I been getting water in my fuel tank,,I have checked top seals and replaced fuel line. ( I have pic of tank in my album ) Been pondering replacing the 70 Gal alum. tank with plastic. Is there a simple way to pressure test the tank first before I remove it. Thanks in advance / Ken
Water in tank / pressure test ?
- Thread starter wildtalk
- Start date
tsubaki
God
The tanks are tested at the factory with very low pressure, somewhere around 3-5psi, so be careful.
I've got no idea's short of visually checking for cracks or pinholes.
Hows about the vent, is the position of it as to not allow water to enter through it?
And naturally a cracked filler neck at the tank would be another culprit.
I've got no idea's short of visually checking for cracks or pinholes.
Hows about the vent, is the position of it as to not allow water to enter through it?
And naturally a cracked filler neck at the tank would be another culprit.
inspection
I will be taking a closer look soon as weathrr breaks of drain and fill hoses. I had soo much trouble last year with water I really need solve the problem . I ended up running on external tanks last year. I replced the fuel water seperator with the kind with a clear bottom and drain hose. Anyone try this new Formula X2 Water Removal Fuel Additive?
I will be taking a closer look soon as weathrr breaks of drain and fill hoses. I had soo much trouble last year with water I really need solve the problem . I ended up running on external tanks last year. I replced the fuel water seperator with the kind with a clear bottom and drain hose. Anyone try this new Formula X2 Water Removal Fuel Additive?
Getting rid of water in the tank
Hard as it may be to do, I think you need to find the source of that water. Fuel additives can only get rid of a little water. Think about it - how could you expect 16 oz of fuel additive to get rid of gallons of water?
Some fuel tank fills can actually let water down the fill if they are recessed and don't seal well (some Carolina Skiffs have this problem, for example, as did an old 17 Wellcraft CC I had). It is possible to get water in gas from the gas station, too, if they aren't maintaining their fuel filters. I've had it happen and know for sure because I had just cleaned out my tank down to a dry bottom of the tank.
Once you find out where the water is coming from you can clean out the tank yourself. Here's how: Pull the fuel sender from the tank. Once you do that you can shine a strong flashlight down in the hole for the sender and see what's in the bottom of the tank, especially if the fuel level is fairly low. Now you get some clear plastic tubing that is resistant to gas (I forget which kind of plastic that is - maybe vinyl?) in a size that will fit on a outboard primer bulb. You'll probably need about 10-15 feet of the clear plastic line. You also need a small wooden dowel (1/4 inch diameter, about 2 feet long. You want to attach several feet of the plastic tubing to the intake end of the primer bulb and use cable ties to attach the dowel to the tubing on the intake end. Then attach the rest of the tubing to the discharge end. Now you start a siphon going by pumping the primer bulb. Keep the whole run of the siphon tube as low as possible to help get the gas over the high point and get the siphon started. Put the discharge end in a gas can and start siphoning. You can then aim the pickup end of the plastic tube, using the dowel, to pickup water on the bottom of the tank, debris, and any other crap in the tank. You can actually just siphon all the water and crap off the bottom and use the rest of the gas, but I figure once you've started this you might as well get that tank as clean as new!!!
And you literally can do that. I've done this on several boats. If you take your time, you can get the inside of that tank clean enough to eat off. END of gas problems!
A couple more things to note: You need a way to get rid of all that gas. Probably the best way is to have a truck with a large tank that is nearly empty. Water will sink to the bottom of the gas can you are siphoning into, and debris can be filtered out with a coffee filter in a funnel. Have several gas cans ready and figure out how much gas you'll have to get rid of.
The other thing is to seal the sender hole well with a gas resistant gasket. There are special types of red rubbery gasket material that will work. You can also use Aviation Form-a-Gasket sealant liquid Item number 765-1210 available from Napa.
Good luck!!!
Hard as it may be to do, I think you need to find the source of that water. Fuel additives can only get rid of a little water. Think about it - how could you expect 16 oz of fuel additive to get rid of gallons of water?
Some fuel tank fills can actually let water down the fill if they are recessed and don't seal well (some Carolina Skiffs have this problem, for example, as did an old 17 Wellcraft CC I had). It is possible to get water in gas from the gas station, too, if they aren't maintaining their fuel filters. I've had it happen and know for sure because I had just cleaned out my tank down to a dry bottom of the tank.
Once you find out where the water is coming from you can clean out the tank yourself. Here's how: Pull the fuel sender from the tank. Once you do that you can shine a strong flashlight down in the hole for the sender and see what's in the bottom of the tank, especially if the fuel level is fairly low. Now you get some clear plastic tubing that is resistant to gas (I forget which kind of plastic that is - maybe vinyl?) in a size that will fit on a outboard primer bulb. You'll probably need about 10-15 feet of the clear plastic line. You also need a small wooden dowel (1/4 inch diameter, about 2 feet long. You want to attach several feet of the plastic tubing to the intake end of the primer bulb and use cable ties to attach the dowel to the tubing on the intake end. Then attach the rest of the tubing to the discharge end. Now you start a siphon going by pumping the primer bulb. Keep the whole run of the siphon tube as low as possible to help get the gas over the high point and get the siphon started. Put the discharge end in a gas can and start siphoning. You can then aim the pickup end of the plastic tube, using the dowel, to pickup water on the bottom of the tank, debris, and any other crap in the tank. You can actually just siphon all the water and crap off the bottom and use the rest of the gas, but I figure once you've started this you might as well get that tank as clean as new!!!
And you literally can do that. I've done this on several boats. If you take your time, you can get the inside of that tank clean enough to eat off. END of gas problems!
A couple more things to note: You need a way to get rid of all that gas. Probably the best way is to have a truck with a large tank that is nearly empty. Water will sink to the bottom of the gas can you are siphoning into, and debris can be filtered out with a coffee filter in a funnel. Have several gas cans ready and figure out how much gas you'll have to get rid of.
The other thing is to seal the sender hole well with a gas resistant gasket. There are special types of red rubbery gasket material that will work. You can also use Aviation Form-a-Gasket sealant liquid Item number 765-1210 available from Napa.
Good luck!!!
spareparts
God
only place water can get in the tank, with out it leaking gas into the bilge, is on the top side, or thru the vent/fill hoses. Fill your tank to the top with gas, did any leak into the bilge? Probably don't have a leak, check the sender gasket while its full, any gas leaking out? If not, its probabaly not getting in there, check you gas fill real good, I've seen plenty of them funnel water right into a tank. hardest one I found was the old 233 Formula we used to fish, everytime out, it would pick up enough fuel to make the engines skip, we'd slow down to trolling speed, put a few lines out, turn one engien off, they hand me a beer and the tools I needed, I'd pull the two solex carbs apart, clean em out, drain the racors, put the carbs back together, crank that engine up, then grab another beer and start on the other engine. We'd fish the rest of the day with out any water problems, my buddy swore it was condensation in the tank, I called BS. Finnaly after argueing about it, I cut the fuel vent line where it dipped low, and water came out. W finnaly figured water was running up the side of the boat and hitting the vent, it would only do it in certan kind of seas, like the seas we would run in going out in the early morning following the big boats, when the sun would come up, we were offshore enough that the seas had changed direction, so we didn't see the water hitting the vent. Next time out, i shined a flash light over the side and could see the water hitting the vent, after about 10 miles, teh seas changed enough the water wasn't hitting the vent. We relocated the vent and never had a problem with it. Several of the guys on here have relocated the vent above the rub rail