Fuel Tank - 27 CD) Pulled Out - Paint?

[Shipscarver]

I pulled the fuel tank on my CD 27 out for cleaning. After it returns from the radiator shop, should I paint it? What kind of paint? Should I remove the fuel gage before sending it out? Is it a problem to reinstall the gage? I have no idea of how the gage on the 1980 CD 27 works.

[WaywardWind]

I wouldn't bother sending it to a radiator shop.

On mine, I just the tank out. Then hosed it out, put some soap and water in, sloshed it around and hosed it out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat until the water looked pretty clean. Then rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed, then turned upside down and let sit a week to dry out. Tossed a cup or so of denatured alcohol in and sloshed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

The re-intall guage, re-install tank in boat. Whatever metal my tank was, I couldn't paint it if I wanted to.

[Loren]

The tank in my CD27 is aluminum. Not sure why you'd paint it. The fuel gauge comes out easily - its just a float controlled gauge. With the gauge out you can get a pretty good look at the inside.

Loren

[Shipscarver]

My tank is a 12 gal. alum. I am going to paint the area before reinstalling and figured it would look better and be easier to clean off.
I was considering a bigger tank, but the seacock seems to be screwing that idea up.
Has anyone found/installed a fuel gague in the cockpit rather than just that tiny dial on the tank?

[Ray Garcia]

Like others mentioned I also cleaned mine with boiling water and Simple Green or any other liquid degreaser. I also threw in a rag to help scour the grunge.

Thoroughly inspect the bottom for corrosion once you get it out. You can use an awl or nail to pick at suspect spots. If the point goes in and leaves a hole, now is the time to fix it. You can use a product called J-B Weld for this.
http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

Why complicate things with the fuel gauge? I replaced mine since the cork was pretty disintegrated. Super easy to replace.
http://www.e-components.net/4holegauge.htm
Cork/gasket/gauge approx. $25
Make sure you are specific with gauge. CD27 uses a full sweep, Jr. size gauge.

Some other random notes:

• Consider replacing the fuel fill hose and fuel lines while the tank is out. Our fuel lines in our 1981 CD27 were dry cracking from age.
  
  Install a fuel shutoff valve is you do not have one.
  
  Blow out the vent line with a compressor if possible to make sure it is clear and does not contain any contaminant.
  
  If you haven't already, change all the fuel filters. There is one on the engine itself as well as the remote if you have one installed. This will insure a clean start with a clean tank.
  
  Check the fuel pickup tube and clean if necessary. You also might consider replacing. Keep length the same as installed. Too long and it will eventually vacuum up any contaminant that forms on the bottom of the tank.

[rollo_cd26]

Do not under any circumstance use scotch brite or any other abrasive pad or other abrasive material to clean the inside of the tank. My local engine expert advised me that small particles of carborundrum will come off the sctoch brite and remain n the tank. Thereafter these can foul the pump and cause it to abrade the internals all the way to failure. As stated earlier inthese posts - repeat flushing and rinsing steps.

[craig]

make sure and remove the fuel gauge before doing anything on the inside of the tank as the sending unit is all mechanical. its a good opportunity to clean the cork and gears on the unit. i used a length of chain with a string attached to slosh back and forth in the tank to remove the crud. with repeated rinsing it looked pretty good. i wasn't quite satisfied at this point so i then took it to the radiator shop but they were unable to get it any cleaner than the chain and detergent method. hot water and detergent, lots of agitation, then enough time to let the inside of the tank dry completely. this is a good time to give the water separator/filter the same treatment. when i emptied out my tank it looked like really old coffee with lots of grounds. craig and donna- cd 27 Pelican

[gates_cliff]

When I purchased my boat a cuople of years ago, the survey indicated that the tank needed to be replaced. I took it out, carefully measured it and sent the measurements to a tank place in NJ. They made a new one with the cutout for the guage and everything exactly like the previous one. It is painted by them, I assume power coat.

The reason it needed to be replaced was that the bottom had become pitted. The surveyor recommended adding strips to the bottom of the tank so that it would not set in any kind of moisture. I just added some strips of synthetic material and glued them on with 5200. Not having done this before I checked with the surveyor on every step and had him certify that I had done it correctly after the install was completed. Oh, I also had to reglass the bulkhead that surrounds the tank. The tabbing had come loose. Based on my previous experience with glassing I installed 3 layers to ensure it wouldn't come loose again. Then when I had it replumbed with new fuel lines, new fittings, also added a shutoff valved on the top of the tank. When I had Vosbury marine dewinterize the engine and start it to make sure everything work, I asked them to check the fuel line install, etc.

[Jim Walsh]

When I replaced my tank I also added furring strips just to have an air space under the tank so any moisture would have a place to go and not have the tank sitting in it. I went to Defenders and looked through their "junk" section. I found 1/8" thick, self adhering, non-skid material and I applied four strips to the base of the tank. The tank had lasted 24 years. All lines, hoses, and clamps were replaced with new. I don't want to have to dig that thing out ever again.

[Steve Laume]

I used a rubber door mat that had an open lattice sort of pattern. I cut this to size and sat the tank on top of it, Steve.

[Dick Spangler]

Jim,

How did you remove your fuel tank? I have a 1984 CD31 and have contemplated removing mine to inspect and to clean.

Thanks

[Jim Walsh]

It was easy. I ingested a copious amount of growth hormone, took a ride on a roller coaster to mix the ingredients properly and volunteered to have myself stretched on a rack in the Tower of London.
The first step I took was to remove my holding tank bypass seacock which had been installed directly aft of the tank blocking its removal. Then I removed the teak bracket which was screwed into the aft end of the shelf the tank sits on. Then I removed the fuel lines, ground strap, and the filler hose. The next part was loads of fun. There is an aluminium strap which is snugged down by a lag bolt at the mid point of the tank which acts as a belly band to secure the tank in place on its shelf. It is only accessible (I'm laughing out loud now) from inside the locker below the sink in the head. This is why I had to stretch myself. No six foot human has arms or fingers long enough to reach into this locker, hold a tool and perform any physical labor without resorting to some form of physical modification. From the locker in the head you must loosen the lagbolt on the strap. At this point the tank may be slid aft from its shelf into the port cockpit locker. The tank can be coaxed out of the locker with physical effort alone but I found some words normally associated with drunken sailors were handy. I attest I was sober. I brought my tank to Luthers in Bristol R.I. and told them I wanted an exact duplicate with no room to spare if I expected to get it back into place with no modification. They made an aluminium work of art. I had a new sending unit installed by them since my original tank was 24 years old and I didn't want an old sending unit failure in my future. I put a few strips of 1/8 non-skid on the bottom of the tank to aid in condensed moisture egress. This way the tank is not in total contact with the shelf it sits on. I replaced all my hoses with new Trident hoses. The shelf was in fine condition and I re-used the original teak bracket but I installed it with stainless lagbolts. It was no fun but necessary and very satisfying once the project was complete.

[Dean Abramson]

Jim,

Having stared at my tank with great angst, I can only imagine what torture that job must have been! Holy moly.

In the removal process, did you need any of the space on the shelf where the water heater sits? My water heater (a Force V rectangular one) lies quite far forward, very close to the fuel tank. And getting it out would be a bear. (I know: I put it in.)

Congrats on a successful job. I am in awe.

Dean

[gates_cliff]

When I was working on mine I would have to stretch out in the port locker, feet aft. Well, I needed to sit up so I could get better access to something or other, and contorted myself somehow so that my legs were sort of in the area below the cockpit sole. I worked that way for maybe 15 to 30 minutes. When I started to get out, I was stuck! I mean seriously I had twisted myself around so much that I literally couldn't get up. I had to stop, take a deep breath, and think through how I could get out. Eventaully, I realized that I had to slink, slither further down into the locker to allow myself to recontort myself enough to work my way out.

I've never been cluastrophobic in my life but I have to admit that there was a moment of panic. Of course I was working alone late on a Saturday and there was no other people around the yard.

[Steve Laume]

A man with a trained, midget, mechanically minded, monkey could make a lot of money in a boat yard, Steve.