Water Tank Replacement

[Peggie Hall]

Order it through the sbo.com chandlery and save about 15%  http://shop.sailboatowners.com/division.htm?div=37

[Herodotus]

Y'all are absolutely amazing! I'm heading out to the boat tomorrow with these replies printed.

Although I do not know for certain, I doubt this boat was up north. The PO did not know much about the state of the vessel, though I'm pretty amazed this wasn't noted on the survey.

I called CD. Because this tank will be a custom job, I will be unable to return it if it does not fit the compartment. Therefore, I need to take some measurements. At $299.99, need to be pretty sure of those dimensions.

But Ronco plastics. Roger that.

Thanks everyone!

[Ron Hill]

H : I have a sheet from Catalina Parts that shows the 42 gal #60174 (#B182) tank dimensions as :
46" wide  18" deep  and  13" high.  Hope this helps

[Peggie Hall]

I have questions:

Where was the crack--top, side,?

How long ago did you do the repair?

You see, the problem with trying to repair polyethylene is, it can ONLY be heat welded, blending new PE with old to create a continuous surface. There are different types of PE--linear high, medium and low density and cross-linked--which is why the shop needed a sample. (Fwiw, water and waste tanks are linear low density PE).  There is no "sealant" that will bond to PE permanently.  But even heat welding is iffy...' cuz filling a tank tries to push the edges of the weld apart again...and eventually succeeds unless the crack is in a location that isn't subject to much stress--for instance, around a fitting.   So I'm very curious to know where the crack is and how long the weld has lasted so far.

It's certainly worth the risk to try it with a water tank to save $250,  but I wouldn't risk it with waste tank...'cuz if/when the weld fails, a  19" crack re-opening is gonna dump the tank!

[Peggie Hall]

Not to nitpick...but how long is "some time?"  Several months?  A couple of years?  And...do you fill your tank or try to keep the level below the crack?

I'm not trying to pick on you...just trying to get as much detail as possible.  Fwiw, there's a guy on one of the houseboat sites who's used JBWeld so many times to plug holes in his aluminum waste tank that the tank has to be more JBWeld than aluminum by now...and amazingly, it's still holding after more than a year! 

Btw..."gray water" is galley, bath and shower water...sewage is "black water."  I wouldn't recommend trying to repair either one.

[Herodotus]

Decision has been made. New water tank from Ronco will be ordered next week along with Edson order.

Thanks everyone. Seriously, by the time I get this boat set, it'll be just like a brand spankin' new boat.

[Herodotus]

Following Peggie Hall's advice, I ordered the water tank from Ronco Plastics - #B182-C. They were more than helpful and quite accommodating. All together, I received the tank for $250. Thanks again, Ronco.

Installed it this morning...missed the hose that connects the water tank to the plumbing....sigh. Water pours in. Noticed the hose was never clamped on the old WT either.

New WT works great, no problems yet.

Top: Save your fittings. The new WT did not ship with them.