Drain Sadler 32 fuel tank...or not?

[eddystone]

My fuel tank is (I presume) standard original fit 77 litre s/s. On the underside of the tank, behind the fuel feed tap there is a protruding nut/bolt thing which i take is a drain. I always keep the tank topped up and feed it biocide. My instinct is not to try and drain any water off, assuming I can rig up a mirror/light to see whether its square/hex/size etc. No idea what previous 2 owners did but may well be seized solid and set in fairly thin metal. Even if it can be undone without tearing the bottom out of the tank my experience is these things need a lot of undoing before anything, e.g. water comes out; which means high risk of dropping out, dumping over 70 litres of fuel in the locker. because of where it is I don't rate my chances of getting it back in. Because of my pattern of usage (low) it's not feasible to empty the tank without leaving it as a breeding ground for beesties for an extended period.

Therefore I think I'll leave things as they are until I find someone handy who can suck out all the fuel at reasonable cost. I would add I haven't yet seen any significant water in the primary filter/water trap.

Am I being too cautious?

 

[lw395]

Get yourself a Pela or imitation oil extractor, suck any water and gunge out.
The clones are under £20 in Amazon now.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Extractor-S...qid=1433331977&sr=1-35&keywords=oil+extractor

 

[Kwik Decision]

If it were mine, i would leave things as they are for now. As lw395 says, you can use an oil extractor to suck any water and crud out.
If you discover a significant diesel bug infestation (lots of black snotty stuff at the bottom of the tank, and fuel filters getting blocked regularly) I'd be looking at removing the tank for a steam clean. While out, I'd then look at fitting a valve to the drain point at the bottom of the tank, so in the future you can more easily drain off a litre or 2 of fuel every few months to check for water and bug.

I removed our tank a few yrs ago to clean it, and discovered it already had a drain valve. Don't know how the 32 fuel tank differs from the 29 one, but you can see details of what I did here:

http://sadlerandstarlight.gamalanhost.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2216

 

[Hydrozoan]

Have left ours alone as I never see anything untoward in the primary or secondary filters. I have always wondered where the drain was, and if there was a filter at the outlet point inside the tank - I seem to recall some S34 owners saying that there was one in theirs, and what an unsuitable place they thought it.

 

[eddystone]

Can't speak for Sadler 29 but on S32 if you look at the aft face of the fuel tank the fuel tap is on the underside near the back edge; it is possible to hang over into the cockpit locker and reach it; I have been told the fuel outlet to the engine has about a 1" upstand from the floor of the tank so that the debris on the bottom doesn't go into the fuel line (in a flat calm of course!) - don't know if it has any filter incorporated.

There is a drain nut behind the switchable fuel outlet but the best way to reach it with a spanner seems to be standing on your head in the cockpit locker; if I squat inside the locker my arm doesn't reach.

 

[Champagne Murphy]

Use the Pela to sample what's at the bottom. Attach the tube to a dowel to make sure it reaches. Any grot/water then you know you have a problem. Even then I think I would suck most of it out. Slow job but less massy than a locker full of grotty diesel.

 

[Hydrozoan]

Can't speak for Sadler 29 but on S32 if you look at the aft face of the fuel tank the fuel tap is on the underside near the back edge; it is possible to hang over into the cockpit locker and reach it; I have been told the fuel outlet to the engine has about a 1" upstand from the floor of the tank so that the debris on the bottom doesn't go into the fuel line (in a flat calm of course!) - don't know if it has any filter incorporated.

There is a drain nut behind the switchable fuel outlet but the best way to reach it with a spanner seems to be standing on your head in the cockpit locker; if I squat inside the locker my arm doesn't reach.

Thanks. Ours may be a bit different as it is not a Sadler build, but I'll have a look.

In any event, if I did find the need for a clean out I think I'd take the Pela route for the reasons given by others.

 

[vyv_cox]

I recounted my experience of the tank drain on the SSOA forum. Last year I noticed a rusty drip coming from it. I tightened it about a quarter turn to try to stop it, partly successful. Later in the season I took the tank out to fit a new level sensor when the fuel level was well down. Before that I began to remove the drain plug, backed it off half a turn and it fell out! Years of small amounts of water in the tank had led to galvanic corrosion between the brass plug and stainless boss, removing almost all the threads. I drilled and tapped for a new boss with a larger, coarser thread. I would caution against doing nothing until you know just what you have.

 

[eddystone]

I recounted my experience of the tank drain on the SSOA forum. Last year I noticed a rusty drip coming from it. I tightened it about a quarter turn to try to stop it, partly successful. Later in the season I took the tank out to fit a new level sensor when the fuel level was well down. Before that I began to remove the drain plug, backed it off half a turn and it fell out! Years of small amounts of water in the tank had led to galvanic corrosion between the brass plug and stainless boss, removing almost all the threads. I drilled and tapped for a new boss with a larger, coarser thread. I would caution against doing nothing until you know just what you have.

Thanks - will bear that in mind