Gas in the bilge

[Geekie1]

Hi Whale,

I spent alot of time looking for a ready made plastic belly tank and didn't find any of them to be satisfactory. What I found was that the angle of the V20 deep V hull was about 22 degrees and all of the available ready made plastic belly tanks had a bottom angle of about 13 - 15 degrees. The ready made plastic belly tanks were Todd or Moeller. The angle of the tanks belly made it that the largest ready made tank that would fit below the floor was 29 gallons. All of the larger belly tanks would have the top of the tank above the floor. How I checked that was by getting the exact dimensions and angles of available replacement tanks and the exact dimensions and angles of the tank well in my V and did an installation simulation on my computer.

Schools suggestion about tank sealer is I think a good one. I called Por 15 about their sealer and found out that their sealer was ethanol proof. They guaranteed that if the tank was prepared properly internally (cleaning & etching) the sealer would permanently adhere to the inside of the tank and the tank would not be affected by ethanol. Por 15's website has full instructions as to how you clean, etch, and seal fuel tanks. The sealer is a tried and true process and has been used in antique car restoration for years. Where do you buy a new exact replacement gas tank for a 1910 Franklin?? Another company that puts out a similar product is KBS Coatings. The cost to fix holes in the aluminum tank and to clean, etch and seal it with sealer would be about $150.

Just my $.02

Geek

http://www.kbs-coatings.com/index.aspx?AFID=7
http://www.stoprust.net/Fuel-System-p-1-c-8.html

[Pipe_Dream]

Whale, I had a plastic tank custom built in '04. Used the exact dimensions of the original tank as supplied by Florida Marine Tanks (who make or made aluminum tanks), which were 44" L x 31" W x 11" H (I left out the fractions). Sent them to Triple "M" Plastic Products in Maine, got a quote and had them build it. Here's a pic of it:
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...d=P9240525_001

The tank, including a fuel gauge sending unit, was just under $500 not including shipping. I still have the drawings, if you want I can fax them to you, or try to e-mail them if I can figure out how to use my boss' scanner. ;)

[Monkey Butler]

Originally Posted by Pipe_Dream

Whale, I had a plastic tank custom built in '04. Used the exact dimensions of the original tank as supplied by Florida Marine Tanks (who make or made aluminum tanks), which were 44" L x 31" W x 11" H (I left out the fractions). Sent them to Triple "M" Plastic Products in Maine, got a quote and had them build it. Here's a pic of it:
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...d=P9240525_001

The tank, including a fuel gauge sending unit, was just under $500 not including shipping. I still have the drawings, if you want I can fax them to you, or try to e-mail them if I can figure out how to use my boss' scanner. ;)

That is PLASTIC? Wow, looks good! Besides my transom I can't think of any other item that I worry about more besides the gas tank. Either one could ruin your day.

[randlemanboater]

These guys have one that will fit perfectly, but they won't sell it to you.

They only sell to boat manufacturers.

http://www.incaproducts.com/site/fue...atvbottom.aspx

[whale]

Originally Posted by randlemanboater

These guys have one that will fit perfectly, but they won't sell it to you.

They only sell to boat manufacturers.

http://www.incaproducts.com/site/fue...atvbottom.aspx

Yeah, I have been on the INCA site.....got they impression they were wholesale only. I did find a 40 gallon INCA tank with the proper deadrise on Ebay from Great Lakes Skipper. If I can convince myself to go for 40 gallons this is a pretty good deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BOAT-...spagenameZWD1V

[macojoe]

Fly has his for sale again, ebay did not work out Ck for sale section, he will help with ship if you can find some one that will take it?

[randlemanboater]

Originally Posted by whale

Yeah, I have been on the INCA site.....got they impression they were wholesale only. I did find a 40 gallon INCA tank with the proper deadrise on Ebay from Great Lakes Skipper. If I can convince myself to go for 40 gallons this is a pretty good deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BOAT-...spagenameZWD1V

I can tell you that the 40 gal Inca fits perfectly, thats what I have. Got mine from Flounder Pounder Marine.

[whale]

Well, after much thought I decided to go with the 40 gallon INCA tank that is on Ebay. I really never go far from my marina....10 miles at most. Considering the cost was so much less ($129 plus $60 shipping) it was hard to justify the hundreds extra for 20 more gallons that I really don't need. I ordered it and it arrived last week. Just waiting for some warm weather to install. Since it is shorter than the original I need to figure out how to stabilize it to keep it from moving around. Suggestions?

I also bought a replacement voltage gauge from the same seller for 10 bucks. The existing gauge was off such that when powered off (and disconnected) it read about 12 volts and when power was on it pegged to the max. The new one is identical and works fine.

Last season, none of the 4 small gauges worked (tach worked and warning alarms in it were fine) so my goal is to have all of them working. Some may consider some of them useless but since they are they I'd like to have them functioning. The tilt/trim gauge never moved and I found the arm on the sender was stuck down. After a few manual actuations, it was working fine and the gauge works. The water pressure gauge was not working at all....I am about to get one for cheap on Ebay. Last will be the fuel gauge. Maybe with a new sender that came with the tank, the gauge will work???

I'll post pics when I do the new tank install.