Draining Condensate from diesel tanks - possible with any new boat

[Halo]

Does anyone have/ has seen a new yacht with a proper condensate trap and water drain system in the fuel tank
My 1966 Westerley had one but none of the new boats I look at have anything remotely seamanlike or well designed.
Is it me or are the modern designers negligent in this respect ?

 

[Ruffles]

I have a drain but prefer to fish around from above with a piece of copper fuel pipe and a pump so that I can sample more than one part of the tank. It's steel and I like to keep track of the amount of rust.

I checked as an afterthought this year. And discovered at least a gallon of rainwater. The Filler cap had been loose all Winter.

 

[prv]

Current standards do not approve of any openings in diesel tanks except in the top face. Tek Tanks will not put their approval stickers on a new tank if you insist on having a tap at the bottom.

The modern approach is to insert a Pela sucker through an access hatch in the top to hoover up water and crud from the bottom. I've done this and it works fine. I did design my custom tank with a small sump at the bottom.

I suppose some tanks may not have sumps because they're fitted close against the shape of the hull and there's no space for one. Also that most modern boats are increasingly "consumer products" built for a ten-year life with the first owner and little consideration of what happens after that. Welding extra seams to add a sump costs a few quid more, so the production designers strike it out.

Pete

 

[Stork_III]

Hallberg Rassy have as standard a dedicated tapped take off point which has internal standpipe to base of tank for drawing off water and crud.

 

[jwilson]

Current standards do not approve of any openings in diesel tanks except in the top face. Tek Tanks will not put their approval stickers on a new tank if you insist on having a tap at the bottom.

The modern approach is to insert a Pela sucker through an access hatch in the top to hoover up water and crud from the bottom. I've done this and it works fine. I did design my custom tank with a small sump at the bottom.

I suppose some tanks may not have sumps because they're fitted close against the shape of the hull and there's no space for one. Also that most modern boats are increasingly "consumer products" built for a ten-year life with the first owner and little consideration of what happens after that. Welding extra seams to add a sump costs a few quid more, so the production designers strike it out.

Pete

I sucked about half a pint of dirty water and crud out of an 8 year old plastic fuel tank last winter - Pela with tube through a top access hole, taking out about half a tanks worth of fuel with it, which I stored in containers temporarily, before refilling tank via filter, and adding bug treatment as a precaution. First time since new this had been done. None of the dirty water had been getting to either primary or secondary fuel filters though, as the takeoff tube end was raised above the tank bottom.

 

[macd]

prv has it spot-on in all the points he's made, particularly the shape of modern tanks and the expectations of many of their owners.

I have to say I think Tek-Tank a bit wrong-headed: not in disliking bottom-exit drains, which is sensible, but in having a standard hose take-off/inspection cap which has no provision for a top exit drain. OK, they'll make pretty well anything to order, but their standard set-up becomes...well, the standard. The wrong standard. I'd prefer they set a good example. It's easy enough to blank off any plug not wanted.