PVC fuel tank vs s/s

[benlui]

I once again have managed to get the diesel bug. Having filled only from a main fuel supplier and not from marinas, ive still managed to catch the bug. so, i was thinking, would it be better to replace my s/s tank with a pvc one? has anyone done this, and will this reduce water in the tank? I am asuming that I got the water through condinsation and certain that the fuel as bought had not water in it.
Im told by my local marine guy that the fuel pump as a result is knackered and he is trying to either recondition it, or replace it, so i want to avoid having to do this all over again.

 

[Heckler]

I once again have managed to get the diesel bug. Having filled only from a main fuel supplier and not from marinas, ive still managed to catch the bug. so, i was thinking, would it be better to replace my s/s tank with a pvc one? has anyone done this, and will this reduce water in the tank? I am asuming that I got the water through condinsation and certain that the fuel as bought had not water in it.
Im told by my local marine guy that the fuel pump as a result is knackered and he is trying to either recondition it, or replace it, so i want to avoid having to do this all over again.

Hang on is this the marine guy that made a mess of your engine install? Plus the Bene metal tank is usually aluminium.
Stu

 

[Evadne]

A PVC tank would not reduce the condensation on the iside of your tank significantly, think about the inside of a boat with no headlining.

1) drain the water off at regular intervals from the bottom of the tank.

2) use a biocide (and change it every few years to keep the buggers on their toes).

3) use road diesel.

It works for me, and I've been through it all as well (recond pumps, the works).

 

[PetiteFleur]

I replaced my steel tank with a Vetus Plastic one and I think it's much better. General concensus is that you'll get less condensation with a plastc tank. My original tank was a large steel one of 40 gallons which had obviously leaked at some time earlier in it's life. When removed, after cutting it into three pieces, it had been partially filled with epoxy to try and cure the leaks. I fitted a 20 gallon Plastic tank.
Several people to get plastic tanks from, Vetus, Plastimo, Tek-Tanks and possible others. I fitted a false reinforced floor as low as possible and strapped the tank in positioned with 1" wide polyester webbing and heavy duty 1" ratchets. I gained sufficient room to move the calorifier from a saloon cupboard to beside the new tank, thus gaining extra storage. Some plastic tanks are translucent so you can see the fuel level without a gauge.

 

[dt4134]

It's hard to be certain that the fuel you buy has no water. You have to be realistic about how much water can get into the fuel through condensation. It is only the water that is contained in the air that fills the empty part of the tank that can condense out. Over the course of a winter with an almost empty tank and the boat unused that could be significant, but the damp air that fills your tank is no worse than the damp air that fills the tank of your car so with frequent use you should have no problem.

Try getting a cheap syphon pump and pump out the fuel from the very bottom of the tank. The boundary between water and diesel is pretty obvious. If you can't see a boundary in your sample add water which will tell you whether your sample is water or diesel. Diesel with small amounts of water in it is cloudy.

If necessary pump out your tank into cans and refill the tank. It is very worth considering road diesel especially when you're not using much. These days it contains a small amount of biodiesel (about 5% I believe), which really means alcohol, which is good at absorbing water.

Evadne has said it about biocide. Water absorber is also worth considering if you've just got a bit of cloudy diesel.

Clean your filter (or even change it if it's old or badly clogged) as it is amazing how quickly the bug grows at the boundary between the diesel & the water. A pre-filter with water separator is a good investment if you don't have one already. I'd add one of those first before you go to the expense of replacing your tank. Make sure you leave decent access to drain any water from the bottom of the separator.

You have to be cautious with local marine experts in Ireland. It's a very small market and there's not enough competition. It's hard to find an 'expert' who is good.

 

[griff191]

Keep S/S. We used plastic on one of our models we had nothing but trouble ending up in us recalling all the boats back to remove them and fit S/S

 

[Tiercel]

We too replaced our steel tank with Vetus plastic. Haven't had any problems with condensation since (it is worth noting that we took the boat from Scotland to Greece shortly after change). However we have had major bug infestations through buying duff fuel in Sicily and Sardinia. Other than this no complaints so far.