Ericson 30+ Fuel Tank Replacement

[Dave G.]

Happy & Safe Holidays to all ! Well after crawling, twisting, & contorting in the bilge area trying to get my propshaft loose from coupler I now have a fuel leak. I am guessing my weight on top of the tank has caused a seem/weld to crack. Of course I filled the tank prior to pulling her out for the season to prevent moisture forming...aaargh. I have checked all the obvious lines and fittings but alas it seems to be coming from a point hidden from touch or observation. I have concluded that I need to pull the tank and most likely replace it so curious if any other 30+ owners have done this and hoping to gain insight into the process. I did find a older post from mherrcat here on the site regarding dimensions but no follow up on the actual replacement process, he has not been active for a few years. I do have a hot water heater so that will have to come out first and then there is a 3/4" piece of plywood above the tank that appears to be tabbed to the inside of the hull that the water heater is mounted to. Any and all input welcome !

 

[Loren Beach]

Those welded alum. tanks are quite sturdy. My SWAG is that there is a tiny patch of corrosion on one bottom corner or angle where a little water has been sitting for quite a while. A pin hole leak was going to develop soon anyway and putting even a little stress on the tank just sped up the process a tad.

Once removed, those tanks can be patched, but welders tell me it is tricky grinding down to clean metal for new weld to adhere to. After a good inspection, you may decide to spend a few more $ and have a new tank built. Then you can also make any changes in the format at minimal cost. Inspection plates, a sender for a new electric fuel gauge, even a (plugged) tap for a future furnace. Parts like the fill entry, exit, ground point/tab, and vent connection can be configured to fit your boat better, if needed.
Just something to consider. Good luck.

When I drained out 15 gallons from our tank, I used a cheap-o transfer pump from Harbor Freight. Worked fine. You'll need some 'jerry cans', and if the fuel is much discolored you may want to dispose of it. Our county recycling center charged me something like $5. to take the 'dirty' fuel.

 

[Dave G.]

Thanks Loren, I am leaning towards a new tank as this one is original and now 36 years old. While not what I wanted to spend $$ on right now I definitely don't want to do it again in the foreseeable future. It's a very odd shaped tank and not sure how it is attached as of yet. The drawings I found look close & I'm going to the yard tomorrow to fully drain the tank so I'll measure what I can to see if drawing is accurate then. Good news is when the tank is out it will be a whole lot easier to put the propshaft & PSS back in...I think.

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear of this problem. When I replaced the PSS rubber bellows this year, I noticed a leak coming from under the fuel tank. Fortunately, it wasn't fuel, but while working there my foot had nudged the gate valve on the back of the water heater enough to open it slightly to cause water to leak, go under the plywood floor and show up in front of the fuel tank. So be sure it's a fuel leak before you dismantle it.
I have not done this, but wonder if you could use the existing fuel pump in your engine by undoing the clamp at the engine secondary fuel filter, using that end of the hose to drain the fuel into buckets. Access there may be easier, and the fuel pump should work, without the engine running.
Please keep us posted on your progress.
Frank

 

[Frank Langer]

Just thinking, that might be a good opportunity to replace other parts there, like thru hulls, throttle and gear cables, bilge pump hose, etc.
On a boat, one project always leads to many others!
Frank

 

[eknebel]

My guess is corrosion at the base of the tank where it comes to a vee near where the fuel pickup tube is. this is the lowest point in the tank, so it is where the water and gunk collect, and form pinholes. Replacement is the best course of action, since you can never be sure how many pinholes are almost thru the plate. But when mine started to leak, I wasn't able to commit to replacement at the time. I did a "temporary" fix using several layers of glass cloth with epoxy resin about 10 years ago, figuring to replace the tank when I replace the transmission(which doesn't like to go in reverse from a long neutral idle). I am still waiting...
Check the dimensions of the tank, but if I remember right, the engine and transmission have to come out to get the fuel tank in and out.

 

[Dave G.]

Frank,
It's definitely fuel, I did pump a gallon or so out with the electric pump yesterday but it was painfully slow. I'm going to use a 10GPM pump tomorrow so it should go pretty quick. I'm hoping I discover something less major but really don't think so. I know you haven't done this but do you know how the tank is mounted and if involves tabbing to hull ? The drawing I found on the site showed tabs on top of the tank which I'm guessing are screwed to the underside of the water heater floor and hoping that's all. That floor for WH is tabbed to the hull so my thought is to cut that plywood enough to get the tank out then just screw/glue a new piece of plywood on top of the stubs that remain. I don't think that plywood shelf would be structural do you ?

 

[Dave G.]

Ed,
I did find a drawing that was posted here by mherrcat a few years back and if it's correct I think it will come out through the port lazarette, hopefully. Attached is the drawing I found, I'm going verify these dimensions tomorrow, weather permitting.

 

[Dave G.]

Ed,
How did you access the bottom of the tank for your repair ?

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Dave,
Your thought process makes sense to me. I would start by emptying the water heater, undoing both the hot water plumbing and electrical connections, and determining if you need to drain engine coolant. The water heater is held in with screws on my boat. My plywood floor has screws and sealant (sikaflex or white Silicone) holding it in place, so I would remove screws and sealant. If the floor won't budge, I would try to check underneath with light and mirrors. If necessary I would cut the plywood floor as you suggested. I don't think that floor is structural, but you'll be able to tell once you see how it is attached to the hull. It will be important to not cut or damage the tank, any wires, bilge hose, etc. as you work on removing the floor. Once the floor is out, you'll be able to see how the tank is attached, and whether it can be repaired or needs replacement.
I haven't done this repair, so these are just my thoughts on how I would proceed. Hopefully an E30+ owner who has done this will chime in.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Hi Dave,
Your thought process makes sense to me. I would start by emptying the water heater, undoing both the hot water plumbing and electrical connections, and determining if you need to drain engine coolant. The water heater is held in with screws on my boat. My plywood floor has screws and sealant (sikaflex or white Silicone) holding it on place, so I would remove screws and sealant. If the floor won't budge, I would try to check underneath with light and mirrors. If necessary I would cut the plywood floor as you suggested. I don't think that floor is structural, but you'll be able to tell once you see how it is attached to the hull. It will be important to not cut or damage the tank, any wires, bilge hose, etc. as you work on removing the floor. Once the floor is out, you'll be able to see how the tank is attached, and whether it can be repaired or needs replacement.
I haven't done this repair, so these are just my thoughts on how I would proceed. Hopefully an E30+ owner who has done this will chime in.
Frank

Thanks Frank,
Yeah the water heater was drained for winter storage so it is empty. I will have to cut that up to get it out I think. Did you look at the tank drawing I posted and does it resemble your tank ? What is your floor screwed to ? Do you have glassed in flanges on the hull or ?

 

[Frank Langer]

Dave,
I have a Seaward 6 gal. hot water tank, and when I measured it one time, I thought I would be able to get it out of the locker.
I did look at the tank drawing, but it's mostly Greek to me, but I think it looks like it could be same as mine. But mine is 95% covered by the plywood floor, so hard to tell.
There are no glassed in flanges visible, nor can I see what the floor is screwed into, so I would have to proceed a step at a time to work my way through.
I'll be interested in what you find.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

I will document here for sure but unless we get an unusual warm up in the next few months it will be March or April before I can take this on.

 

[Dave G.]

My guess is corrosion at the base of the tank where it comes to a vee near where the fuel pickup tube is. this is the lowest point in the tank, so it is where the water and gunk collect, and form pinholes. Replacement is the best course of action, since you can never be sure how many pinholes are almost thru the plate. But when mine started to leak, I wasn't able to commit to replacement at the time. I did a "temporary" fix using several layers of glass cloth with epoxy resin about 10 years ago, figuring to replace the tank when I replace the transmission(which doesn't like to go in reverse from a long neutral idle). I am still waiting...
Check the dimensions of the tank, but if I remember right, the engine and transmission have to come out to get the fuel tank in and out.

Ed,
How did you access the tank for repair? Did you remove or lift the tank? If so what was holding it in ?

 

[bigd14]

Sorry to hear of your fuel leak, that sucks. This might be a good opportunity to re-do a bunch of the back of the boat "while you are in there."

One of the all time greatest things I have done on this boat is to cut out the quarterberth panel to access the back end of the engine, propshaft, etc. This has greatly simplified all work back there and reduced my chances of getting stuck in an awkward position. You will likely have to relocate some fuel lines and other things, but I think its totally worth it. https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/e30-stern-access-pt-1.717/

When I removed my fuel tank I had to remove everything on the wood shelf and then unscrew the shelf and pull it out the lazarette. It was pretty ratty so I rebuilt the wood cover over it. Here is a couple photos.
The old tank was screwed into the stringers on either side through the tabs. Sorry I don't have any before photos.

Good luck with the project. No fun...


edit: I recall using the multimaster to cut through the sealant that Frank mentioned is holding the shelf over the tank in place.

 

[Dave G.]

bigd,
Your "shelf" or liner doesn't look like mine at all. My shelf is only 14" wide and doesn't quite cover the fuel tank and is tabbed/glassed to the hull. My bilge is wide open to the hull all the way to the tern. So not sure what to think other than mine was removed at some point liner and all. Our boats are only 13 hull #s apart and I would guess they were built kind of the same way but who knows. Where is your traveler located ?

 

[Frank Langer]

bigd,
Your "shelf" or liner doesn't look like mine at all. My shelf is only 14" wide and doesn't quite cover the fuel tank and is tabbed/glassed to the hull. My bilge is wide open to the hull all the way to the tern. So not sure what to think other than mine was removed at some point liner and all. Our boats are only 13 hull #s apart and I would guess they were built kind of the same way but who knows. Where is your traveler located ?

Dave,
Bigd14 has posted alot of very helpful information on this site.
I'm surprised that your floor is only 14" wide, with the bilge and some of your fuel tank visible. That's very different from mine, where the floor covers the tank and the whole area from the port side to the quarterberth partition.
Can you post some pics of your floor, water tank, fuel tank area? And what year and hull number is your boat?
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Bigd,
Also LOVE your access panel. Did you just marl it and cut it out ? Did you make a hatch/doors ? How do you attach hatch/doors to the bulkhead ?

 

[Dave G.]

Frank, my hull # is 632 & I'm guessing yours is later. Where is your traveler ? I'll take some pics tomorrow hopefully.

 

[eknebel]

Ed,
How did you access the bottom of the tank for your repair ?

I added a seabuilt 6” access port centered on the location of the tank level sender. I then mounted the sender on the access port plate. Here is a link http://www.seabuilt.com/plates.php