Corrosion on bottom of fuel tank

Max_Florida · #1 09-23-2011, 05:37 PM

Cut the bottom of the tank off today. Surprisingly the inside looked nearly pristine. There were a few small areas(about the size of a quarter) that were white and appeared to be corroded slightly. Those were all on the part of the tank I cut off.

Custom fabrication shop here is going to weld on a new bottom, clean it out and pressure test it for $170. The rest of the tank is in great shape. The inside looks pristine and the rest of the exterior surfaces only have very minor corrosion. I'm thinking that this tank might not be the original, or if it is previous owners took really good care of the fuel system because there was pretty much no gunk stuck in the bottom(I did flush it with simple green and a hose 2x before opening it, but nothing other than whitish water came out). The only areas that had anything more than very slight corrosion going on were under those rubber strips.

I know some of you are going to criticize me for not spending the extra $250(after taxes) to get a new tank, but that's $250 I could put towards something else that would have a much greater impact on the safety/performance of the boat. This repair will last for a good while. The rest of the tank is solid, the weld job is going to be solid... I don't see any real benefit from buying a new tank.

pelican · #2 09-23-2011, 08:33 PM

bottom's off the tank - funny - tanks have baffles - these are welded to both the top,and the bottom of the tank - that means,the sides would need to be cut out,to weld the baffles to the replacement bottom...

dropping $250,to repair an old tank,versus $400 to replace,that's a no brainer...glad i'm not docked next to you...

DonV · #3 09-23-2011, 08:44 PM

Quote:

but that's $250 I could put towards something else that would have a much greater impact on the safety/performance of the boat.

No Sir. A new tank is about as big as you can get for safety!!

Max_Florida · #4 09-23-2011, 09:42 PM

What's the reasoning behind buying a new tank if the tank that is being repaired is 99.9% corrosion free and the job is being done by professionals?

As far as the baffles, they are going to slot weld them.

If there is a reason then I'm not opposed to dropping the extra money, I just don't see one.

77SceptreOB · #5 09-23-2011, 10:40 PM

Quote:

If there is a reason then I'm not opposed to dropping the extra money, I just don't see one.

Read above Comments^^^^^^^^ Your family and crew will thank you.

abl1111 · #6 09-24-2011, 09:55 AM

Respectfully,

I think the concensus is obvious. You have heard from some of the most experienced guys on the site - what they would do.

If you ask enough, I'm sure you'll find someone to agree with what you want to hear - I've done that myself at times - bucking the majority. Sometimes it works out but usually I realize I have wasted a lot of time and end up doing what the concensus originally recommended

In the end, you weigh-out all the advice you receive - and do what you think.

Good luck !