pitted gas tanks

[bob johnson]

I went through a lot of the restore threads lately..looking for ideas and tips. One thing Id like to know is if covering the outside of a pitted aluminum fuel tank with JB weld or marine -tex...works?

I have a 53 gallon tank that id would like to use, but it has at least one pin hole( I can see daylight) and it has a dozen other pitted areas along the bottom. I also have a clean pit free 33 gallon tank....but I really like the extra 20 gallon capacity.

I am wondering if you any of you guys have repaired their tanks like this, and if so how have they held up?

also while we are on gas tanks...is it more desirable to have the gas filler port on the SIDE of the boat or on the top flat of the gunnel?????


BOB

 

[dozerII]

I went through a lot of the restore threads lately..looking for ideas and tips. One thing Id like to know is if covering the outside of a pitted aluminum fuel tank with JB weld or marine -tex...works?

I have a 53 gallon tank that id would like to use, but it has at least one pin hole( I can see daylight) and it has a dozen other pitted areas along the bottom. I also have a clean pit free 33 gallon tank....but I really like the extra 20 gallon capacity.

I am wondering if you any of you guys have repaired their tanks like this, and if so how have they held up?

also while we are on gas tanks...is it more desirable to have the gas filler port on the SIDE of the boat or on the top flat of the gunnel?????


BOB

In my opinion if the pitting is bad enough it has perforated the tank even in one spot it is scrap metal. I had some very light pitting on the tank in my SS201 that I cleaned well and then used JB weld to skim the small pits.

 

[Watermann]

+1 with Glen. there is no way I would trust such a potentially volatile situation as a leaking fuel tank to be under my boat deck.

I put my fuel filler on the port side top of the gunnel, but it really needs to be on the same side as the tank vent so you can see if or when it starts spewing fuel showing you the tanks full. It's also is nice to have it on the same side as your tow vehicle (drivers side) in my case.

 

[astor]

I had some pitting on the top of my fuel tank and sealed the inside with a 2 part fuel tank sealer used for aluminum airplane fuel tanks. And I JB welded the cleaned pits from the outside and painted the tank. The corrosion on my tank was where the fuel fill and vent lines layed on top of the bare aluminum. I have no concerns about the few pits that perforated the top of the tank since they were on the top, and I sealed from both the inside and outside. I might consider doing the same for holes in the bottom side too if the corrosion wasn't too bad.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

I know they arent cheap, but a hole in a fuel tank to me means new tank, or one without corrosion anyway. Why have the worry in your head while fishing or with family onboard?