Plastic tank for petrol?

[elv_1986]

Hi, I am after a bit of advice,

I am looking to buy 2 lorry tanks made of plastic to fit into my petrol cruiser. The lorry tanks originally held diesel. Would they be okay holding petrol, or is it likely to eat through?

Thanks
elv_1986

 

[PCUK]

The safety implications are probably more pertinent. Is plastic allowed for boat petrol tanks?

 

[elv_1986]

I belive plastic is allowed, as outboard tanks are plastic and you can buy large plastic tanks from the chandlers?

 

[oldsaltoz]

Just stand well clear in the event of a fire on board.

 

[elv_1986]

Yea thats something which is bothering me, a metal tank would be more fire resistant? I'm not sure if they make these plastic tanks fire resistant.

 

[Anthony]

I am not an expert but just at a simple lever there is more than one type of plastic, and more than one way of moulding / forming it.

Unless the tank was approved for use with petrol (does it have any markings?), I would be reluctant to use it. Petrol is pretty dangerous stuff, especially in large quantities.

Ants

 

[GrahamHR]

Most recent American sprtsboats and cruisers have blow moulded plastic petrol tanks. (as do virtually all modern cars) They don't corrode, there are no welds to crack, they don't suffer from water condensation to anywhere the same degree as metal tanks. I'm pretty sure the American manufacturers wouldn't use the (designed for petrol) tanks unless they were judged safe (by the USCG and the lawyers!).

Graham

 

[Anthony]

I go back to what I said, there are different types of plastic. Yes there are plastic tanks around rated for use with petrol, however not all plastics are the same. I use a plastic hand pump to try to pump some petrol out of a tank into a container and the plastic was clearly affected by the petrol and deform.

I am sure someone will come along and clarify the technical side of it for us all, but just because some plastic tanks are OK for petrol, doesn't mean they all are.

Ants

 

[GrahamHR]

HDPE is used for blow moulded Jerry cans, suitable for both petrol and diesel. , I imagine a fuel tank would be the same material, ; it should be marked on the tanks somewhere. If you can't find out what the tanks are made of, I wouldn't use them. They're unlikely to have used some exotic thermoplastic for a truck fuel tank though.

Graham

 

[elv_1986]

Thanks for all the replys everyone. I have decided to forget the idea of plastic truck tanks and go for good old metal! I dont fancy the idea of a melted petrol tank!
Many thanks!