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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Ethanol & gas tank solution from Fearless Leader
Posted By: Harv
Date: Wednesday, 15 March 2006, at 7:57 p.m.
Well guys,
I had a nice lengthy discussion today with our fearless leader. The topic was what to do about our failing fiberglass gas tanks. After tossing all the available solutions that I have been researching, along with a few other guys here, it seems that the best, most logical, and longest lasting solution Capt. Patrick and I have concluded, is to replace the existing tanks with a Brand New Vinylester tank.
Cutting and resurfacing old tanks
Bruce had mentiioend earlier and Patrick reaffirmed the notion that cutting, cleaning, sanding, grinding the insides of our old tanks may be an attempt in futility. The reasons being that
#1. The glass has to be thoroughly cleaned and ground to fresh fiberglass for 100% adhesion.
#2. If any internal corrsion of the glass has occured, 40 years worth of gasoline will have comprimised the remaining glass.
#3. Same thing goes for internal cracks in the gel coat allowing 40 years of gas to permeate into the fiberglass. Reason being that fiberglass is actually a porrous material.
#4. Vinylester resins or gelcoats may not adhere or bond properly to the polyester tanks thus leading to probable failure.
#5. Buidling a tank within a tank with matting and resin will suffer from the same points listed above, ending with probable failure.Stainless Steel
Patrick does not endorse the use of stainless steel for the fabrication of tanks because he still feels that the welds are the weakest parts of the tank. The possibility, whether slight or great, does not outweigh the risk of a leak especially with gasoline. Also the stresses created in a rocking and rolling environment such as inside a boat could cause a failure of a stainless tank. The only stainless we might see would be used as baffles in new glass tanks as the current baffles are made from aluminum and in the point below I show the perils of aluminum and ethanol.
Aluminum
While the welds on aluminum tanks have shown to be of more reliable strength, aluminum tanks wouldn't be a wise choice due to the fact that at 10% ethanol, some aluminum tanks are already showing signs of etching. As we are all aware, this is just the tip of the iceberg and ethanol levels will probably go higher in the future. As I have mentioned through conversations with John McKnight of the NMMA, once ethanol levels reach 20%, it will literally cut through aluminum like a hot knife through butter, and Patrick concurred with this thought as well.
Plastic
Plastic would be a good choice, however it would have to be produced as a one piece mold. It is uncertain whether baffles would be able to be included in a one piece mold. If the plastic tanks had to be electrically fused or welded, Patrick again pointed out the possibility of the weld or seams failing and leading to leaks.
New Vinylester tanks
New tanks, while a wee bit expensive may be the only alternative. On the downside, they take more manhours and are more labor intensive than zapping together steal or aluminum. On the upside is the fact that had it not been for ethanol, our tanks could have lasted forever. New vinylester tanks, will probably serve us well for the remainder of our stewardships, and the steward after us, and the steward after them. In other words, this is a solution should laste beyond our years.
The Conservative voice of Uncle Vic
I also spent some time on the phone tonight with Uncle Vic. He reminded me of the post he made about a week ago that he feels we may be jumping ship a little too early. His concern is that without true visual scientific data placed right in front of our eyes, the only real problem may just be varnish running through our systems due to the cleansing effect of ethanol. Unless or until one of us has been able to actually analyze whatever deposits are in our engines (if any) and proven that it is indeed the glass resins actually breaking down, that we should sit tight for now. Do more inspections and checks of the fuel system and engine performance before making the decision to replace the existing tanks.
Right now it seems that Richard Kidd and Cabrera Sr. have or will have tanks available for us. Personally, I feel that if indeed we all need to make a switch in our tanks, 2 suppliers will not be able to handle the load as we all may just make that decision at the same time. I will assume that some of our other site sponsors and aftermarket suppliers read this board and may chime in regarding replacements of their own design. In addition, I will probably call some myself, and inquire if they are working on this situation themselves.
Harv
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