Water in fuel tank

[gazza2006au]

The larger the tank the more baffles the idea behind having baffles is to stop all the fuel from sloshing side to side and making the boat very unstable especially if your talking 500 litres thats got to be half a ton of movement inside the fuel tanks i can only imagine that would feel like 6-7 blokes walking around on the deck to one side of the boat

u can get a endoscope at a lot of places now i picked one up that attaches to my Samsung phone i just inspected a potential bomb a rusty air compressor tank without the endoscope i wouldn't have known, endoscopes can be picked up cheap i bought mine with a 2 meter cable from Mitre 10 for $2 on special

some more expensive endoscopes like for operations can move and hold bends as it keeps going forward this could be handy for u just tape a rag on the end soak it with metho and go into the tank and rub off the varnish could be time consuming tho but only other other is to cut open your beautiful boat

[Dirtyfuzz]

Bit of an update! With a bit of luck it looks like I might be making a bit of headway, sample I took today


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[Dignity]

Been away a while and thought you would have had it sorted by now, saw Al the other day and he is flat out. Hopefully the fuel will keep getting better, certainly keep an eye on that fuel filter. Good luck.
Cheers, Sam.

[Dirtyfuzz]

Hope the holiday was relaxing! Good to see Al and Tim are getting a lot of boat orders.
I have a Mr funnel and the other day I did a test on some fresh fuel straight from the servo, clean jerry can and I was shocked at how much dissolved water was in the fresh fuel probably about a tablespoon for 20l I only use the funnel when I can be bothered but I’m definitely going to use it every time now!


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[Dirtyfuzz]

Well I’m still pulling up crap from the bottom of the starboard fuel tank and is doing my head in so both tanks are coming out, the original are stainless but am going to go aluminium with an epoxy coating should save a few dollars and a bit of weight, was thinking of getting a hole drilled from fuel tank bulkhead compartment to the next compartment which is approx 1m towards the transom so any water that gets in under tank area can at least be removed!


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[gazza2006au]

Named Dirty Fuzz for a reason? LOL Bummer your still having problems mate u can cut a inspection hole in the tank suck all the shit out than place a cap on the tank one of those that screw on and look like the fuel sender round circles

[Dirtyfuzz]

Named Dirty Fuzz for a reason? LOL Bummer your still having problems mate u can cut a inspection hole in the tank suck all the shit out than place a cap on the tank one of those that screw on and look like the fuel sender round circles

Actually the boat builder I deal with did mention that could cut a hole in the top of the tank and have a look, a relatively simple task as it has two inspection plates at the front an back above the tank
Edit! I won’t have anything to do with cutting a petrol tank, some things should be left to the pros!

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[gazza2006au]

Fuzz aluminum doesn't create sparks that i have seen not from a hole saw but maybe the friction of cutting could cause the tank to explode who knows best to get it done and pay the bill, with a port hole they can use a special vacuum to suck all the crap out one that is able to suck up flammable liquid or fumes without igniting it

if you used the wife's vacuum you'd be kicked out of the house lol

[Dirtyfuzz]

Fuzz aluminum doesn't create sparks that i have seen not from a hole saw but maybe the friction of cutting could cause the tank to explode who knows best to get it done and pay the bill, with a port hole they can use a special vacuum to suck all the crap out one that is able to suck up flammable liquid or fumes without igniting it

if you used the wife's vacuum you'd be kicked out of the house lol

It’s stainless


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[BigE]

Hope the holiday was relaxing! Good to see Al and Tim are getting a lot of boat orders.
I have a Mr funnel and the other day I did a test on some fresh fuel straight from the servo, clean jerry can and I was shocked at how much dissolved water was in the fresh fuel probably about a tablespoon for 20l I only use the funnel when I can be bothered but I’m definitely going to use it every time now!



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I have a Mr Funnel as well good bit of kit , i am always amazed at the crap and water in servo fuel that it picks up.
best $50 i have spent

BigE

[Dirtyfuzz]

Bit of an update! Fuel tank is getting removed this week and hopefully Ark marine can give me a quick turn around, they believe they may have a 180l tank in stock that will fit but i’ll need to take the old tank down to them to measure up and check, only issue is it may be aluminium and the tank coming out is stainless which doesn’t worry me as long as they weigh the same!


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[Noelm]

What about a "plastic" tank, there is lots of sizes to choose from for under floor applications, never worry about rust or corrosion again.

[ranmar850]

Try this before you cut the tank out. I've found it to be the easiest way to drain a tank, and it tends to force the crap out as well.

There are two ways to transfer liquid from any vessel. Well, three, if you count siphoning. You can suck it out via a pump, or force it out via pressure. I find the pressure transfer idea works well. I'm assuming the fuel pickup will be at the rear of the tank, only logical place to put it on a boat. Have the front jacked well up to get all the stuff in the bottom of the tank down the back. Disconnect the fuel line from the motor, and put it into a container, size dependant on how much fuel you want to pump through. Find your breathers for the tank. If there is only one, easy, use that. More than one you need to block the extra off, jam a bolt in it or kink it with a cable tie. Put a tapered air nozzle into the unblocked breather and introduce a little pressure. Don't overdo it, you only need enough to get the fuel flowing. Keep an eye on your filler hose, if it's starting to look like a balloon, too much pressure I find the common tapered type you use for general blowing duties works fine. I assume you have water separator type filters with a clear glass already fitted. You will be blowing the fuel through these, so you should see the water and crap building up in the bottom. If the pickup is right up the back, you should be able to competely clear the tank this way, and get an idea just how much rubbish you are actually passing. Keep adding pressure as the flow slows down. If you run dry, let the tank sit for a bit after you add more fuel, to allow the water to settle before you restart.

You should get to the point of having the separator glass clear as you run fuel through it. Now, this is obviously a static test--fill it up and take it to sea, and any crust on the walls of the tank might start to be shaken loose. The filter should be able to deal with this, just check it after every trip for a while, before you go to the drastic length of cutting up the deck and replacing the tank.

I used to do this twice a year with a boat that had a lot of use--150 litre underfloor tank, with no fuel gauge, and an old motor with no ECM for checking fuel flow. I fitted a Lowrance fuel flow setup ( LMF-200?), but I could not get it any better than 90% accurate, regardless of calibration. It did over-estimate fuel flow, so I always had more than I thought, so I used to completely drain and zero twice a year using this method.

[Dirtyfuzz]

What about a "plastic" tank, there is lots of sizes to choose from for under floor applications, never worry about rust or corrosion again.

Did think of a plastic tank but as I’m only replacing the starboard side I had concerns of the weight difference on each side and changing the ride and stability!


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[Dirtyfuzz]

Try this before you cut the tank out. I've found it to be the easiest way to drain a tank, and it tends to force the crap out as well.

There are two ways to transfer liquid from any vessel. Well, three, if you count siphoning. You can suck it out via a pump, or force it out via pressure. I find the pressure transfer idea works well. I'm assuming the fuel pickup will be at the rear of the tank, only logical place to put it on a boat. Have the front jacked well up to get all the stuff in the bottom of the tank down the back. Disconnect the fuel line from the motor, and put it into a container, size dependant on how much fuel you want to pump through. Find your breathers for the tank. If there is only one, easy, use that. More than one you need to block the extra off, jam a bolt in it or kink it with a cable tie. Put a tapered air nozzle into the unblocked breather and introduce a little pressure. Don't overdo it, you only need enough to get the fuel flowing. Keep an eye on your filler hose, if it's starting to look like a balloon, too much pressure I find the common tapered type you use for general blowing duties works fine. I assume you have water separator type filters with a clear glass already fitted. You will be blowing the fuel through these, so you should see the water and crap building up in the bottom. If the pickup is right up the back, you should be able to competely clear the tank this way, and get an idea just how much rubbish you are actually passing. Keep adding pressure as the flow slows down. If you run dry, let the tank sit for a bit after you add more fuel, to allow the water to settle before you restart.

You should get to the point of having the separator glass clear as you run fuel through it. Now, this is obviously a static test--fill it up and take it to sea, and any crust on the walls of the tank might start to be shaken loose. The filter should be able to deal with this, just check it after every trip for a while, before you go to the drastic length of cutting up the deck and replacing the tank.

I used to do this twice a year with a boat that had a lot of use--150 litre underfloor tank, with no fuel gauge, and an old motor with no ECM for checking fuel flow. I fitted a Lowrance fuel flow setup ( LMF-200?), but I could not get it any better than 90% accurate, regardless of calibration. It did over-estimate fuel flow, so I always had more than I thought, so I used to completely drain and zero twice a year using this method.

Thanks ranmar! There is a lot of water getting into the tank aswell, all fittings and connections have been replaced so I’m stuffed if I know where it’s coming from, the port tank is perfect so there is an issue regardless


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