GL: Great-Loop Digest, Vol 62, Issue 2 fuel tanks

[Bodie6413 at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/1/2008 9:00:39 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
great-loop-request at lists.samurai.com writes:


I had two leaking fuel tanks on my '86 Heritage  East Lien Hwa soon after I 
bought her with the surveyor telling me it had  welded aluminum tanks. So much 
for his knowledge as they turned out to be 6mm  iron tanks and I did not want 
to spend the twenty some thousand to remove  engines to get to the tanks and 
then cut them up to get them out.  
I researched on the Internet for leaky fuel tank  repairs and found a 
Canadian outfit that does repair leaky fuel  tanks(motorcycle and auto) with epoxy 
but would not share with me the  chemicals he added to make the epoxy impervious 
to diesel fuel, but now I knew  it could be done.  
Next I found a chemical outfit that made a  product of thin film micro 
ceramic suspended in an epoxy solution. It works by  binding ceramic particles in a 
unique resin system thus creating an  encapsulating solid ceramic shell within 
the existing fuel tank. Each ceramic  particle is resin coated and becomes 
tightly packed in a cured film.  (Ceram-Kote 99) In the meantime I found that 
the 12" inspection ports covered  a 10" hole, two per tank, that allowed me to 
get an arm into each baffled  compartment, or my head in to look at things, but 
not both at the same time.  Bottom was pitted, especially along the welds and 
no way I could get to the  bottom of the center tank without tearing out all 
of the galley and V berth,  but again had two inspection ports on top of the 
tank..  
So, after being told by many of the gurus that  it could not be done decided 
to do it myself with the Ceram-Kote, but first  had to get rid of the diesel. 
First I pumped or drained out the fuel in both  tanks into 55 gallon drums. 
Then In Mobile I hired an oil recovery outfit,  ecology firm that have the large 
tank trucks that pump in neutralizing  chemical with high pressure hoses and 
extract it with the oil in their suction  hoses back into the tank truck. The 
one I used had a minimum charge of $250  and that's what it ran to do two 
tanks. Had them back later again to do the  bilge also. Next I used a long brush 
and a carton full of rolls of bounty  paper towels to get all of the residue 
out. Once I could wipe the inside of  the tank with a ball of paper towels and 
get no residue I was ready.   
Next I used a long handled paint brush acquired  at Home Deopt and thickly 
coated all of the corners and welds, let it dry and  gave it another coat again 
for a total of four times. Then, again allowing the  previous to dry 
overnight, started with the bottom half of the tank from the  center crease on down 
with four coats. I did not bother with the top portion  of the tanks as 
inspection showed no interior problems there. Only where  moisture had been allowed to 
sit on the iron was there a problem and primarily  on the welds.  
This was done last April and took about one week  to do one side tank 
outboard of the engine and one center tank below the  galley, but to me was worth it. 
So far no problems at all. More information on  the product can be obtained 
from Freecom, Inc. PO Box 2119, Big Spring, TX  79721, or _www.ceram-kote.com_ 
(http://www.ceram-kote.com/) . Dog River Marina charged me $250 for the  
gallon of material so don't know what the cost would be buying direct. I got  white 
material, two containers that I mixed up in pint sized batches and found  I 
had almost a half hour working time with the mixed solution. I used a wide  
mouth small mayonnaise jar to mix the small batches in. The white helped me  see 
in the tanks with its reflectivity. Would have been easier if I had been  able 
to get half in two different colors as I kept covering the same area and  at 
times a bit hard keeping track where I had been so had to follow the same  
pattern of application each time. I figured what I ended up with was a  interior 
shell of solid ceramic, about 6 to 8 mills thick or thicker, holding  itself 
together within the old iron shell so I don't mind if the old iron  shell 
continues to rust out or not as the new ceramic shell is the new tank  inside the 
old iron shell.  
If you need any more information you can contact  me at _bodie6413 at aol.com_ 
(mailto:bodie6413 at aol.com)  or 619  994 0061 






Ron and Molly  on Colonel's Lady, 1986 43' Heritage East, MTOA #2950, AGLCA 
#3460, San Diego, bodie6413 at aol.com



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