Oh Boy...This Smell Ain't Good

[panasonic]

Jason,

Thirty year old aluminum tank, that badly corroded, well I would be quite surprized if that corrosion has not wrapped down around the sides as others noted.

That spray foam is great at holding water up against the metal tank.

Manufactured date is 1988, 29 gallons. The "Const. Mat." is 090.

My guess the 090 is: 0.090" wall thickness of the aluminum. Not very thick for a boat tank...

Not trying to tell you what to do, but I would remove that tank and at least inspect the sides and bottom for more corrosion.

I think when you start cleaning that tank top you will find more holes.

I have seen more aluminum corrosion in my occupation then you can shake a stick at.

Good Luck

[panasonic]

Oh, that's the wrong type of rubber for a fuel tank gasket on your sending unit, swells up when in contact with petroleum products. Somebody probably made it up when in there before.

[pstephens46]

1998 year hull, 2017 now, Me tinks is 19, no??

(17 + 2 years=19)

Maybe the "fumes" Pat?

Think he said 1988 tank?

Normally you would be correct. The drano fumes are strong around here.
I am currently soaking my injectors. My running shoes are next. The damn dog stinks too.....

[Jason2tpa]

1998 year hull, 2017 now, Me tinks is 19, no??

(17 + 2 years=19)

Maybe the "fumes" Pat?

1976 hull + 1988 fuel tank = classic (the hull, that is)

[Jason2tpa]

Jason,

Thirty year old aluminum tank, that badly corroded, well I would be quite surprized if that corrosion has not wrapped down around the sides as others noted.

That spray foam is great at holding water up against the metal tank.

Manufactured date is 1988, 29 gallons. The "Const. Mat." is 090.

My guess the 090 is: 0.090" wall thickness of the aluminum. Not very thick for a boat tank...

Not trying to tell you what to do, but I would remove that tank and at least inspect the sides and bottom for more corrosion.

I think when you start cleaning that tank top you will find more holes.

I have seen more aluminum corrosion in my occupation then you can shake a stick at.

Good Luck

Tank is definitely coming out. No way will I mindfully take the risk of another leak, or worse, a bomb. I have a good feeling I will discover more pin holes in the tank once removed. If I'm wrong, great. I haven't done the math yet, but my guess is if I replaced only the top of tank the labor and parts will cost a little less than buying a new one.

[Jason2tpa]

Has anyone utilized the Pascoe method when installing fuel tank. The article about this method is here: How to Install an Aluminum Fuel Tank : Boats, Yachts - Maintenance Repair and Troubleshooting

I like the idea of the pvc strips bonded to tank in order to elevate tank from coffin bed. But what concerns me about bonding the pvc strips to the coffin bed with 5200 is having to remove the tank in the future. Most of you have likely used 5200 to bond this or that. For those who have had the fun experience of breaking the 5200 bond, I've felt your pain. It's a tough task even when you have direct access to the bond. But how do you break the bond with no access???

If you had to remove the tank you'd have no way of accessing the bottom of the tank to chisel away the 5200 bond. And since it's bond is so amazing, if you pry the tank straight up you will take off the surface of the coffin bed thats adhering to the pvc strips. Kinda concerning, right?!

What are some other methods of packing the fuel tank to the coffin? After removing all of the foam in my fuel coffin there is no way I would use that stuff. There were pockets everywhere within the foam that was holding fuel residue.

[FabricGATOR]

If it Fly's, Floats, or Fornicates... You would be better off leasing her!
The three F's

RodBolt called it on the 5200 release agent. It is a citrus based and I just saw it at West Marine, but any good google will reveal it. It is amazing..., When I was learning PDR (paintless dent removal) we used a hot melt glue on the painted finish of a car (dent) and glue on a pull tab that we would use a slide hammer or other mechanical device to ease the dent out without touching the paint. When you used just a little acetone, the glue would just release.... This is what the citrus 5200 release is like. I used aerosol when removing my outboard bracket because it looked like your tank, pitted with corrosion and electrolysis.

Spray it on and it really just lets go.

[Jason2tpa]

If it Fly's, Floats, or Fornicates... You would be better off leasing her!
The three F's

RodBolt called it on the 5200 release agent. It is a citrus based and I just saw it at West Marine, but any good google will reveal it. It is amazing..., When I was learning PDR (paintless dent removal) we used a hot melt glue on the painted finish of a car (dent) and glue on a pull tab that we would use a slide hammer or other mechanical device to ease the dent out without touching the paint. When you used just a little acetone, the glue would just release.... This is what the citrus 5200 release is like. I used aerosol when removing my outboard bracket because it looked like your tank, pitted with corrosion and electrolysis.

Spray it on and it really just lets go.

Good to know, I hadn't heard of such a product. However, in this application I don't see how it would work. Simply because as you can see in the picture, you'd have no access to spray the aerosol onto the 5200 bond. If you can imagine, the bond would be between the base of the fuel coffin and the pvc stripes lining the bottom of tank. I won't be using foam to enclose tank like pictured below. But even with that gone, no room to access bottom of tank.

[Jason2tpa]

If it Fly's, Floats, or Fornicates... You would be better off leasing her!
The three F's

RodBolt called it on the 5200 release agent. It is a citrus based and I just saw it at West Marine, but any good google will reveal it. It is amazing..., When I was learning PDR (paintless dent removal) we used a hot melt glue on the painted finish of a car (dent) and glue on a pull tab that we would use a slide hammer or other mechanical device to ease the dent out without touching the paint. When you used just a little acetone, the glue would just release.... This is what the citrus 5200 release is like. I used aerosol when removing my outboard bracket because it looked like your tank, pitted with corrosion and electrolysis.

Spray it on and it really just lets go.

Good to know, I hadn't heard of such a product. However, in this application I don't see how it would work. Simply because as you can see in the picture, you'd have no access to spray the aerosol onto the 5200 bond. If you can imagine, the bond would be between the base of the fuel coffin and the pvc stripes lining the bottom of tank. I won't be using foam to enclose tank like pictured below. But even with that gone, no room to access bottom of tank.

[panasonic]

Has anyone utilized the Pascoe method when installing fuel tank. The article about this method is here: How to Install an Aluminum Fuel Tank : Boats, Yachts - Maintenance Repair and Troubleshooting

I like the idea of the pvc strips bonded to tank in order to elevate tank from coffin bed. But what concerns me about bonding the pvc strips to the coffin bed with 5200 is having to remove the tank in the future. Most of you have likely used 5200 to bond this or that. For those who have had the fun experience of breaking the 5200 bond, I've felt your pain. It's a tough task even when you have direct access to the bond. But how do you break the bond with no access???

If you had to remove the tank you'd have no way of accessing the bottom of the tank to chisel away the 5200 bond. And since it's bond is so amazing, if you pry the tank straight up you will take off the surface of the coffin bed thats adhering to the pvc strips. Kinda concerning, right?!

What are some other methods of packing the fuel tank to the coffin? After removing all of the foam in my fuel coffin there is no way I would use that stuff. There were pockets everywhere within the foam that was holding fuel residue.

Glue the strips on the bottom of the tank with 5200 and use 3M 4200 to bond the tank to the boat...only has half the strength of 5200.

I know you are trying think ahead but you need to get the old one out first...

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvis...ants-and-Caulk

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Think he said 1988 tank?

Normally you would be correct. The drano fumes are strong around here.
I am currently soaking my injectors. My running shoes are next. The damn dog stinks too.....

Naw, as usual I didn't read the 1988 sticker..

Guess the fumes got to me down here.. ):

Anyway, the tank has to come out before anything for inspection..

Your cutting foam. I doubt you'll find any 5200 in there.

They make long sawzall blades for wood (about 10" long).

You can use a vise grip, clamp a blade in it and do the widest side by hand. It'll go thru the foam pretty easily. (As much space there is on the one side, I'd likely use the sawzall CAREFULLY itself
the tight side by hand.)

You'll have it out today in any event.. Then you can clean, inspect and go from there..

[scofflaw]

Nothing to inspect there, it's done. Put that sawsall to the tank itself

Just did this job myself on my 82 aqua ccp. Removing the fill and vent lines is serious work, cause the foamed the bejesus out of it. I put a plastic Moeller in.

[99yam40]

be careful using a device with spark producing brushes in the drive motor around fuel soaked foam and small amount of fuel in the tank.

or have good health insurance and some to cover the boat too

[scofflaw]

I punched a hole in the tank bottom with a hammer and a chisel and then put the garden hose to it, before cutting it up.

[Jason2tpa]

Foam was extracted easily, maybe 20m of labor. Used a narrow curved pry bar. Tank was resting on a rubber mat.

Tank is out and it looks its age and then some. It has a total of 4 patch welds to boot. Needless to say it's headed for scrap metal yard.

The dimensions are not of a typical tank, therefore replacing with a poly tank isn't an option. The cost of a custom poly tank would be astronomical compared to custom AL.

I'll start calling around to local fuel tank fabricators tomorrow. Ive read online a good estimate for a custom AL tank is $9-$11 per gallon. Does this sound accurate?