Securing new fuel tank

[Steve Hansen]

I recently replaced my fuel tank with a new aluminum one from Catalina. Any advise on mounting? I used stainless steel lag bolts to screw it to the plywood deck. Is there a concern for corrosion between dissimilar metals? Also I reinstalled the brass valve and nipple which was on previous tank, same concern of corrosion?. Any thoughts?
Steve

[Ron Hill]

Steve : Don't worry about the dissimilar metals.  You should be "good to go".  
When I removed my tank for cleaning I replaced the lag "screws" with lag bolts as they are easier to remove/install with a socket rather than a screwdriver.    

[r_bond]

Steve,
I think you're good-to-go...I'm in the process of doing the same thing.  New tank should be in early next week.  I asked the engineers at the company that builds the tanks for Catalina and his advice was to use the fittings off the old tank.
Rusty

[Craig Illman]

What was the leadtime on getting your new tank from Catalina? Did they have them in stock? I'm thinking that's my first fall project.

Craig Illman

[Steve Hansen]

I called Catalina on Monday and the tank arrived on Friday via regular ground shipping. They quoted a 313.00 price but the billed price was 225.00 with shipping. I replaced all hoses to the tank except the fuel return line. You will need a longer vent hose to replace and also the grounding tab is in a different spot. I had to drill three more holes on the mounting tab (didn't use the outer hole as corner of tab was bent up and I didn't want to bend it back down for fear of damaging the weld) My racor has a 2 micron filtration and is before the fuel pump. attached a 3/8 inch line from out feed of fuel pump into a diesel jerry jug. had a full tank so emptying tank was longest part of project. I should of checked fuel pump filter. It was slow to pump. sludge at bottom of tank finally blocked racor at about time I finished pumping.
Steve "Georgia Peach" #349

[Roc]

In reading this thread, looks like the fuel tank that Steve bought from Catalina is aluminum.  My 2000 model has a plastic fuel tank, which I believe emits a strong diesel odor in the aft cabin.  I believe it's because the plastic is saturated with the fuel and the odor now passes through tank walls.  This was not the case when I first bought the boat.  Just curious, are the newer MkII's equipped with aluminum tanks??  Wondering if Catalina scrapped the idea of using plastic fuel tanks.

[Ed Shankle]

Watch out regarding using your existing fittings. Check out previous posts on this topic. My old fittings were too small for the threaded holes in the new tank. I had to have Cataline send me some new fittings.

Ed

[Ron Hill]

Roc : Call the factory and ask them.  
Think you answered you own question as you've seen the posts by a number of people have called Catalina Parts.  They told them they only have aluminum tank replacements.  

[Mike Vaccaro]

1.  Plastic tanks no longer offered by Catalina.  The newer aluminum tanks are 5000-series alloy and thicker than the old tanks.

2.  Stainless lag bolts work fine--use caution for the far outboard hole as the shelf that the tank sits on is close to the hull.  Can't recommend drilling through the hull...you might also want to add a bolt or two for security.

3.  New tanks come with new fittings if ordered from Catalina.  Depending on the age of your boat, the fittings may or may not be the right size.  The new fittings are aluminum.  If your boat is older, the main fuel pick-up fitting will be the wrong size.  Three options: A.  You can order a new fitting from the folks that built the tank (the manufacturer's label is on the new tank); B.  You can use your old fittings (yes, there is a risk of dissimilar corrosion); or C. You can use a small length of fuel line and then an in line brass nipple fitting to reduce the hose size (this does, however, introduce another potential leak point).

4.  Replace all hose clamps with proper all stainless clamps.  The clamps used by Catalina in the late '80's did not have stainless screws and tended to corrode rather badly.  Consider replacing all of your fuel lines if they are more than five years old.  You might also consider double clamping all fuel connections for safety.

If you do a search for this topic, you'll find more specifics about the fitting dimensions.

Good Luck!

Cheers,

Mike