Ericson 30+ Fuel Tank Replacement

[Dave G.]

There are a couple factory circular screw in hatches in the quarterberth around the battery box and an aftermarket hatch that someone cut in there. The refrigeration unit and battery charger had been stuffed into this area with a bunch of foam padding but totally unsecured. It was a disaster waiting to happen. I ripped all that out and relocated the battery charger above the aft side of the quarterberth storage cabinet and the refrigerator to the bottom of the trash receptacle in the lazarette (shortened it and put a smaller trash can in).

I then installed all the wiring on a panel glassed into the hull under the aftermarket hatch. You can see the panel in the first photo and the wiring that was eventually installed in the second. And the charger location in the third.

Very nice job ! On my boat the quarter berth aft of the battery compartment has no hatches whatsoever so no access to below. My battery compartment is a little larger than yours and it contains a battery box, freshwater pump & strainer, and a few water line connections & tees. There is also some PO audio electronics installed in that area It is open to the hull with no liner. Surprising how different our boats are. I believe that our keels are different also, or at the very least the bolt size and pattern is. I would like to find out if the keel stub itself is different which would mean the hull shapes would also differ some.

 

[Dave G.]

Back at it !! Resuming this project after a few days in the upper 30's here...Yesterday I removed the water heater so I can get access to the top of the fuel tank. It was a 6 gal Raritan manufacture date of Aug. 1983. It had to be dismantled to get it out the port laz. First had to disconnect the fresh water and heat exchanger water lines and installed a 90 degree 3/4" barb connector between the 2 engine coolant hoses to compete the loop and keep the coolant in the system. I had a plastic tray wedged under the hoses and lucky I did as about 1/2 gallon came out before I could complete the connection. I then removed the electric connection cover and all the wires. The top and bottom of the water heater outer shell were held on by 4 sheet metal screws, I removed those by spinning the WH as i went around. Once those are removed I could pop the top off with a little tapping with a screwdriver hammer combo. The seem of the shell had 4 or 5 spot welds that held it together, I used a chisel with hammer assist to break those welds, it's pretty thin material. I then spun it around to where the electrical connections are and used tin snips to cut the remaining 3-4" above and below the electrical cutout. Thought I had it licked at that point but one side of the shell was hung up on the heat exchanger fitting so made a couple of small cuts with the tin snips bent the shell around the fitting and pulled the 2 halves of the shell out and tossed them along with top and bottom onto the gravel below. Removed the insulation, just fiberglass bat type loosely adhered, and now to see if the inner tank would fit through the Laz....It was 12" in diameter x 13" tall so out it went with 1/2" to spare. It was pretty messy so be prepared if you take this on.
Today I cut a 6" x 10" access hole in the top of the tank to gain access for the hopeful repair. I was shocked at how much sludge and crud are in the tank ! In the lowest point where the fuel pick up tube is the sludge was almost an inch thick. The tank has a "v" shape to it and the crus goes about 4-5" up the sides of the v. The other interesting thing is there is no baffle in this tank, just wide open, weird. On this early version of the 30+ there is a 3/4" 15" wide piece of plywood that is glassed to the hull on both ends and sits directly above/on the tank. Not sure if it's at all structural but it of course held the WH and also the Adler Barbour Ref unit which I took out last spring. I had to cut a portion of that "deck" to get a a big enough port to do the repair and stuck between the aluminum and the board was a portion of the manufacturers sticker for the fuel tank. Almost like an old Corvette tank sticker, almost. I only got a portion because I cut right through it but did get the following info;
Custom Marine, Huntington Beach, CA
Vessel Ericson 30
Tank Type Fuel
Capacity 23 US Gal.
I'm going to try and extricate the remainder of the sticker but not sure I can. I know, long winded, but I do have a question which is what do I use to clean all the sludge and varnish with ? Keeping in mind that I am going to due a n epoxy repair. Thanks for listening and look forward to your expertise, I need it !!

 

[Kenneth K]

Nice! I'm in the process of dismantling my water heater as well. I'm hoping I can get it out of the laz like you did, without cutting a bigger opening.

I've been dreading peeling off that insulation layer for all the mess/dust that stuff usually makes. Can you bag it/wrap it as you're peeling it off, or did you just clean up the mess afterward?

 

[Dave G.]

The insulation came off in big chunks as it was only glued in a few spots to the inner tank. I had a garbage bag and just pulled it off and stuffed it in the bag. I initially tried to get a plastic bag under the WH but my working space was/is limited. The biggest mess was the bottom pan of the WH as it was literally a soft pile of rust under the tank and then getting the heat exchanger water hoses off was a wet mess as they were on the backside of the WH. Hopefully you have better access. My port Laz ID is 12.75" so if you have the same WH and have at least that 12.25" ID it should come out.

 

[eknebel]

Back at it !! Resuming this project after a few days in the upper 30's here...Yesterday I removed the water heater so I can get access to the top of the fuel tank. It was a 6 gal Raritan manufacture date of Aug. 1983. It had to be dismantled to get it out the port laz. First had to disconnect the fresh water and heat exchanger water lines and installed a 90 degree 3/4" barb connector between the 2 engine coolant hoses to compete the loop and keep the coolant in the system. I had a plastic tray wedged under the hoses and lucky I did as about 1/2 gallon came out before I could complete the connection. I then removed the electric connection cover and all the wires. The top and bottom of the water heater outer shell were held on by 4 sheet metal screws, I removed those by spinning the WH as i went around. Once those are removed I could pop the top off with a little tapping with a screwdriver hammer combo. The seem of the shell had 4 or 5 spot welds that held it together, I used a chisel with hammer assist to break those welds, it's pretty thin material. I then spun it around to where the electrical connections are and used tin snips to cut the remaining 3-4" above and below the electrical cutout. Thought I had it licked at that point but one side of the shell was hung up on the heat exchanger fitting so made a couple of small cuts with the tin snips bent the shell around the fitting and pulled the 2 halves of the shell out and tossed them along with top and bottom onto the gravel below. Removed the insulation, just fiberglass bat type loosely adhered, and now to see if the inner tank would fit through the Laz....It was 12" in diameter x 13" tall so out it went with 1/2" to spare. It was pretty messy so be prepared if you take this on.
Today I cut a 6" x 10" access hole in the top of the tank to gain access for the hopeful repair. I was shocked at how much sludge and crud are in the tank ! In the lowest point where the fuel pick up tube is the sludge was almost an inch thick. The tank has a "v" shape to it and the crus goes about 4-5" up the sides of the v. The other interesting thing is there is no baffle in this tank, just wide open, weird. On this early version of the 30+ there is a 3/4" 15" wide piece of plywood that is glassed to the hull on both ends and sits directly above/on the tank. Not sure if it's at all structural but it of course held the WH and also the Adler Barbour Ref unit which I took out last spring. I had to cut a portion of that "deck" to get a a big enough port to do the repair and stuck between the aluminum and the board was a portion of the manufacturers sticker for the fuel tank. Almost like an old Corvette tank sticker, almost. I only got a portion because I cut right through it but did get the following info;
Custom Marine, Huntington Beach, CA
Vessel Ericson 30
Tank Type Fuel
Capacity 23 US Gal.
I'm going to try and extricate the remainder of the sticker but not sure I can. I know, long winded, but I do have a question which is what do I use to clean all the sludge and varnish with ? Keeping in mind that I am going to due a n epoxy repair. Thanks for listening and look forward to your expertise, I need it !!

I used a acid cleaner used for aluminum welding preparation like this

WeldingSupply DF781-12X1 $10.33

Secure on-line welding supplies DF781-12X1 $10.33

weldingsupply.com

get as much of the gunk out using rags/paper towels, then use the welding cleaner. I then wiped with acetone just to be safe before laying down epoxy and 4 layers of fine fiberglass cloth. About 10 years and counting.

 

[Dave G.]

Today I scraped and wiped up all the slimy gunk in the tank and it was obvious where the leak was. It is indeed the lowest area of the tank just below the fuel pickup tube. There is about a 1x2" area in the "v" that has severe corrosion and in fact if I shine a flashlight from the outside in that area I can see pinholes of light through the tank. I still have to clean with a brush and get all the crevices and seems but today I got about a quart of sludge out of the tank and tomorrow I'll try to get what remains weather permitting. Attached is a pic of the tank showing the damaged area.

 

[eknebel]

Today I scraped and wiped up all the slimy gunk in the tank and it was obvious where the leak was. It is indeed the lowest area of the tank just below the fuel pickup tube. There is about a 1x2" area in the "v" that has severe corrosion and in fact if I shine a flashlight from the outside in that area I can see pinholes of light through the tank. I still have to clean with a brush and get all the crevices and seems but today I got about a quart of sludge out of the tank and tomorrow I'll try to get what remains weather permitting. Attached is a pic of the tank showing the damaged area.

Looks familiar, though by your “pinholes “ are larger than mine were. You may want to put something under the holes on the outside to slow the cleaner draining out, to allow it to sit on the metal for cleaning. It will be sparkling where you used the cleaner. The fumes can get concentrated, a box fan on the stern lazzarette helped me.

 

[Dave G.]

Good point Ed, almost impossible to get under the tank with anything thicker than a piece of cardboard so I may just soak a rag and lay it over that area for a while and then use a brush to scrub it. With temps still pretty chilly here I have some time to get it prepped before actual repair can happen and cure right. I think you said your tank had a baffle yes ?

 

[eknebel]

I think you said your tank had a baffle yes ?

on my tank, the baffle is about 12 inches aft of the front of the tank.

 

[Dave G.]

No baffle in this tank and no signs of one, which is puzzling. I know the tank company is still in business so maybe they can shed some light on why the difference if they have records from 38 years ago ! Did you have to cut the board above to get tank access ? I had to cut a section out to get a big enough access port to do the work. I'm going to install another board on top anyway that is a little wider & stiffer. Probably mount a couple of storage baskets on top of that as I am not going to replace the WH. Attached Pic of half the tank sticker....

 

[eknebel]

Did you have to cut the board above to get tank access ?

My plywood board starts about 12-14 inches aft of the front of the tank, so I didn't have to cut it. The 23 gal is a little smaller than the 25 gal that i have measured, maybe the reason for no baffle? Or maybe the larger board allows for distributing the load from the water heater and maintenance?

 

[Dave G.]

Ed, I thought my tank was 25 gal until I found that sticker. It's interesting that your board is different position than mine. Mine starts about 4" from front of tank so needed to cut a chunk out for access inside tank and room for an access plate. Mine also had the refrigeration compressor mounted next to the water heater so lots of crap on the board bouncing up and down on top of the tank.

 

[eknebel]

Mine starts about 4" from front of tank so needed to cut a chunk out for access inside tank and room for an access plate.

I when to the boat today, and was surprised to discover that I had cut away the plywood also(I cannot remember not to trust my memory) . My plywood starts 5.5 inches from the forward edge of the tank. The baffle is indeed about 12 inches from the front(whew!).

 

[Dave G.]

Well I got a few days of good weather last week and finally did the epoxy patch to the inside of my fuel tank. I used West System 650gflex epoxy as recommended by them. I initially cleaned the tank with mineral spirits when I first cleaned it out(3 weeks ago). The day of the repair I cleaned the whole tank with acetone and then sanded the repair area with 80 grit, and wiped it clean with a tack cloth. Applied epoxy to the repair area, put down a layer of 6oz FG cloth, wetted it out, put down another layer of cloth and wetted that out, done. That was on Friday and I put 5 gallons of diesel in the tank yesterday(Monday) and no leaks !

 

[Frank Langer]

I'm glad this is working out well for you, Dave!
Frank

 

[bigd14]

Great! I used the GFlex epoxy to glass over the keel seam. Good stuff.

 

[Dave G.]

Great! I used the GFlex epoxy to glass over the keel seam. Good stuff.

Did you use 650 or 655 ? How was it to sand/fair ?

 

[bigd14]

I used the 650 non-thickened version and used my own fillers as needed. I sanded the keel to bare lead, filled the keel seam with Sikaflex 292, and when that dried added thickened GFlex over the seam and some fiberglass tape wetted out with neat GFlex over that, let dry and sanded it. It sanded just like regular epoxy, maybe a little more rubbery but easy to manage. I added a bit more thickened GFlex over it all to fair everything up. It seems to have bonded to the lead very well, there was no evidence of cracks or bubbles when hauled last summer after a couple years in the water.

 

[Dave G.]

It's been 3 weeks since repair to fuel tank and all is good so far. Attached is a pic of access plate, I used tight spacing on the screws as the top of the tank was a little wavy and wanted to be sure I had a tight seal. I drilled and tapped all the holes for a 10-32 screws. The plate itself is 1/8" thick and the gasket material is nitrile.