leaking fuel tank on a boat

[andy c]

I have an Ally Fuel tank which is buried deep in the bowels of my boat and it seems to be ever so slightly weeping diesel from the weld on one corner at the bottom.

Without cutting up the boat,how the hell am I supposed to fix it?

HELP!

[The Wookie]

Wrong area, but I suspect either get the tank drained and welded up, or if it needs replacing the tank gets cut up in the boat, and the new one constructed piece by piece inside it.

If it were a petrol, I'd also remind you that engine bay extractor fans before start up will reduce the chances of a mushroom cloud

[AnotherClarkey]

I suppose if you can get at the top of the tank you could cut that away and install a bag tank inside?

[Huntsman]

What boat?

And how hidden is the tank?

If all else fails a bladder tank is the answer.

[DonkeyApple]

andy c said:

I have an Ally Fuel tank which is buried deep in the bowels of my boat and it seems to be ever so slightly weeping diesel from the weld on one corner at the bottom.

Without cutting up the boat,how the hell am I supposed to fix it?

HELP!

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

Have you checked to see if anyone offers some form of liner for fuel tanks?

[Huntsman]

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

[DonkeyApple]

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

[andy c]

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

+1.

No its a cup fullin 4 weeks and the hole is tiny.

The tank is deeep inside and completely inaccesable behind one of the engines.Its 500 litres so not small.

Wonder if I can fill with water and spot weld the defect.They do it on oir rigs underwater so must be a technique.

[DonkeyApple]

andy c said:

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

+1.

No its a cup fullin 4 weeks and the hole is tiny.

The tank is deeep inside and completely inaccesable behind one of the engines.Its 500 litres so not small.

Wonder if I can fill with water and spot weld the defect.They do it on oir rigs underwater so must be a technique.

To be completely honest I would consider making a few calls to some local yards and seeing if you can find someone who has a swift and elegant solution.

[andy c]

DonkeyApple said:

andy c said:

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

+1.

No its a cup fullin 4 weeks and the hole is tiny.

The tank is deeep inside and completely inaccesable behind one of the engines.Its 500 litres so not small.

Wonder if I can fill with water and spot weld the defect.They do it on oir rigs underwater so must be a technique.

To be completely honest I would consider making a few calls to some local yards and seeing if you can find someone who has a swift and elegant solution.

what like a match in the solent.

[DonkeyApple]

andy c said:

DonkeyApple said:

andy c said:

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

+1.

No its a cup fullin 4 weeks and the hole is tiny.

The tank is deeep inside and completely inaccesable behind one of the engines.Its 500 litres so not small.

Wonder if I can fill with water and spot weld the defect.They do it on oir rigs underwater so must be a technique.

To be completely honest I would consider making a few calls to some local yards and seeing if you can find someone who has a swift and elegant solution.

what like a match in the solent.

Check the date on your insurance docs first.

[pacman1]

How big's the boat? Worst case, got room for a new tank elsewhere? Make the old one inert with sand or expanding foam/wall insulation material according to ballast requirements. Otherwise, it sounds like an engine out job to get to it and fix properly.

[maser_spyder]

Out of interest, is it a 'Trader' boat?

[Popeyed]

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

Pansy eco twittery it may be, but you will find that some local administrations just love nailing people for small spills. I have experience of some ship spills of only a matter of litres leading to claims of several hundred thousand dollars.

[Rum Runner]

There is method of cleaning the tank then epoxy spray coating the inside.

[andy c]

maser_spyder said:

Out of interest, is it a 'Trader' boat?

similar.

[andy c]

Popeyed said:

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

Pansy eco twittery it may be, but you will find that some local administrations just love nailing people for small spills. I have experience of some ship spills of only a matter of litres leading to claims of several hundred thousand dollars.

I let a few gallons go in the river by accident not long back and I st myself.The Environment agency sent a useless bod along to look important and I only ended up paying for his time and the booms to tryand control it.I was lucky but accidents do happen and they said it was only minor and wouldnt cause too much problem.

The oil cannot escape from the bilge as I have disabled the pump in that area and it is a very tiny weep.

[andy c]

Rum Runner said:

There is method of cleaning the tank then epoxy spray coating the inside.

Im going to make a few calls this week.I still fancy the spot weld idea.A 1 second blast with a tig couldnt cause too much trouble with a few inches of water in the bottom so heat wont transfer could it?
Surely even with diesel it still needs air to burn doesnt it?

[DonkeyApple]

Popeyed said:

DonkeyApple said:

Huntsman said:

DonkeyApple said:

Hope you're pumping the bilges as priority one once onboard. And not just until any liquid has come out.

I hope not, all that diesel going overboard, not nice.

Yup. Much better to keep it onboard in the bilges.

Fuel + boats = no time for pansy eco twittery.

Pansy eco twittery it may be, but you will find that some local administrations just love nailing people for small spills. I have experience of some ship spills of only a matter of litres leading to claims of several hundred thousand dollars.

Well then, it just becomes a value judgement between how much you value your life and that of your family versus the minor risk of some kind of fine.

Pump the bilges. Full stop.

I don't expect people who are not boaties to understand, but trust me, anyone with a boat and a family knows that you pump the bilges until all liquid is out and then keep going to get rid of as much gas as possible. Then, you fire the engines and only after a quick check down below for obvious smells.

[maser_spyder]

andy c said:

maser_spyder said:

Out of interest, is it a 'Trader' boat?

similar.

Only that I heard of a few people with Traders that had fuel tank problems long before you would expect, causing expensive and lengthy repairs.

Warranty is technically long gone, but it might be worth asking the manufacturer for advice.