leaking fuel tank stuff again
Absolutely you can repair a diesel fuel tank, it if you can get to it to
work on it. JB Weld or its cheaper brother Marine Tex?, I believe is the
generic name, and epoxy and cloth.
I had five Aluminum tanks and have repaired four of them. The worst was
a 200 gallon day tank sitting on a board soaked with battery acid. It
was melted down with holes as large as 4"x6" and heavily etched and or
pitted after grinding, sanding and using a heavy brush wheel to get to a
bright clean surface. We floated the clean surface with JB Weld and laid
in cut Aluminum pieces from a a local hardware store. We sloped JB Weld
from the top edge of the patch down to the tank over a 4" area out from
the patch. Sanded. Then coved the bottom and sides of tank with two
layers of epoxy and cloth. We followed that superstitiously with two
coats of cold tar epoxy. All work was completed in the engine room by
working on one side at a time. The "new tank" was set on a fresh wood
platform. This repair has been in place for one year with no concerns.
Our other repairs, on saddle tank welded seams and fittings were resolved
by grinding or sanding and coating the complete tank with epoxy and cloth
followed by cold tar epoxy. Preparation of the metal of course is key.
These tanks have been repaired with no leaks for two years.
I am not a professional, just really cheap, your mileage may of course
vary.
Incidentally, by doing most of our own work on the boat we estimate we
save 80-95% over paying others to do it for us, drastically reducing the
cost of cruising. By living on and using the boat and its several systems
constantly, we have relatively low maintenance since most items stay in
shape through needed exercise. I think the least expensive way to
maintain your boat is through using it often and routinely.
Gosh, I didn't even know I had a soapbox until now.
Absolutely you can repair a diesel fuel tank, it if you can get to it to
work on it. JB Weld or its cheaper brother Marine Tex?, I believe is the
generic name, and epoxy and cloth.
Wayne is correct.
If you are faced with a large area I think it is cheaper to use SPLASH
ZONE two part epoxy. It is also easier to use , in my opinion, having
used both.
I have a detailed repair narrative on my web site.
Several have asked abt the availability of smaller than gallon size.
Try this place.
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
attachments:
Shortcut to:
http://www.go2marine.com/g2m/action/GoBPage/id/79357F/hiLiteSku/89212/?df=70
CCC
Charles C. Jr., and Pat Culotta
M/V CCRIDER
Patterson, La.
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta
Last week we finally experienced a failure of Pooh's John Deere 4039DFM, at
4994 hours. I was in Crystal River, changing the oil before crossing the
Gulf to Carabelle (Shell Rotella-T Synthetic) and noticed a drip of diesel
under the fuel lift pump. A failed lift pump diaphram at under 5000 hours,
and it's not a regular maintenance item! Shame. Fortunately, I had the
spare pump that I've been carrying around for over 6 years, and popped it
on. Problem over. It's the first non-scheduled maintenance since I
installed the engine in 1997. Have I mentioned that I love my Deere?
We had a bumpy but uneventful crossing to Carabelle, and anchored in a
lovely quiet spot behind Dog Island. We're now in Apalachicola, feasting on
shrimp bought off the boat, and catching up on our reading. Soon we'll be
meandering slowly toward Mobile, the Tenn-Tom and TN River.
We have a couple of days to kill and wondered about exploring up the
Apalachicola River. Anyone been up past the ICW chart coverage area?
Anything worth seeing up that way?
My problem is a limited access - only to the inside of
the tank.
I consider soaping the walls and applying a vacuum to
have bubbles reveal the leak source, or throw in a
bladder.
Can JB Weld/MarineTex be applied to the inside??
Thanks,
Kar
--- Wayne & Lynn Flatt mvskinwalker@hotmail.com
wrote:
Absolutely you can repair a diesel fuel tank, it if
you can get to it to
work on it. JB Weld or its cheaper brother Marine
Tex?, I believe is the
generic name, and epoxy and cloth.
I had five Aluminum tanks and have repaired four of
them. The worst was
a 200 gallon day tank sitting on a board soaked with
battery acid. It
was melted down with holes as large as 4"x6" and
heavily etched and or
pitted after grinding, sanding and using a heavy
brush wheel to get to a
bright clean surface. We floated the clean surface
with JB Weld and laid
in cut Aluminum pieces from a a local hardware
store. We sloped JB Weld
from the top edge of the patch down to the tank over
a 4" area out from
the patch. Sanded. Then coved the bottom and sides
of tank with two
layers of epoxy and cloth. We followed that
superstitiously with two
coats of cold tar epoxy. All work was completed in
the engine room by
working on one side at a time. The "new tank" was
set on a fresh wood
platform. This repair has been in place for one
year with no concerns.
Our other repairs, on saddle tank welded seams and
fittings were resolved
by grinding or sanding and coating the complete tank
with epoxy and cloth
followed by cold tar epoxy. Preparation of the
metal of course is key.
These tanks have been repaired with no leaks for two
years.
I am not a professional, just really cheap, your
mileage may of course
vary.
Incidentally, by doing most of our own work on the
boat we estimate we
save 80-95% over paying others to do it for us,
drastically reducing the
cost of cruising. By living on and using the boat
and its several systems
constantly, we have relatively low maintenance since
most items stay in
shape through needed exercise. I think the least
expensive way to
maintain your boat is through using it often and
routinely.
Gosh, I didn't even know I had a soapbox until now.
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A call to WEST System people revealed that their epoxy
will work on the inside of the diesel tank, but -
a) the area must be cleaned of any oil [the word
'acetone' was used].
b) use their 206 hardener.
c) use the lowest amount of hardener per epoxy ratio.
Will report results in 5 and 10 years.
Kar
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