. Lyn and commissioned by the US Coast Guard (1994). They adamantly recommended againsta any stainless!

I had some Al tanks made of I think 5052 alloy aluminum and used stainless steel bushins as you shoud never never never screw a brass or bronze fitting into aluminum. Fire that guy and get a copy of the the report.

I have diesels and one of the things that Hatteras does really well is the fiberglass tanks that are perfect for diesel. Dumb luck for me that there is no ethanol problem like for gasoline burning boats.

The one thing that is absolutely necessary with Al tanks is to make sure that they do not sit in bilge water, especially salt water.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Hey guys, you might consider using a collapsible fuel tank as a liner for your existing fiberglass tanks. I will see if I can find the manufacturer we used when I was in the military and post it here. You would need to cut the top off your fiberglass tanks and cut out the baffles and grind them smooth and put the flexible tank in and if you wanted you could reglass the top back on. We used these tanks for long range capabilites for helicopters and vehicles. I think they were made of a nitrile material or similiar, we had them for gas and jet fuel. They were extremely durable, and we used to air drop via parachute as well. It seems that they are way cheaper than replacement tanks and the labor to remove the old ones. Stay tuned, I will call one of my old crew chiefs.

What about baffles in these bladders? They must have something to keep them from sloshing around if they were put into aircraft, right?

 

[Fanfare]

Some of the bladder tanks have a sort of cinch belt or two that you tighten as it is emptied. This reduces the free volume of the bladder and cuts down on slosh. Be hard to reach inside a tank though.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If you are cutting out the top of the tank anyway, why not clean it and line it with that tank lining material that they use for underground storage tanks. It is almost like a gel coat looking material but it is impervious to most chemical including ethanol. It has also been used to the line the bays of car washes.

 

[67hat34c]

not sure it would stick. guessing there is some oil soaked into the resin. i thought that if you cleaned it real well with a solvent then sandblasted it then it might bind and have a good tank

 

[SKYCHENEY]

They spray this stuff inside old, rusty steel tanks after pressure washing the insides and it sticks great. You even get a warranty.

 

[Beckytek]

Where can I get some information on this stuff. Sounds just what I've been looking for. Ron

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I'll see if I can find the info from when I had the stuff applied to a car wash bay. It was a few years ago, but I should still have the info somewhere.

 

[34Hatt]

If you are cutting out the top of the tank anyway, why not clean it and line it with that tank lining material that they use for underground storage tanks.

Well I found out that some of the race boat manufactures here on the Island are doing this. Some of their boat that are still under warranty are having problems. ( According to Hatteras and Boat US they say only older boat are effected Yeah OK ) Well they are opening the tanks grinding them and using a new resin and special cloth for the Ethanol. Will it stick and hold up only time will tell and that's a quote from Mark who was doing it!