Old stainless diesel tank - worth mending?

[robinbarker]

Just taken out my 33 year old stainless tank from my Maxi 95 to find a pin hole leak from one corner (which had emptied tank into the bilge lasy winter). Tank looks tatty with patches of corrosion and although I could probably get it repaired I suspect it would get another leak soon.

Any tips?

My inclination is to buy a new plastic tank but they all seem rectangular rather that the wedge shape of the current tank (which fitted under cockpit locker) hence I'd have to drop from the current 100 litre tank to around 60 litres ..

have never had problem of this kind before ... tank replacement is a new one on me!

Robin

 

[Bajansailor]

I think there are companies who will custom build a plastic tank to the shape you require, but it is bound to cost a fair bit more.
We have a S/S water tank under the sole - it is 16 years old now, and a few years ago it started leaking....took it home and pressure tested it with about 6' of water head, and it started leaking like a colander along the welds. Took the tank to a welding shop, asked them to weld up all the areas that were leaking (ringed with a marker pen). Took it home, pressure tested it again, more leaks from new areas...... took it back to the welding shop, asked them to go over all the welds, and that stopped the leaks - until now, when the whole process is probably starting all over again (?).
I think I will build a fibreglass tank to replace it.... or perhaps get one of those flexible tanks.

 

[asj1]

If your tank is anything like mine it is a pain to take out and put back. I took it out last winter to clean out and in passing did consider replacing it, but didn't persue it. Speaking to a visitor with the same boat he told me that he had a new one fabricated from scratch by a local small boatyard and was surprised how cheap it was. They used the old one as apattern so all teh fittings were in exactly the right position and size. I will certainly go that route if I have any more trouble I will certainly go that route.
So while you have it out of the boat it may be wioth taking it to a fabricating place to find how much it would cost.

 

[cliff]

Agree with Andrew, If you already have the tank out I would look at having a new on fabricated using the old one as a pattern. I would also look at the possibility of having a small sump with a drain cock fitted to the new one if there is enough space below the tank. Sumps make it so much easier to drain the water and other crap (dead bugs) from the bottom of the tank.

One of the problems with "old" stainless steel tanks is 30 odd years ago the "L" grades were not so common and were expensive hence tanks were commonly made from standard grades of SS hence were / are prone to suffer from "weld" decay if care was not taken during welding.
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
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[pappaecho]

I would repair the pinhole with a plastic filler, and then using the tank as an internal mould, encase the whole lot in GRP. It will take a couple of hours to put two layers of resin and matt, and the whole thing will be a slightly tighter fit than before, and will be good for another 20+ years.
Had same problem with stainless water separator/silencer, which was 29 years old, and was quoted £250 for a new one with 4 weeks wait. Entire unit was back in service the following day!

 

[oldvic]

I would repair the pinhole with a plastic filler, and then using the tank as an internal mould, encase the whole lot in GRP. It will take a couple of hours to put two layers of resin and matt, and the whole thing will be a slightly tighter fit than before, and will be good for another 20+ years.
Had same problem with stainless water separator/silencer, which was 29 years old, and was quoted £250 for a new one with 4 weeks wait. Entire unit was back in service the following day!

What is GRP? Where can one get it? Did I understand that the GRP method can be used also with the water tank?

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