Cal 33-2 Fuel Tank Corrosion (Long)

So I went down to the boat last weekend and when I opened the hatch I was greeted with a strong diesel smell. This has happened before, after a refueling. There was diesel in the bilge, again. Last time I figured I had over filled the tank and it had leaked from the fill or vent hose somewhere although it bothered me that I never could find the source of the leak. This time I checked all the hoses more or less end to end and found no leaks. There was no evidence of fuel in the engine bilge. The obvious conclusion was it was the tank. I stuck a batten with a paper towel wrapped around it between the fuel tank and the port water tank and it came back with a greasy red sludge on it. Yesterday I pulled the tank. Pulled the fuel sender and used a Tempo hand pump to pump the fuel out into tanks. That went more quickly than I expected. BTW, nice yellow diesel tanks are only about $6.50 at Wal-Mart. Hardest part was getting the fill hose off the barb. Ended up pushing the fill and vent hoses back under the sink to clear the top of the tank. With all hoses, sender line and ground wire off the tank and clear I pushed the tank outboard while lifting and then rotated the inboard end above the settee edge and took the tank out. Apparently the forward inboard end is the low point in the tank. There was a mass of red gunk on the tank and when I pushed on it with a screwdriver, it completely failed over an area about 1/4" x 1/2". I was VERY close to having 24 gallons of diesel in the bilge. My assumption is that condensation collected there and corroded the tank from the inside out. There was no significant indication of abrasion on the outside of the tank, which is what I was actually expecting to find. FYI, at either end and the middle of the tank there is a tubular opening in the sub-sole about 1-1/2" inch in diameter which apparently goes into the bilge. It is used for routing wiring at the forward and after end. In my case, the middle one provided a way for the seeping fuel to get into the bilge. So now I am cleaning up the tank, assessing the damage, and trying to decide whether to try to repair the old tank or replace it. The original manufacturer, Florida Marine Tanks, is still in business. I have asked them and another custom tank manufacturer for a quote. The other one has already responded: $760 in Al, $980 in stainless. Makes a repair or a neoprene bladder start to look attractive. Anyone have any experience with the bladder-type tanks? Thanks, Al 1974 Cal-25 #1693, "Sweet Mary" 1985 Cal-33 #0026, "Short Wave"

Al, I had the same problem with Alcyone about 3 years ago. It was after Ivan blew through and rocked the boat real hard. My tank was not badly corroded so I elected to get a lot of JB Weld and place half way up the inboard side and half way up the slanted bottom. Seemed to work well. Boat went from Destin to Annapolis with no leaks. I figured the corrosion was from outside as the low point also always seems to have a little water sitting there. It sounds like your tank is a goner, however. Three years ago the Florida tank company gave me a quote of $250 for an aluminum tank. A 300% increase is pretty steep. I would re-engage with them or see if someone can put a good large aluminum patch over the area. Getting the fill hose off was an absolute bear of a job. Getting it back on is going to be even more fun. :-) I went ahead and replaced all the fuel lines at the same time. Hope this helps. Darr LaFon Alcoyne, 86 Cal 33 _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Al Waschka Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 9:21 AM To: Cal Boats Yahoo News Group Subject: [Cal_Boats] Cal 33-2 Fuel Tank Corrosion (Long) So I went down to the boat last weekend and when I opened the hatch I was greeted with a strong diesel smell. This has happened before, after a refueling. There was diesel in the bilge, again. Last time I figured I had over filled the tank and it had leaked from the fill or vent hose somewhere although it bothered me that I never could find the source of the leak. This time I checked all the hoses more or less end to end and found no leaks. There was no evidence of fuel in the engine bilge. The obvious conclusion was it was the tank. I stuck a batten with a paper towel wrapped around it between the fuel tank and the port water tank and it came back with a greasy red sludge on it. Yesterday I pulled the tank. Pulled the fuel sender and used a Tempo hand pump to pump the fuel out into tanks. That went more quickly than I expected. BTW, nice yellow diesel tanks are only about $6.50 at Wal-Mart. Hardest part was getting the fill hose off the barb. Ended up pushing the fill and vent hoses back under the sink to clear the top of the tank. With all hoses, sender line and ground wire off the tank and clear I pushed the tank outboard while lifting and then rotated the inboard end above the settee edge and took the tank out. Apparently the forward inboard end is the low point in the tank. There was a mass of red gunk on the tank and when I pushed on it with a screwdriver, it completely failed over an area about 1/4" x 1/2". I was VERY close to having 24 gallons of diesel in the bilge. My assumption is that condensation collected there and corroded the tank from the inside out. There was no significant indication of abrasion on the outside of the tank, which is what I was actually expecting to find. FYI, at either end and the middle of the tank there is a tubular opening in the sub-sole about 1-1/2" inch in diameter which apparently goes into the bilge. It is used for routing wiring at the forward and after end. In my case, the middle one provided a way for the seeping fuel to get into the bilge. So now I am cleaning up the tank, assessing the damage, and trying to decide whether to try to repair the old tank or replace it. The original manufacturer, Florida Marine Tanks, is still in business. I have asked them and another custom tank manufacturer for a quote. The other one has already responded: $760 in Al, $980 in stainless. Makes a repair or a neoprene bladder start to look attractive. Anyone have any experience with the bladder-type tanks? Thanks, Al 1974 Cal-25 #1693, "Sweet Mary" 1985 Cal-33 #0026, "Short Wave"

Hi Darr - Hope everything continues to go well in Cinncinnatti. Thanks for the info on Florida Marine Tank. They are not the ones that gave me the expensive quote. I'm hoping to hear from them. Maybe I'll give them a call in case they don't check their e-mails often. $250-$300 is about what I was expecting. The $760 quote blew me away. Since I posted first I've pressure cleaned the outside and found a few more suspect areas. Not leaking now but could be soon. I discussed the tank with a friend and we've concluded there is a new tank in my future. Al

Plastic fuel tank? On Apr 28, 2007, at 0921 EDT, Al Waschka wrote: > So I went down to the boat last weekend and when I opened the hatch I > was greeted with a strong diesel smell. This has happened before, > after > a refueling. There was diesel in the bilge, again. Last time I > figured > I had over filled the tank and it had leaked from the fill or vent > hose > somewhere although it bothered me that I never could find the > source of > the leak. This time I checked all the hoses more or less end to > end and > found no leaks. There was no evidence of fuel in the engine > bilge. The > obvious conclusion was it was the tank. I stuck a batten with a paper > towel wrapped around it between the fuel tank and the port water tank > and it came back with a greasy red sludge on it...

Al Waschka wrote: > > > > So now I am cleaning up the tank, assessing the damage, > and trying to decide whether to try to repair the old tank or replace > it. > Al: Yesterday I read your question. Last night I found my latest _Practical Sailor_ in the mailbox and they have an extended article on replacing fuel tanks and what materials to use--and how to use them effectively to prevent corrosion in the future. By the way, there's no mention at all of bladder options for fuel. They like aluminum and steel. The last page has a short mention of ways to get rid of diesel odor in the bilge (hot-water pressure washing, with lots of ventilation). Chris Campbell

When I repowered Magic, I chose to replace the 20+ year old tank... Just to say that it cost about $160 for a new aluminum 13 gallon tank I had fabricated. I removed the old tank, took it to a local shop, put it on their counter and told them I wanted one as close to the original as they could make it. See the attached photos... Regards, Michael Duvall s/v Magic #627 Cal 2-27, 1979 Pompano Beach, FL --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.

Michael, Nice install on the tank I notice you have a wheel installed on the boat. The install looks new in the picture. Did you do it yourself? How does it work in the cockpit. I've been thinking about installing a wheel but I was afraid that the cockpit was too narrow for a wheel. John Boyce Gotcha Again Cal 2-27 #650 _____ From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Michael D Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 9:07 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Cal 33-2 Fuel Tank Corrosion (Long) When I repowered Magic, I chose to replace the 20+ year old tank... Just to say that it cost about $160 for a new aluminum 13 gallon tank I had fabricated. I removed the old tank, took it to a local shop, put it on their counter and told them I wanted one as close to the original as they could make it. See the attached photos... Regards, Michael Duvall s/v Magic #627 Cal 2-27, 1979 Pompano Beach, FL _____ Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out new <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48245/*http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html;_ylc =X3oDMTE1YW1jcXJ2BF9TAzk3MTA3MDc2BHNlYwNtYWlsdGFncwRzbGsDbmV3LWNhcnM-> cars at Yahoo! Autos.