New fuel tanks!!!

[Ky Grady]

Well, I'm thinking I have the dreaded fuel tank rot!! Went to Cape Coral back in May and filled both tanks up to play for 2 weeks. Had strong odor of gas but could never pinpoint it. I've had it home for a couple of weeks and am seeing/smelling fuel in the bilge now, guess it finally migrated back to the bilge. Thinking it's my main tank, as I've filled my auxiliary one up multiple times and no smell. First time to fill the main tank. Main tank is June '03 and auxiliary is April '03 manufacturing dates, over 15 years old. Lived in saltwater all it's life till April of '17 when I brought her home to Kentucky.

I've got a inquiry in to Florida Marine Tanks for a price on replacement tanks. This is gonna hurt I'm sure.

 

[UCPA111]

I replaced my tank. I called several places. For my location and shipping, Patriot Marine Fabricating in NJ had the best price. Quality was excellent. He builds Grady Tanks. He's certified for marine fuel tanks, tests them and includes sending unit. I was very happy.

All others seemed to be in Florida and had higher shipping charges and costs.

 

[Ky Grady]

Thanks.

FMT was my original tank supplier. They have a facility in Henderson NC. I'm in Kentucky, so figured a road trip to pick them up and roll on over to Greenville and tour the birthplace of our boats, the Grady-White factory. I'll see what kind of price I get from them, but I'll touch base with Patriot also for a quote, can't hurt.

 

[Parthery]

FMT made some of the tanks. RDS also made them.

I used RDS when I had to replace a tank on one of my GWs. Fair price, showed up at my door via UPS, and fit like a glove.

http://www.rdsaluminum.com

 

[gw204]

Check all of your hoses and connections first. Pull the tank for inspection and pressure test before you order anything.

I found fuel in the bilge of my old Sailfish after a fill up. Traced it to the fill hose.

 

[Oceanbean]

Hi all,

I have 2004 Sailfish. I recently topped off both tanks and had fuel in bilge. The source of the problem was an incorrectly replaced fuel level sending unit in the aux tank. I replaced both the main and aux fuel sending units last year. This was the first time I topped both tanks off. The fuel sending unit in the aux tank was not seated properly allowing some fuel to come out. POE marine the GW dealer in Southhold, LI, NY found the problem and fixed it with a 24 hour turnaround. They went over all hoses, connections and pressure tested tanks and system. It was a great customer service experience to get that service the week before July 4. I would have gone crazy trying to find the problem on my own. The key is pressure testing to find the problem, then pressure testing to confirm it was fixed. Piece of mind, especially when dealing with a fuel issue. The tanks are 14 years old and look fine and test fine.

Hopefully your issue is a simple one that mine. Good Luck.

Oceanbean
2004 282 GW with F225

 

[Ky Grady]

I'll pull them and check them. They have to come out anyway to check or replace.

FMT price is $2916 for both tanks, which includes Macropoxy coating on the outside of the tanks.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Are the tanks foamed in on that model?

Not familiar with all models. My 265 does not have foam but I would imagine smaller models have foamed in tanks.

I had an 84 Wellcraft V20 that I replaced the tank on myself. It had an access hatch and was foamed in. It cost $550 for a 60 gallon aluminum belly tank, hoses, and sender....and a couple days of sweat.
The hardest part was getting enough foam out from all sides of the tank to get wiggle room

The reason I replaced the tank was that the screw holes for the sender had corroded and the gasket was leaking when the tank was near full.
It was to the point where only 2 screws held any pressure on the gasket. I figured if that was bad, the rest of the very old tank could be bad.
When I got it out, it didn't have any holes but it was on its way with corrosion.

 

[Ky Grady]

No, its not foamed in. I was looking at some pics when I had the floor up and like your's SB, my fuel sender flange looks pretty gruesome. Top of tanks had some corrosion pits in spots as well as the sender flange corrosion.

 

[SirGrady226]

I'd bet the main problem is the contact points on the bottom, especially if they still used rubber there. Mine was pitted and had holes only where the rubber made contact with the tank, top and bottom.

 

[Luckywesterly]

Well, I'm thinking I have the dreaded fuel tank rot!! Went to Cape Coral back in May and filled both tanks up to play for 2 weeks. Had strong odor of gas but could never pinpoint it. I've had it home for a couple of weeks and am seeing/smelling fuel in the bilge now, guess it finally migrated back to the bilge. Thinking it's my main tank, as I've filled my auxiliary one up multiple times and no smell. First time to fill the main tank. Main tank is June '03 and auxiliary is April '03 manufacturing dates, over 15 years old. Lived in saltwater all it's life till April of '17 when I brought her home to Kentucky.

I've got a inquiry in to Florida Marine Tanks for a price on replacement tanks. This is gonna hurt I'm sure.

 

[Ky Grady]

I’m hearing Florida marine tanks is undergoing a recall??

I'll call Monday and check. I just picked mine up last month. Hopefully no issues since I just installed it last week.

 

[lubetkin]

I'd bet the main problem is the contact points on the bottom, especially if they still used rubber there. Mine was pitted and had holes only where the rubber made contact with the tank, top and bottom.

my aux tank pitted where the rubber was too....whats the solution for new install

 

[SirGrady226]

my aux tank pitted where the rubber was too....whats the solution for new install

I put two coats of self etching epoxy primer on the tank (after sanding the tank to give rough texture), then adhered 3" X 6" X 3/16" thick fiberglass bearing pads to the tank with 5200 exactly where the tank bears on the raised bearing points in the bilge. In between the new bearing pads on the tank and the contact points in the bilge, I used expanded PVC material in place of rubber for slight cushioning. Now, no water can get between the surface of the tank and bearing pad, and the tank never really will have any wear or rubbing from pounding through waves. The 5200 and epoxy primer would have to fail in order for moisture to get to the tank itself. This process was just from me thinking through how to keep the rubbing of the contact points from being the actual aluminum. Now the movement and rubbing will happen between the hull and the fiberglass bearing pads I attached. The expanded PVC should act as the cushion and wear point. We will see how it does over time, I'm comfortable that it should hold up better though.

 

[blindmullet]

Coal Tar Epoxy is the best thing you can apply to the tank. That carbon rubber is a conductor and leads to rot.

 

[seasick]

I put two coats of self etching epoxy primer on the tank (after sanding the tank to give rough texture), then adhered 3" X 6" X 3/16" thick fiberglass bearing pads to the tank with 5200 exactly where the tank bears on the raised bearing points in the bilge. In between the new bearing pads on the tank and the contact points in the bilge, I used expanded PVC material in place of rubber for slight cushioning. Now, no water can get between the surface of the tank and bearing pad, and the tank never really will have any wear or rubbing from pounding through waves. The 5200 and epoxy primer would have to fail in order for moisture to get to the tank itself. This process was just from me thinking through how to keep the rubbing of the contact points from being the actual aluminum. Now the movement and rubbing will happen between the hull and the fiberglass bearing pads I attached. The expanded PVC should act as the cushion and wear point. We will see how it does over time, I'm comfortable that it should hold up better though.

Sounds like a good install. Rubber should not be used for the tank mounting. A fiber reinforced plastic material like Haysite is the way to go. The strips of plastic should not extend past the sides of the tank but rather should be a little less wide than the tank so that moisture cant collect at the ends. The plastic should be thoroughly bedded to the tank with a lot of 5200. Let the adhesive dry before installing the tank.