[C320-list] Fuel sender access

[Graeme Clark]

Dennis

Yes it does require quite a degree of flexibility!  (on a side note I later decided to install a below deck autopilot and although i did all the wiring up etc myself, the ram installation was a job too far due to the cramped space and I contracted that out!)

But the tank wasn't too bad once you get the shelf out that is above it.  There are five  connections into it -  fuel out to engine return fuel in, filler hose and vent hose, and the sender wires. All were easy to remove once the shelf was out without having to do anything other than lean in to the starboard locker.  However removing the tank was more fiddly and in the end I did most of that by lying in the aft cabin and putting my head and upper body through the hatch.  You need to remove the entire hatch and frame anyway in order to get sufficient space to extract the tank through it, but its a good idea to do it from the get go so the hinges don't get damaged with it being leant on!

Like all jobs, it would be a lot quicker next time round. I think i could get the tank out in about 1 to 1.5 hours now.  For someone who had never done it and hadn't read up how to do it you could waste hours trying to work out how to get it out!  By the way I forgot to mention the obvious first step which is to drain the tank first!

The inside of my tank had a tarry gloopy sludge on the bottom which I am pretty sure wasn't diesel bug just years of accumulated muck. It was probably forming quite an effective lining to the tank but once I had cut an inspection port and got my arm in there and cleaned it all out, the pitting was very obvious.  Of course as you know, in the UK nobody stocks Catalina spares so a new tank from the US would have been very pricey. I could have had a new one fabricated using the old as a pattern, but as per my previous post, 90% of the serious pitting looked to be on the bottom not the sides so I just has a new bottom welded in by a local fabricator (not marine) for about £50.  I bought some aluminium plate off ebay to make new inspection port covers, some fuel resistant neoprene type gasket and bolted each cover on with about 12 small bolts.  I also had the fabricators put an internal ring around the inside of the rim of the  inspection port to give more rigidity to the section where the plate bolts on to the top.

I could send you photos directly if you were interested?

Graeme
(Boat in Plymouth, but I live in Midlands)


> On 6 Nov 2020, at 10:59, Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Graeme,
> 
> Thanks for your advice. I would like to inspect the whole tank more closely but the task of removal looks too daunting for my skills and ability, not to mention flexibility. There are so many hoses and harnesses in that area that I wouldn’t know where to begin.  How many hours’ labour would you reckon it would take for someone who regularly does this kind of work?
> 
> By the way I’m also in the UK - Poole, Dorset. 
> 
> Thanks to all others who replied with useful info on fuel consumption and cruising speeds.
> 
> Dennis Cookson
> Catalina #577
> 
>> On 5 Nov 2020, at 19:05, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:
>> 
>> Dennis
>> 
>> Looking at your hull number I would recommend removing the tank and inspecting it, particularly at the bottom.
>> 
>> Like you, I wanted to fit a new sender and struggled. I decided to remove the tank and am glad I did.  The older tanks are thinner gauge than the newer ones and become pitted and eventually develop pinholes causing a leak
>> 
>> The bottom of my tank was wafer thin in parts where the pitting had almost broken through.  I had a local fabricator weld in a new base as the remainder was in good condition, but I know for many of you in the USA it’s easy to source a new tank.  (I’m in UK so carriage costs are very high). There are articles on the site on this.
>> 
>> I also added two inspection ports, one each side of the baffle, each about 6inch diameter. I can now easily access the entire tank to clean it out
>> 
>> And of course fitting a new sensor and checking it worked etc, was easy with the tank out!
>> 
>> Graeme
>> 
>> #366, 1996
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
>>> On 5 Nov 2020, at 18:02, Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Thanks Chris, I looked under the shelf first but no luck, just pipe connections there. Would have been a doddle in that position.  I guess they improved access over the years.
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Dennis Cookson
>>> Catalina #577
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On 5 Nov 2020, at 16:53, Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> First, let me say  that this picture doesn't look at all like our #867. In
>>>> #867 the sender is relatively easy to access once the shelf above it is
>>>> removed (about 8 screws), The sender comes out with six Phillips head cap
>>>> screws tapped into the tank. The red wire runs directly to the buss  in the
>>>> instrument pod on the pedestal and in my opinion is the source of a
>>>> majority of fuel instrument gauge issues. However, over reading suggests to
>>>> me that is more likely that your float arm may be bent at the wrong angle.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Fair Winds,
>>>> Chris Burti
>>>> Commitment #867
>>>> Farmville, NC
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 11:38 AM Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Today I made an attempt to change the fuel sender on my diesel tank, which
>>>>> has been over-reading on the gauge since purchase of the boat last year.
>>>>> I say attempt because I was shocked at how awkward it is to access this
>>>>> instrument, and as I couldn’t get an eyeball anywhere near it, I had to
>>>>> content myself with an arm’s length snap with a smartphone, which I’ve
>>>>> uploaded here <
>>>>> https://c320.org/mediagallery/media.php?f=1&s=20201105160834374&i=0&p=0>.
>>>>> As you can see, it’s in the dirtiest part of the boat.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I can just about make out the six bolts that attach this sender to the top
>>>>> of the tank, but it is so difficult to access that I would only be able to
>>>>> undo them by feel, again at arm’s length, with a suitable wrench, while
>>>>> contorting myself into various uncomfortable positions that I wasn’t
>>>>> designed for.  I tried from both stern lazarettes and also from the hatch
>>>>> in the aft cabin - all equally painful.
>>>>> 
>>>>> If anyone has managed to change this sender successfully with the fuel
>>>>> tank in place, can you kindly describe how you did it?  I’d like to know
>>>>> what size wrench/spanner is required, can you actually remove all six
>>>>> bolts, and particularly whether there is a loose retaining ring under the
>>>>> sender that will drop into the tank when the last bolt is undone.  I’m
>>>>> aware that this is often the case with holding tanks (ask me how I know).
>>>>> Oh, and where does that red wire go? Is there a terminal strip somewhere?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Until the latest lockdown I’ve been managing my fuel level by tracking
>>>>> engine hours, but I’d like that gauge to work properly. Am I wasting my
>>>>> time? Maybe I should just wait until the fuel tank corrodes and has to come
>>>>> out anyway - it’s 21 years old after all. But there is no smell of diesel
>>>>> at the moment.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Dennis Cookson
>>>>> Catalina #577
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>