[puddinpop]

Fuel is of little use if it can't be safely and reliably stored and transported from the vessel's tank to the equipment that craves it: engines, gensets, wing engines, heating systems, and so on. The guidelines set forth by the American Boat & Yacht Council concerning the design and installation of fuel tanks, plumbing, filters, and associated gear leave little room for interpretation. The boatyard that I manage and many other boatbuilders follow these guidelines to the letter, but, regrettably, not all yards and builders do. The fuel equipment on many boats that I inspect violates these important standards, often on several counts.

[MartinaIgnatius]

Aluminum also can suffer from a phenomenon known as poultice corrosion, which occurs if the metal is allowed to remain in contact with a hydroscopic (water-absorbing) substance such as carpeting, acoustic insulation, or even wood. Acoustic insulation should never be adhered directly to any metallic tank. Even nonhydroscopic materials, such as plastic and fiberglass, can promote poultice corrosion by holding water in a slim gap between the impermeable material and the aluminum. This is what happened in the case described above, in which stagnant water was trapped under a painted surface. Later, we will discuss how specific tank installation methods can help avoid poultice corrosion.

[Anon136]

MATERIAL OPTIONS

[Felix Gabrielov]

This great 3-Step cost savings kit designed for the repair of larger sized motorcycles, generators, lawn mowers, tractors, snowmobiles, or other tanks up to 12 gallons. Detailed instructions included. Satisfaction guaranteed! here

[iLoveMjesica]

Our "PLUS" Kit contains everything found in our regular Cycle Tank Sealer Kit, "PLUS" a quart of KBS Strip to quickly remove any old failing sealers previously used to seal your tank. here

[adamjkok]

Gold Standard Fuel Tank Sealer is a superior, one part, ready-to-use fuel tank sealer that is specifically formulated to stop rust and corrosion all over the world.

[ichi]

This great 3-Step cost savings kit is designed to clean, prep, and repair your motorcycles, generators, lawn mowers, tractors, snowmobiles, or other small tanks up to 5 gallons. Detailed instructions included. Satisfaction guaranteed! here

[harding]

Applications include fuel tanks, diesel tanks, biodiesel tanks, oil tanks, utility tanks and non-potable water tanks . The Tank Sealer is Impervious to all fuels, alcohol additives & most solvents. It's been rated as the industry‘s NEW Gold Standard in gas tank sealers.

[MrFlibble]

Man, half these comments are just stupid… Fiberglass tanks for non alcohol bearing fuels has been used for literally Decades. The plywood is simply used as the structural core. That type of construction is also well known.. Its basically going to be a fiberglass fuel tank containing diesel fuel. There’s nothing wrong with using fiberglass for diesel fuel tanks as long as they have the strength, structure and appropriate materials. Every single material ever used for a fuel tank has seen failures.. Up to and including those on the Space Shuttle. In my experience the two materials that cause the least problems with fuel oil have been Black iron (aka mild steel) and fiberglass. His construction methodology is adequate to the task. His techniques may not be what someone else would do, however they do work. No cringing necessary… A pinhole leak… Just drive a screw into the pinhole and apply sealant till you get to your destination and can evaluate. Oh and the Coast Guard does have rules. They however do not “require” anyone to use only metallic fittings. If that were the case then there would be no Coast Guard approved non-metallic fuel hose. This guys not building a 500,000 gallon Nitrazine tank. He’s building tanks to hold 380 gallons of fuel oil. That’s about as easy as it gets. His boat is not going to blow up, burn up or sink and drown his family because he chose Fiberglass fuel tanks. I’m proud to see a fellow take on a task like this, with no experience in boat building. Just the dream, desire and balls to make it happen. As an aside the material that has been the most disappointing as a fuel tank in my experience is aluminium. In both Naval yards I worked (Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Bremerton Naval Shipyard) the tanks with the highest failure rates were Aluminium, Spun Glass composite pressure tanks and Plastic. In my own yard I’ve found Cured fiberglass and Mild Steel to be about as trouble free as anything on the ocean can be. Kudos to you Mr. Smith your doing an excellent job!

[maryhmckee]

I admire people whom question the status quo, and use their brains/skills to “explore”. But sometimes a little humility can save alot of future pain in asking “what if” versus rushing down some road.
A few concerns: The ocean if one tough “lady” and boats need flexural strength,not necessarily ridgidity of key structural interior components.
Epoxy is great stuff, but type, usage, and substrates are key. Material compatibility data should only be considered as a starting point. Actual real world testing is difficult, expensive, and very specific.
Real world diesel is not test lab diesel. What test data exists for specific plywood glue in this application ( it will be saturated with “sour diesel”).
I understand modern tankers often employ a double hull of thick (malleable) steel. The human body has a rib cage, and seat belts protect us despite the external steel chassis/body. Remember the Pinto gas tank?
Lastly, what about the Coast Guard and insurance companies? Maybe you should consider designing a cocaine sub?

[ender_x]

I am a huge advocate of epoxy and wood – BUT I would prefer to use aluminum tanks in any vessel. I restored a wooden Grand Banks 42 and fabricated three tanks (535 gallons) and they are bullet proof after encapsulated in Rhinoliner. more

[L29Ah]

Scott Smith hadn’t built a boat when he started constructing his own 41′ full displacement trawler. But he knows a thing or two about building as an avid woodworker, so he’s confident in his decision to build his backyard trawler with plywood and epoxy fuel tanks. This is NOT an option for storing gasoline, but it IS an option for diesel and Scott thinks it’s the perfect solution for his build. Check out today’s video and see if you agree with Scott’s plan to use TotalBoat Epoxy with plywood for storing over 300 gallons of diesel fuel. Then, comment below and leave your opinion about Scott’s epoxy fuel tank build. Enjoy! more

[wbgtrfv]

All organic based synthetic materials can be chemically attacked and very often the predicted long term compatibility with fuels is just wrong. [links]

[wirher]

As a professional engineer for 50 years and builder of many fuel facilities, chemical compatibility of plywood glues and fiberglass resins is a major concern, as is independent flexibility in structural isolation from the hull.

[Macho]

This means it’s essential to prevent oxidative fuel breakdown from exposure to air and light and hydrolytic failure from exposure to certain metals.

[testaccount1]

You can also opt for sludge treatment to prevent the formation of biomass. When used in conjunction with biocide, it significantly improves the biocide’s ability to kill microbes and keep the system microbe-free in the long-run. more

[hershel4merr]

However, in some cases, the microbes still find their way in, and when this happens, using a biocide is essential to control the growth of microbes. Biocides not only kill the existing infestations with complete microbial kills in as little as two hours., but is also cost-effective and keeps microbes ay bay.