leaking gas tanks

« **on:** July 09, 2011, 11:12:10 PM »

its official... my boat leaks gas.... and it comes a day before i go to the lake...

soo now i am lost... does anyone know about gas tanks... i have built in poly tanks and there is a seam that the gas is leaking out of.... so i think i gotta replace the tanks....

great timing....

i need help, ideas, guidence,... anything can help right now....

thanx

« **Reply #1 on:** July 09, 2011, 11:23:51 PM »

only advice is to hop in someone elses boat until the tanks are replaced with aluminum tanks. leaking gas is not something you want to chance just for a weekend.

« **Reply #2 on:** July 09, 2011, 11:28:57 PM »

Quote from: 1972Challenger on July 09, 2011, 11:12:10 PM

its official... my boat leaks gas.... and it comes a day before i go to the lake...

soo now i am lost... does anyone know about gas tanks... i have built in poly tanks and there is a seam that the gas is leaking out of.... so i think i gotta replace the tanks.... great timing....

i need help, ideas, guidence,... anything can help right now....

thanx

Do NOT take this lightly...........If they leak now, and there's foam under the floors soaking up that fuel that's PROBABLY been leaking for some time............well.......here's my first hand account of being stoopid about that..........No one's life and well-being is worth a lake/river trip........

Ray

FWIW, I'd be pulling the whle boat apart, removing floors, foam, then replacing everything including the tanks.........

« **Reply #3 on:** July 09, 2011, 11:32:01 PM »

Quote from: 1972Challenger on July 09, 2011, 11:12:10 PM

its official... my boat leaks gas.... and it comes a day before i go to the lake...

soo now i am lost... does anyone know about gas tanks... i have built in poly tanks and there is a seam that the gas is leaking out of.... so i think i gotta replace the tanks.... great timing....

i need help, ideas, guidence,... anything can help right now....

thanx

i just went through this. i had the fiberglass tanks in my boat. i finally bit the bullet and ripped them out and put aluminum tanks in that i found on craigslist. i tried to patch the fiberglass tanks i had but they just kept leaking. so i wouldnt try and fix/patch them. its like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. the only fix is to get rid of the tanks and replacing them with aluminum or ss tanks. seriously man. a water leak is one thing but a gas leak is just down right dangerous. when mine were leaking, the only thing i could think about was seeing those pictures of boats that burn down to the water line. its scary as hell bro. you dont want to be spending your whole weekend worrying if your boat is gonna catch on fire. just for piece of mind man. makes you feel alot better. keep your eyes out for alum/ss tanks on craigslist/ebay. or buy em brand new, they are spendy brand new. but seriously im telling you this from experience. get rid of your tanks.

« **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2011, 08:56:04 AM »

Listen to all these guys.

I have some aluminum bullet tanks if you are interested, but need to get some specifics before we know they would even work....

Get some aluminum tanks built. Do not even think about repairing what you have.

GT

« **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2011, 12:22:10 PM »

Thanks for all the info. And i am replacing them. I gotta get measurements Today im goin to empty and tear the out. Then see wat the next step is. Can i build tanks and pjt a fuel gauge in them?? Or how does that work

« **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2011, 12:38:22 PM »

Quote from: 1972Challenger on July 10, 2011, 12:22:10 PM

Thanks for all the info. And i am replacing them. I gotta get measurements Today im goin to empty and tear the out. Then see wat the next step is. Can i build tanks and pjt a fuel gauge in them?? Or how does that work

you can probably use your existing senders in your fiberglass tanks if they're going to be made direct replacements. just drill the hole in the alum tanks where the deepest part will be and mount em up with something to seal em, fuel safe silicone, etc. if your senders are nasty now is a good time to get new ones.

http://www.cpperformance.com/c-499-fuel-tank-gauge-senders.aspx

if your fuel fills are right above dont forget to ground them to the tank. sparks + fumes = boom.

« **Reply #7 on:** July 10, 2011, 01:02:44 PM »

my buddy has some VERY nice Russell SS tanks im sure he would be willing to let go of..give him a call 928-607-7221

« **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2011, 10:51:59 AM »

my dad and i were taking a look at the tanks and se decided this... we are goin to cut out the old tanks, and make new alum ones for my boat... i work in a sheet metal shop so im goin to draw and program them up, get them welded by a buddy, and hope that they turn out lookin good...

« **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2011, 02:22:07 PM »

My buddy made tanks out of two 8" rolls of aluminum and just welded end camps on them! Then welded aluminum angle for mounting them to fiberglassed 2x4s. and weldded bungs for pickups and fuel fills on the tank.

« **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2011, 04:49:40 PM »

See my post on "rusty bow tank" another story to remember when dealing with fuel in the bilge.

« **Reply #11 on:** July 14, 2011, 07:08:23 AM »

i got a question.. people have been tellin my dad and i conflicting information.. so i thought i would ask all u guys since u know alot about boats...

wats batter for fuel tanks.. ss or alum?

and in wat gauge of material??

« **Reply #12 on:** July 14, 2011, 08:04:57 AM »

SS IMO is best but is pricey and just a bit heavier. Alum is ok but I would not want to get near salt water. The exterior of the tank is important too. Aluminum tanks like a moon tank look great but need more TLC to keep looking nice. My old float had SS saddle tanks about 7 gal each (circle boat) and cleanup was a quick swipe with a soapy rag, never got a scratch never oxidized. A lot of guys on their river rides would have tanks made from anything covered in carpeting, I never liked that because you could not inspect very well and it made a good wick for your floating molitof cocktail.

« **Reply #13 on:** July 14, 2011, 08:57:10 AM »

im def not goin to cover them with carpet... if im makin custom tanks i want people to see them...
and IMO? is that like the style of SS.. like 306 or something??

« **Reply #14 on:** July 14, 2011, 10:36:53 AM »

Quote from: 1972Challenger on July 14, 2011, 08:57:10 AM

im def not goin to cover them with carpet... if im makin custom tanks i want people to see them...
and IMO? is that like the style of SS.. like 306 or something??

if you go SS, use 316. corosion resistant. best for marine applications.

« **Reply #15 on:** July 14, 2011, 02:07:24 PM »

wat guage tho?? like 18 gauge or thicker

« **Reply #16 on:** July 15, 2011, 06:59:41 AM »

I used 1/8" 5052 aluminum. Shouldn't corrode through in my life time

« **Reply #17 on:** July 15, 2011, 09:40:43 AM »

1/8?? thats heavy isnt it?? i mean i know its alum, but its thick

« **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2011, 11:00:02 AM »

The tanks have a lot of vibration and flexing, I've had to repair thinner tanks

« **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2011, 02:07:42 PM »

pretty sure my tanks arent that thick....

just call IMCO and act like they're lookin for some tanks and ask what gauge they make theirs out of and what ####? if its good enough for imco its good enough for you. =)

« **Reply #20 on:** July 15, 2011, 02:09:51 PM »

IMCO???

« **Reply #21 on:** July 15, 2011, 02:13:50 PM »

they custom make alum and SS tanks, exhaust, drives, etc....

http://www.imcomarine.com/cal_store/fuel-tanks-1.html

« **Reply #22 on:** July 15, 2011, 03:03:43 PM »

ok thanks

what i have been thinkin is takin 1/8'' alum tubing, welding caps on them and ext...

i thnk that sound good.... and clean wehn i polish them up

« **Reply #23 on:** July 15, 2011, 04:19:41 PM »

Imco said 1/8" 5052 lol

« **Reply #24 on:** July 15, 2011, 04:20:32 PM »

Quote from: sandeggo on July 15, 2011, 04:19:41 PM

Imco said 1/8" 5052 lol

1972Challenger

ka0tyk

IRRebel

Nixonnow

GT Jets

1972Challenger

ka0tyk

Colesifer

1972Challenger

fordfan

wizard612

1972Challenger

wizard612

1972Challenger

ka0tyk

1972Challenger

sandeggo

1972Challenger

sandeggo

ka0tyk

1972Challenger

ka0tyk

1972Challenger

sandeggo

ka0tyk