leaking diesel tank

[Guest]

Help please.

Large diesel tank [50gal of mild steel] and largely inaccesible has a seeping leak which is impossible to view/find because of the obstructions. Removal is major surgery and a full winter job which I would prefer to avoid at this moment; I accept that replacement is innevitable in the long term.

Is there a product or trick which will seal up a tiny leak - the Radweld for diesel tanks.

Any help appreciated.

Andrew

 

[vyv_cox]

Leakage of a mild steel diesel tank is very probably the result of general internal corrosion. Although you may only have a pin-hole leak at the moment, the likelihood is that the whole of the bottom of the tank is paper thin. You might get away with draining it and sheathing the underneath with epoxy but this sounds to be impractical. The only answer real is to replace.

When mine went this way it generated lots of flaky rust debris. Try inspecting your fuel filters for evidence.

 

[claymore]

As a stop gap(!) until you address the final solution, try epoxy putty - it does work even on a diesel smeared surface. As Vyv says though - sound like time for a change
regards
John S

 

[Chris_Stannard]

Agree the only sensible solution is to replace it or you will wake up with 50 gallons of diesel in the bilge (not nice). Suggest stainless steel to prevent future problems. Whilst you are at it have a drain cock at the lowest point of the tank so that you can drain a small amount of fuel from time to time to get the water out of the tank, there is always some. If the bottom of the tank will be inaccessible a tube which runs down to the bottom of the tank, that you can attach a pump to is an an alternative. But in any case you need to get the water out on a regular basis, if you had been able to do that with your mild steel tank you would not have the problem now.

Chris Stannard

 

[Guest]

There is a product available for sealing fuel tanks, but the problem is it needs to be swilled around the tank and then left to dry. It is also quite expensive, for a tank this size I think would be in the 40 to 50 pound mark. Classic car specialists sell it, or try going on to Google and searching for "Fuel tank sealer" and you will get lots of alternatives.

 

[DanTribe]

I have a Frost Marine catalogue 01706 658619, that listsstuff called Por 15 tank sealer.You do have to clean the tank and slosh it around,so may not be suitable for insitu use.
There is no date on catalogue so I don't know if they are still around.Try E mail art@frost.co.uk.

 

[ccscott49]

There is no effective way off sealing a leaking diesel tank. I suggest you replace it. I know its a monumental job, but once youve drained the tank, then washed it out with detergent and water, you can do as I did, cut it up with a disc grinder and take it out piecemeal. I then replaced mine, with smaller vetus plastic tanks, linked together with pipes, admittedly mine were 300 gals, so I uised a bunch of 50 gal tanks linked together, lost some capacity, but easier in the long run. Don't use stainless steel, they have a tendency to crack and corrode at the welds, you don't see it until they fail. All the answers for expoxy putty, etc. are get you home tricks thats all. Best of luck, Colin.

 

[claymore]

Yes - I think thats what we had suggested.
"Epoxy putty is a stop gap measure"...
"Replace the tank"...

 

[PaulJ]

POR 15 is still around, I got some recently, but as you say it has to be applied from inside the tank and the steel has to be "chemically clean" for which they supply two separate fluids. POR15 is good stuff but I don't think it is practical in this case where the access is restricted.