Petrol Tank Repair

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DracoP

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My 'bargain' runabout restoration project, a 1975 Draco 1700, has an aluminium fuel tank. It sits in the tank-well and is insulated from bumps by a fluid. Unfortunately, the fluid is petrol. I am about to take it out and am pretty convinced I will find that the aluminium is perforated on the bottom (I have eliminated other sources of leaks.). It is a small tank of around 18 gallons. The ball-park quote from the local fabricator in York is around £1k for a new tank in stainless steel. I have an indicative price from a specialist tank restoration company to coat it internally and externally in some form of US gunk which is then given a 3 year warranty. The cost is sub £400. The link is http://www.fuel-tank-renu.co.uk/pages/tanks.html.

Since I paid less than £1000 for the boat, I am inclined to take the cheaper option; but I would be very grateful for any thoughts/experiences on the product referred to and the price quoted for the new tank.
 
You could coat the fuel tank yourself with a kit from Frost, for a fraction of the cost (just over a tenth, in fact)

I've used it myself in the fuel tank of my Mini Moke (fuel tank irreplaceable and unobtainable) with perfect results.
Repair was done in 2007.

Details here http://www.frost.co.uk/por15-basic-car-tank-repair-kit.html

The instructions in the kit are straightforward to follow, don't get ripped off, do it yourself.
 
Usual Poor Design Failure

£1000 Quid.Your aving a larf :)
Common problem.Corrosion has certainly perforated the bottom of the alloy tank.Probably lots of little pin holes.Tank possibly was sitting directly on ribs of hull on a stupid bit of felt or similar water absorbent material supposed to cushion shock and vibrations.
This becomes soaked and Hey Presto..............................
Forget all those expensive and/or fancy solutions...do it properly and for virtually no money.
Get tank out.You may need a chain saw if it was anything like the nasty cheapo design disaster American Regal I had.
Take it to your nearest fabricator on some industrial estate who does this sort of thing all the time.They will double up the bottom with thin alloy and perhaps go a few inches up each side of the tank.
Mine cost around £50.00 a few years ago,suprised if you get charged more than £100.00 ish.Sort of job they knock off for cash on Friday when the boss is catching Easy Jet down to Nice to enjoy his tax fiddle gin palace as suggested by the accountant.
Tell them to have a go and you will take a chance if it cannot be fixed .Betcha they sort sort it first time.
Also excellent opportunity to get tank perfect clean of debris and water.
 
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oldgit said:
£1000 Quid.Your aving a larf :).....
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+1 ... The Draco 1700 was a great little runabout .... was one of the few in Norway that was came as Yellow as an option at that time... Well built and good seakeeping for size.... so expect this to be the original tank. Support OG here try a repair with a local shop. If all fails, buy another one (not SS) ... if shape is difficult, consider a flexible tank, or flexible insert to your leaking one...
 
oldgit said:
£1000 Quid.Your aving a larf :)
Common problem.Corrosion has certainly perforated the bottom of the alloy tank.Probably lots of little pin holes.Tank possibly was sitting directly on ribs of hull on a stupid bit of felt or similar water absorbent material supposed to cushion shock and vibrations.
This becomes soaked and Hey Presto..............................
Forget all those expensive and/or fancy solutions...do it properly and for virtually no money.
Get tank out.You may need a chain saw if it was anything like the nasty cheapo design disaster American Regal I had.
Take it to your nearest fabricator on some industrial estate who does this sort of thing all the time.They will double up the bottom with thin alloy and perhaps go a few inches up each side of the tank.
Mine cost around £50.00 a few years ago,suprised if you get charged more than £100.00 ish.Sort of job they knock off for cash on Friday when the boss is catching Easy Jet down to Nice to enjoy his tax fiddle gin palace as suggested by the accountant.
Tell them to have a go and you will take a chance if it cannot be fixed .Betcha they sort sort it first time.
Also excellent opportunity to get tank perfect clean of debris and water.
Click to expand...

+1
 
As with most things there are always two kinds of places to get this work done,the marinas favorite go-to very professional company with compliment slips and price lists who will charge "work of art" marine prices,or the one man band in a corner shed who knocks up custom oil tanks for Hells Angel Harley Davidson owners for less than the price of a decent Tattoo or piercing.:)
Its finding the latter that is the problem.
 
Now I know that I may appear biased but you won't find many fabricator welders who are prepared to weld up petrol tanks for fear of explosion.
To do it properly you should steam clean and then fill with either argon or sand.
Also a repair will always be just that, for petrol bite the bullet I am afraid and get a new one made; you really don't want a petrol leak.
But then I would say that wouldn't I!
 
Pennpromo said:
Now I know that I may appear biased but you won't find many fabricator welders who are prepared to weld up petrol tanks for fear of explosion.
To do it properly you should steam clean and then fill with either argon or sand.
Also a repair will always be just that, for petrol bite the bullet I am afraid and get a new one made; you really don't want a petrol leak.
But then I would say that wouldn't I!
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Your advice is correct and commendable for a petrol tank that has been in recent use.

However reading the OP, I am guessing that, like my old car project, the tank hasn't seen petrol in years and any volatiles will be long gone.
 
"Also a repair will always be just that, for petrol bite the bullet I am afraid and get a new one made; you really don't want a petrol leak."


How many tanks have failed on new boats after a very short space of time due to bad design or scrimping on quality of materials.Sealine had few problems a while ago with split tanks and there were no doubt other builders with similar problems..
Be interested to know why one would assume either the aluminium sheet used for the repair or the quality of the welding would be of a lesser quality than the original or that the welder concerned would be any less concerned about his/her own personal safety or that of his customer. ?
 
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A good friend of mine has is own fabrication company and will not entertain the idea of welding a used fuel tank under any circumstances.

I would look at getting a new tank made for the boat, if you take the old tank as a pattern to a ali fabricator i would'nt have thought it would be a massive cost. you could call the tank company in Poole who specialise in making fuel and water tanks and get a price, i have no connection with them other than they made a replacement tank for me last year 950l water tank.

As pemmpromo says bite the bullet and have a new tank made, think of this as if your repaired tank leaks again whist out at sea what would the probable outcome be????
 
I was present when we blew up a tank. We used to replace slipper launch tanks. We would leave a hose pipe running in it all weekend to flush it out the weld it on Monday. Obviously you pass the welding torch over the filler just to check!! this one exploded it lifted off the bench hit the roof broke all the florescent lights and returned to the bench now shaped like a cushion whereas it had been wedge shaped. No-one was hurt I suppose because it didn't shatter. We never did it again!!
 
" think of this as if your repaired tank leaks again "





The last tank failed only due to corrosion...it took 30 years !

Most of the old steel boats around have been plated (often more than once ) does your mate advise a new hull each time in case of leaks :)
 
" We never did it again"


A tank that had been removed from boat and constantly had running water through it for 48 hours managed to retain sufficiant vapour to cause an explosion ?
 
Have another one made in mild steel, much cheaper than stainless and aluminium, get it plugged and apply a liquid epoxy coating to the inside which you do by mixing the two liquids and pouring it in the tank and rolling it around until its all coated, then epoxy paint the outside with a couple of good coats, will last forever, and still cheaper.
 
oldgit said:
" We never did it again"


A tank that had been removed from boat and constantly had running water through it for 48 hours managed to retain sufficiant vapour to cause an explosion ?
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We had done it many times before. Ironically the boat Safety scheme said the outlet from the tank had to come from the top of the tank so you put a bung in the bottom outlet and weld a new spigot to the top of the tank easy!!
 
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