[C320-list] C320 Fuel Tank Replacement

[Arthur Miller]

Ted, I have not had the problem.  Polishing can help if the fuel is in pretty good condition to
Start.
Two boats I have sailed on had engine problem due to contaminated fuel. Frequent filter changes
Could not keep up on either boat. One boat the fuel was polished once, the other twice, before we gave up and pulled the tanks for cleaning.   We found tank baffles prevented, polishing 
From solving the problem.  No problems after removal and cleaning. 
Art.  #680

Sent from my iPad

On Mar 18, 2016, at 4:39 PM, Greg Flanagan <greg.flanagan at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Hi Ted 
> 
> I had my fuel "polished". They took off the sending unit and pumped all the fuel through a fine filter. Then they pumped it back through another filter. The filters did catch dead growth material. I had this done as my boat was in charter for six years and I wanted to start "fresh" knowing the fuel tank was clean. Subsequently, I have put additive in each fill to keep algae to a minimum and in the fall I fill the tank to absolute full to prevent the moisture this feeds on in the winter. 
>     Unfortunately the polishers stripped out a couple of the small bolts holding the sending unit to the tank and fuel leaked into the cabin when the tank was filled. This took a long time to clean up fully. I don't blame them as much as I blame Catalina for threading the aluminum tank to accept these SS bolts. Of course the metal rotted and removing the bolts and trying to reattach after did not work. 
> 
> I devised a fix for this that I have mentioned previously. The short story is l made a flange with studs to which I can attach the sensor with nuts. I bolted the flange using the old tapped holes, drilled out, with bolts, lock washers, and nuts to the tank. It's a little tricky but with dexterous fingers it is doable. I attach this flange with a sensor gasket and then added a second sensor gasket between the flange and the sending unit. The holes on the flange are offset from the original holes and are tapper countersunk to accept the bolts acting as studs. The flange never need come off again. Now I can easily take the sensor unit off and on easily if I need to clean or inspect the tank. [pictures available upon request]
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Greg 
> Hoop Dancer #1076
> Sidney, BC 
> 
>> On Mar 18, 2016, at 11:40 AM, <tharrison at innovations-plus.com> <tharrison at innovations-plus.com> wrote:
>> 
>> While on the fuel tank subject, has anyone removed the fuel, rinse the tank and then replace the tank with the fuel and filtered. 
>> 
>> They are talking at the club of having a guy come in and complete the process for 200 dollars. They have called it fuel polishing. 
>> 
>> It seems a little high in price and am concerned for damage to the tank, or the fuel sensor unit.
>> 
>> Any thoughts?
>> 
>> Ted Harrison
>> Magic Moment
>> Whitby Ontario
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Hare
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 10:04 PM
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] C320 Fuel Tank Replacement
>> 
>> Jack, 
>> 
>> What was under the fuel tank was simply some short sections of rub rail material. The gooey mess that you found on the rub rails was probably the duct tape they used to stick it to the tank.  You could use a few short sections of old garden hose running fore-aft direction to solve this problem. 
>> 
>> I bought a quart of Herculiner truck bed liner paint from Pep Boys or Auto Zone and rolled 3 coats on the mid-lower sides and bottom of the tank.  I taped off the top 2 inches of the sides and left that and the top of the tank uncoated.  This stuff seems super durable and doesn't scrape off so I'm not worried about chafe.  I did put a the rub rail chunks back under it mostly to prevent any water from pooling below the tank.  Using wood below the tank may not be a good idea since it would tend to hold moisture against the tank.  If you coat it and use some old hose just to elevate it a fraction of an inch, you'll be fine.
>> 
>> I'll say, that the main reason I coated the lower part of the tank was to guard against any stray metal, bolts, washers, etc. that might get slide into and get lodged up against the tank from causing corrosion and a future tank leak. 
>> 
>> My opinions of course here.
>> -Jeff Hare
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of upwego
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 6:30 PM
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] C320 Fuel Tank Replacement
>> 
>> Jeff H.
>> My fuel tank removal and replacement project is still underway.  Removing the the existing fuel tank was not as bad as I thought it would be.  The fuel lines came undone without too much effort.  With the frame removed from the access door in the aft cabin there was sufficient clearance to pass the tank through the opening.  The tank had what looked like pieces of rub rail duct taped fore and aft along each side of bottom of the tank. I think to keep the tank from sitting against the fiberglass and, possibly from movement or shock absorption.  It was a mess. I removed it all and bagged it before taking the tank through and off the boat.   Has anybody found the same set-up under their tank?  What material was used to replace the tape/rub rail on the bottom of the tank? I just received the new fuel tank today.  Installing on Friday.
>> Thanks
>> Jack#441 
>> 
>>   On Monday, February 22, 2016 10:13 AM, Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Allen, Jeff. Please send me some pictures, product specs and I'll edit it all into a Mainsheet Article.
>> 
>> thanks,
>> CB
>> 
>> Chris Burti
>> Farmville, NC
>> 
>> 
>> On Mon, Feb 22, 2016 at 9:02 AM, Allan S Field <allan.field at verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Jeff Hare has done a great write-up on this project.  Following is 
>>> what I saved from his post, knowing that I'd eventually face this problem also.
>>> Hope it helps!
>>> 
>>> The problem with this approach is that the drainage isn't directly to 
>>> the bilge.  It will flow in front of the fuel tank and into the 
>>> compartment where the aft water tank sits below the bunk.  Only when 
>>> enough pools in there to rise to the hole where the water line joins 
>>> into tank will it spill out and into the area where the prop shaft 
>>> sits.  From there, it leads under the engine pan through a small drain 
>>> hole.  Once under the engine pan area, this won't directly drain to 
>>> the bilge cleanly since only if the boat is tilted forward will that space drain into the bilge.
>>> Depending on how they finished the compartment holding the water tank, 
>>> the fuel may bypass the prop shaft area and go directly below the 
>>> engine pan once enough pools under the tank. So, my advice is not to 
>>> do this as the result won't be great and it'll take quite a few rough 
>>> sailing adventures to fully flush the stuff under the engine area out 
>>> into the bilge for cleanup.
>>> 
>>> Instead you could consider some of these options:
>>> 
>>> - just use simple green on paper towels to wipe down the tank and as 
>>> much of the area in front of the tank as you can reach.  This won't 
>>> take care of cleaning the pool of diesel that the aft water tank may be sitting in.
>>> That may eventually permeate the water tank, and if nothing else, keep 
>>> your aft cabin smelling like a truck stop.  Not the best choice, but 
>>> far better than trying to wash down the tank and collect the runoff in the bilge.
>>> 
>>> Best choice:
>>> - remove the aft water tank and you'll be able to fully clean up the mess.
>>> It's not all that difficult and could do it in an afternoon with a helper.
>>> * To do this, drain the aft water tank (easy)
>>> * Disconnect the water line leading out of the tank which is right 
>>> near  the raw water strainer.  (easy)
>>> * Disconnect the water tank Fill hose and water tank vent line from 
>>> the  deck fill fitting and the overboard vent so that these ends are free.
>>> (moderately easy)
>>> * Remove the two white wooden braces that hold the water tank down.
>>> (easy)
>>> * With a large wrench, unscrew the threaded fittings that connect the 
>>> fill/vent hoses to the back of the water tank.  It's more difficult to 
>>> remove the hoses from these fittings than it is to just unscrew them 
>>> from  the tank, while your assistant twists the hoses along with you 
>>> from the  area by the rudder post.  (bit of a pain in the neck, but not 
>>> hard.  I did  it by myself, and chose to replace the fill and vent 
>>> hoses once I saw what  they looked like).
>>> * At this point, the water tank will simply lift out and you can 
>>> fully  clean the area under the water tank (and the water tank itself) of diesel.
>>> * I used simple green full strength on wads of paper towels to mop up 
>>> and clean out the area under the tank and just put them in plastic 
>>> trash  bag.
>>> 
>>> The net result here is that you'll end up being able to clean up the 
>>> mold and mildew from under the aft cabin bunk at the same time.  I 
>>> have pictures of before/after in ours.
>>> 
>>> I'll also point out that our fuel tank ALSO showed signs of leaking 
>>> out the fuel sender seal.  I was sure it was just the seal and people 
>>> on this list convinced me to take a closer look before drawing this conclusion.
>>> While this was indeed happening, there was a half-dime sized patch of 
>>> corrosion that didn't even show when the tank was in place which was 
>>> where the real leak was coming from.  It was leaking at a rate of 
>>> about a tablespoon a week...sometimes.  Once I pulled the fuel tank, 
>>> and put a flashlight on the corrosion spot outside the tank and looked 
>>> inside the tank, I could see that the metal was extremely thin and 
>>> could see the glowing of the flashlight.
>>> Eventually it would have started gushing.
>>> 
>>> It was confusing was that it didn't leak consistently.  At one point I 
>>> had what seemed like a lot of fuel that had leaked, but then it 
>>> appeared to stop which made me also think it was only leaking when the 
>>> tank was full to the top.
>>> 
>>> Your hull number is only 12 away from mine.  Many boats with much 
>>> earlier hull numbers have already had corrosion leaks and I'd bet that 
>>> most of them also showed wetness to some degree at the top of the tank 
>>> around the cork seal for the sender.  Also, remember that it only 
>>> takes a tiny errant piece of metal to roll under the tank and make 
>>> contact  and you'll develop a galvanic corrosion leak after some time in a place you cannot inspect.
>>> 
>>> Ezell can deliver a new direct replacement tank pretty quickly (a week 
>>> or
>>> so) for about $425 that is made of significantly thicker metal and has 
>>> a more high-tech sender and nice valves.  So it's worth considering.
>>> Especially if you pull the old tank you'll be able to really clean up 
>>> all traces of diesel.
>>> 
>>> To drain our diesel tank (which was full) I simply used a cheap "drill 
>>> pump"
>>> from Home Depot that I put in my electric drill.  I disconnected the 
>>> hose where it connects into the fuel filter and just pumped the fuel 
>>> into some diesel fuel jugs.  Took about 20 min and the tank was really 
>>> quite empty and lightweight at that point.  I don't know whether this 
>>> little rotary pump was "diesel fuel" safe, but I had no problems with it whatsoever.
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On 
>>> Behalf Of upwego
>>> Sent: Monday, February 22, 2016 8:21 AM
>>> To: C320 List <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
>>> Subject: [C320-list] C320 Fuel Tank Replacement
>>> 
>>> I have just discovered a slow leak coming from underneath my fuel tank.
>>> All the connection ports on top of the tank show no signs of leakage.  
>>> It may be a leak in the fuel tank itself. Has anyone experienced this 
>>> condition and found another source of a leak that might be on the 
>>> underside of the tank?  Has anyone removed and replaced a C320 fuel 
>>> tank?  If so, any pointers that would be helpful or should I have it 
>>> done be a mechanic?  I see Catalina Direct has a 29 gallon replacement 
>>> for the 19.  Anyone tried upgrading to the larger tank?
>>> Any advice or info would be helpful?
>>> Thanks
>>> Jack FitzgibbonHull #441, S/V wetted bliss
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>