140 litre Plastic fuel tank........

Sy-Revolution

Sy-Revolution

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Hi Folks,
I'm planning to up size my fuel tank this year and have been considering one of these:

http://www.imsupplies.co.uk/product.php?productid=979&cat=73&page=1

Apparently they don't have baffles, would this be much of a problem?. Does anyone have any knowlege of this type of tank in a similar capacity? Tank will be fitted in the center of the boat and low down nr keel, length running fore/aft.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Crispin.
 
In a tank of that size, I would want baffles. otherwise, you have a tanl of 140 litres of which at least 40 litres will be unuseable. I had a custom tank made by tektanks which was triangle shaped at the bottom to increase probability of using the full contents, it also had baffles.
 
Would support having a custom made tank. I would not fancy having 140 litres of fuel sloshing around an unbaffled tank, plus the potential problems of picking up the full volume. I have had two tanks made by Tek Tanks - very good quality and service. There is a very useful guide to designing tanks on their website www.tek-tanks.com From experience I know they will be helpful in making sure you get the best design for your application. Obviously going to be more expensive than the one you are looking at.

If you do want to go down the standard size/shape route, then suggest you look at Vetus tanks as these have baffles in anything over 88 litres, although not inspection hatches. See page 86 of their catalogue.

Hope this helps
 
Intriguingly, the tank you're considering at £130 is identical to the 140 litre standard tank offered by Tek Tanks - except that Tek Tanks charge £260 for it! On this basis, I'd imagine that a custom-made tank would also be a lot more than £130, so if cost is an issue the one you've found would do the job, although one with baffles might be more satisfactory.

I have a 100 litre stainless steel tank which I use purely as a reserve supply. This isn't baffled, and hasn't been a problem as it's normally kept full.
 
Cost is an issue I'm afraid, I was quoted £500+ to have a tank custom made. At £130 to drop this in would be great. I only have a 58 litre S/S tank at the moment, which for a engine that uses around 2 litres p/h is a bit small.

The Vetus ones might be an alternative.........

Thanks for the replies,


Crispin.
 
Have you considered foam in the tank instead of baffles? Try Merlin Motor Sport at Castle Combe circuit. Don't see why it wouldn't work for diesel?
I seem to remember some sort of foam cubes you can shove into the inlet of a rally car tank????
HTH
Chris
 
In case anyone else is interested here's the reply from Merlin:

"The foam will be fine for diesel. The foam will displace <2.5%.

The blocks are 80cm square, if you are building the tanks around the foam you can fill the tank but if you are inserting the foam through the filler you won't be able to get as much in.

I hope this is of some use."

So that would be a baffled 140l (well 136.5L) tank for under £200. I think that's my mind made up............
 
[ QUOTE ]
So that would be a baffled 140l (well 136.5L) tank for under £200. I think that's my mind made up............

[/ QUOTE ]Errr... the tank foam from Merlin Motor Sport is £42 per cubic foot (28 litres). For a 140 litre tank, you'd need £200 worth of foam!
 
I didn't think I'd fill it right up though, I would only really be worried about the fuel sloshing around too much as the tank gets low on fuel and therefore risking the pickup becoming uncovered, but by then the foam would be at the bottom of the tank and helping to reduce this. These people cut to size so perhaps some oblong pieces would work. I'll have to see how much they charge....... http://www.atlltd.com/bafflefoam.htm
 
Do you really need 140 litres reserve? At your consumption this is 70 hours of motoring!! In addition to nearly 30 hours in your main tank. Many auxiliary yachts do less than this in a whole season. Carrying around fuel you don't need is a waste of space and energy.

Foam filling sounds attractive, but I have never seen it offered in a boat. Properly constructed, baffled tanks with inspection hatches for cleaning are almost universal. Both stainless and Poly such as fabricated Tek Tanks or rotational moulded are used. The latter (such as Vetus) are economical if you can use their standard sizes and shapes. Avoid mild steel and try and design a tank that can be removed without taking half the boat apart.

Perhaps you should run your boat for a year carrying cans of extra fuel for emergencies and then assess your real requirements. If you seriously need over 200 litres capacity then the only sensible thing is to do the job properly and have a proper tank made. Like a Rolls you will value it long after the cost is forgotten!
 
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