Contractor to build fuel tanks

[glow]

Hello all,

New member Greg here. I would like to know if anyone is familiar with Alumiworx in Ocala Florida. The street address is 1544 SE 13th St. I found the company listing fuel tanks on eBay and emailed them not realizing they have a website alumiworx.com. I have inquired to have 2 tanks built 96" long x 20" wide x 7" tall. Dave at alumiworx told me they will be fabbing with 5052 1/8" stock at a price of $784 per tank and $316 for FedEx Ground. Please advise if anyone here is familiar with their work. Also, I would appreciate if anyone on the West Coast could recommend a builder there as I am in Hawaii and shipping from the West side will be much cheaper. I have contacted Berry Sheet Metal in Costa Mesa, CA and was quoted ~ $450 per tank for 1/8" aluminum stock. I need to follow up with them. Any comments/advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help. Aloha , Greg

[Old'sCool]

Not to change the subject but, I thought 3/16" was the thickness you would want??

[doug7488]

My tank guy charges $7/gallon (+-)
1/8" up to 150 gallons
3/16" 150 & over

[1bayouboy]

Doug....who's your tank guy...??

[strick]

Greg-

Have you tried any of the local welders in your area? A while back I had a welder within 1/2 mile from were I live do one for my 23 SeaCraft. I brought the old tank down and he copied it. I would think there should be some certified welders in your area qualified to do fuel tanks.

strick

[glow]

Strick,

Due to being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean shipping adds a ton of overhead to materials. The top fab shop here wants $3100/pair for aluminum and $3600 for stainless. I am a sheet metal apprentice and aluminum stock will run me $1342 and stainless $1162 if I layout and bend myself plus what I owe my welder. Alumiwork has quoted me $2200/pair for 5052 1/8" stock shipped FedEx Ground. A shop in Costa Mesa who specializes in marine tanks quoted me roughly $450/ea. per tank with 1/8" aluminum plus shipping. What's your take on aluminum vs. stainless? My understanding is the weld on aluminum is less prone to deterioration than that on stainless. Let me know what you think. Aloha, Greg

[glow]

Doug thanks for the info. Would your guy be willing to ship to Hawaii? Alumiwork in Ocala, FL quoted me $316 (per tank I believe) via FedEx Ground. Can you send me his email contact or phone#? Aloha, Greg

[glow]

Thanks for the input Reelescape. 1/8" is pretty common in Hawaii. I am sure 3/16" is more than adequate. Aloha, Greg

[Happi1fla]

Greg, sounds like you have done some research, not sure if this helps,
. Found a builder through the Maintenance Shop of a small airplane training school they had twenty planes or more that replace aircraft grade aluminum tanks from time to time, my friend was a mechanic their and helped ,he’s moved back home to California but may have an idea, If you can’t find an outlet , Also not sure of your proximity to the floor/deck ( with tank installed) but you may have to keep the fill tube like the original in height so it doesn’t raise into the floor/deck. This happened to me. The builders cut a square out of the old tanks fill tubes and welded back into the new one. Good Luck with this.

John

[glow]

John,

Thanks for the comeback. The tanks are corroded on the bottom side corner and lower side wall. Each tank is pitted right through and crumbles to dust when I touch or brush my finger over the corroded area(s) . The builder put the tank flat in a coffin box with 2 part foam. Saltwater got into the area and it was sealed so air flow was severely restricted if at all. Funny how that works because if it was sealed then the water wouldn't have gotten in to begin with [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. The tanks have to be built to the same spec as I don't want to modify the floor line. Let me know what your friend comes up with re: finding a tank builder on the West Coast. Thanks, Greg