F-26 Fuel Tank Replacement

[jcatkinson]

Hello,

Is it possible to remove the original 62 gallon steel gas tank through the aft hatch without taking up any part of the teak deck?

Thanks,

James

[chumwithabottleofrum]

James-I removed my fuel tank from my F26 last year. Had it pressure tested, cleaned and coated-as opposed to replacing.
My F26 is a '79. The deck has two removable sections-the aft section provides access to the rudder and rear bilge pump. the larger removable section can be removed and the fuel tank accessed. So yes, you can remove the tank, but I think it depends on the year of your F26. I don't know if the wooden decks on the older Trojans provide the same access.

[willietrojan]

Who did you find that would check out your old tank?

[gopher]

Somebody replaced all the tanks with plastic, but in the process
ripped up all the decks..
I can see all the supports have been replaced with wolmanized lumber before the decks were replaced.
Apparently there can be some suprises ? lol

[jcatkinson]

The boat is a 1976 and about half the tank can be seen when the smaller rear hatch is pulled up. I was thinking I could disconnect the hold down assemblies and slide it over and angle it out without removing any of the deck.

[chumwithabottleofrum]

Be very careful if\when replacing with plastic tanks-there may be a question about the compatibility of the plastic with the ethanol gas on the market. The problems with fiberglass tanks and ethanol is well documented. I don't know what the effect would be on other plastics-like HDPE or PP-(I'm not sure what plastic they fabricate gas tanks out of). But make sure there is not a problem.
As far as pressure testing, cleaning and coating the tank. I live int the Youngstown OH area. I took my take to a shop north of Pittsburgh who does that type of work. They primarily work on radiators but also work on fuel tanks. I would suggest calling local radiator repair shops, asking them if they work on gas tanks and if not, can they suggest someone in the area that does.
To have my tank done it cost me about $150-that is much less than replacing the tank-as you probably know.

[jcatkinson]

How about going with an aluminum tank?

[wvernie]

I was also wondering about the alumnium tanks, here in WV we have a lot of wrecked coal trucks sitting in junk yards with anywhere from 50 to 75 gallon aluminum fuel tanks on them. Do any of our fellow members have any input on this idea??

[chumwithabottleofrum]

Haven't heard anything to this point about aluminum tanks and ethanol. I believe that's how most people who have run into the problems with ethanol and fiberglass tanks are solving the problem-aluminum tanks. My gut feeling is that aluminum should be okay.
As far as a salvage tank-not sure of that the tanks off of trucks would fit below deck. You would probably neet to get some work done on it so that the inlet is located in the right spot and the location of the pick up is also correct. If you go that way-a retrofit I would definetly have it pressure tested (radiator shop could probably do it).

[chucka]

I replaced the original tank in my '75 F-26 with aluminum 2 seasons ago while I had the deck ripped out for reconstruction. There are no problems with ethanol and aluminum compatibility. [All older metal tanks and fuel lines may contain some gummy fuel residue that disolves with ethonol, but that is a cleanliness issue, not an aluminum issue.] There was no way to get the original tank out without taking up the deck. For me that was not a problem because the old deck was sagging and delaminated and really needed re-building anyway. I've posted photos of the project on this board before. see this thread:

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=296

Good Luck,
Chuck