I am trying to remove the fuel tank on my 2002 C34 MKII in order to clean it. The tank is plastic/fiberglass. All fuel lines are currently disconnected, and mounting screws on the forward end of tank removed. Unfortunately the fuel vent fitting on the top rear of the tank (which appears to be integral to the tank) protrudes about an inch above the top of the tank and prevents the tank from sliding out of its compartment. I feel there must be a procedure for removing this tank from the boat, but at the moment can't see how it is done. Any advice will be appreciated.
Just guessing. Try measuring the forward end of the opening to see if there is enough clearance. The tank may need to be pivoted, front end out first, vent end slid forward then out.
i can only speak of the mark1, but i removed and replaced my fuel tank last fall with no problems. i agree with ken that you probably will have to move and tip the tank around to remove it. if they got it in, you can get it out. you didn't state if you completely removed all the fuel, which if you did, you can tip the tank a little, pull foward and slide out. good luck...jeff
Thanks. I will be down at the boat today to see if I can't pull the tank forward and then ease it out front end first.
I will be interested in hearing how you accomplished your task. I have the same tank in my 2001 and it is only a matter of time before I will be doing the same thing.
Jack
Well I was finally able to remove the fuel tank. Thanks for all the suggestions. As suggested, once I had removed all fittings (fuel outlet, fuel gage and fuel return) such that were no protrusions at all on the forward top of the tank I could move the tank forward and the forward side out. Must not be more than a 1/16 clearance here. Then the rear of the tank could be moved forward and pulled out of the opening by tilting and tugging on the tank. The tank actually flexes quite a bit in order for it to be pulled through the opening. A real press fit. I also found it necessary to pull the fuel line to the engine out of the tank compartment down to the engine compartment. This left enough room (barely) to move the tank forward and sideways enough for its withdrawal. In order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here? There is quite a bit of black goo and slime on the inside bottom of the tank, so it was time to pull it out. -- Bill
Just a question for the board.What Billdalita is going thru to remove the tank for cleaning .Couldnt the cleaning process be as equally well done by a fuel polishing service?The reason I ask is that I am about to do the same on my 99mk11,it doesnt sound like fun,removing the tank,cleaning,and disposing of the bad fuel,etc.thanks!
reefs, i don't know what fuel polishing is all about, but, getting the tank out and cleaning it isn't really all that big a deal. a little time consuming and not very comfortable, but doable. the trick is to either use up as much fuel as possible or pump out into jerry jugs. about a 1/2 gal, if that, will remain and that is easy to dispose of. once tank is out, pour in some acetone to clean and your ready to reinstall. when i took my tank out last fall, i was surprised at how clean the bottom was, no crud. i attribute that to the use of fuel cond. and adding a little bioside at the start of each season. the tank was over 20 years old, no sign of pinholes, but i got a new tank from catalina just as a precaution, not much worse than the smell of diesel in the cabin. good luck...jeff
ther : If your fuel system is set up correctly (tank - filter - then fuel pump) the fuel that you pump out of your tank (using the electric fuel pump from the out side of the Racor) to empty the tank is "filtered fuel" and can be reused. The only fuel that you have to dispose of is the residual in the tank that won't come out - less than one gal as I recall.
I believe that polishing (cleaning) fuel and then putting it back in a dirty tank doesn't make much sense and is a waste of money!! Infact in some locations, the cost of polishing fuel is almost the same as buying a new tank !! :roll:
Ron, did you make a mistake the the order of the fuel line you posted?
Shouldn't it be tank - filter - then fuel pump. :shock:
Mike
QuoteIn order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here?
I had this done on Y.Rose a couple years ago. While that was happening, of course, I had the tank cleaned and the fuel "professionally" polished, i.e. run through a multistage filter (4 filters as I recall), both when it was emptied from the boat and again when it was pumped back in. [So clean, you could wash with it. :roll:]
I'm heading to the boat today and will take some pictures of the access ports.
Thanks for the info. I will be very interested in the photos you took of the tank access panel you installed. I know it cannot protrude very much in height above the top of the tank in order for to slide back into it's compartment--Bill
Quote
Quote
In order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here?
I had this done on Y.Rose a couple years ago. ... I'm heading to the boat today and will take some pictures of the access ports.
Here's the pictures. Fuel tank port is about 6" diameter. The lazarette access port is 12". I didn't measure the height that the tank port adds. But I think that if it got in the way of removing the whole tank, simply removing the port first would resolve that.
Mark
Mark
Thanks for the photos. I was thinking of a 4 inch access hatch but now will go with a 6 inch access as you have. I will order Seabuilt plates. I will probably have to install and remove plate before taking the tank in and out, but that should not be a problem. Also, do you remember where you got the lazarette hatch? I would send some photos of how tight the tank opening is, but I am not sure yet on how to add photos to this message board. Bill
Bill
It's relatively simple. When you post a reply, below the type-in screen is a note: Additional Options. Click on it and it will pop up "Attach" and just browse to the filename of the photo you want to post.
The size of the photo needs to be small (below 75 KB as noted below the filenmae entry space). To do that, see this: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3701.0
Thanks Stu for the tip on photos. I think that there are some major differences in the fuel tank configurations between earlier models of the C34 and my 2002 version. Last year I helped my brother-in-law remove a leaking fuel tank from his 1988 C34. In the 1988 version the aluminum tank sat on a plywood shelf of some sort and was open to the engine area. You could see the tank from the access hatch in the head, for example. In the 2002 C24 by contrast, the tank compartment is part of one large fiberglass molding that includes the rear berth area. With the port berth side panel removed you can see this tank area is integral with the rear berth compartment. All tubing, wiring, etc is routed through holes in this shell into the tank area. You cannot see the tank from the engine area anymore as it is in a separate compartment. It is a tight fit which prevents the tank from sliding out sideways. The attached photos show the tank being removed from my 2002 C24.
Good pictures of the tank removal. I am confused about picture 3 with the tab sticking out of the tank. It appears to be the top forward end, but I do not see where the pick-up and fuel gauge ports are. On my boat they are on the forward end under the access ports in the lazarette above. It sounds like you had to work the tank forward and out at the same time right? Picture 3 seems to show it rolled a bit?
Jack
Jack You are right. I had to pull the tank out at the forward end and at the same time push the rear of the tank forward in its compartment. It could not come out directly sideways because the opening was too narrow at the back of the tank compartment and especiallly because the tank vent opening was at least a inch higher than the opening. The idea was to pull the tank, forward-end first, out into the aft berth compartment as far as it would go and the aft end of the tank was pushed about as far forward as it would go. Then by rotating the tank to the right it was possible to clear the tank aft vent opening as it was pulled out. The tank did a lot of flexing at this point before it came out. Picture 3 is a view looking at the aft end of the tank which has been rotated in the forward part of the tank compartment prior to it being pulled out. This is the only way I found to clear the fuel vent opening (which is the tab looking protrusion) which you see in picture 3. Hope that makes sense. Bill
Thanks Bill. Now I get it, we are looking at the aft end of the tank as it comes out of the front of the opening. I know I will have to be doing this one day. It also appears that if I am going to install a new fuel pick up for the heater I am going to install, I will have to pull the tank to do it.
Jack
All th more reason, Jack, to simply tap into the fuel supply line. :D
I believe your right Stu. If I have to bleed the heater line once a year when I change the Racor it will be no big deal.
Jack
Jack : I'd "T" into the fuel line after the Racor! :D
Ron, that was my plan, but after doing the layout on the boat I am finding that because of the location of my Racor I exceed the 6'-6" maximum length of the fuel line recommended by Espar, I will either need to find a closer location for the heater or add an external fuel pump. (Admiral says a diagonal fuel line across and up thru the middle of the aft cabin is not an option!)
Jack
Jack : You might ask Espar - if the Racor line that you tap into is higher than the heater, does the 6'6" length restriction still exist?
I assume that your heater is close to the flooring. :think
Ron,
My Racor is located clear down by the raw water intake on the starboard side rear of the engine, and the heater will be in the aft port locker about the height of the rub rail. It will definately be an uphill pick-up.
Jack
Billandalita,thanks for your great posts,now Im ready!
QuoteThanks for the photos. I was thinking of a 4 inch access hatch but now will go with a 6 inch access as you have. I will order Seabuilt plates. I will probably have to install and remove plate before taking the tank in and out, but that should not be a problem. Also, do you remember where you got the lazarette hatch? I would send some photos of how tight the tank opening is, but I am not sure yet on how to add photos to this message board. Bill
Sorry for delay replying. The lazarette hatch is just your typical marine deck plate you can get from most chandlers. Here's West Marine's selection: http://ecatalog.westmarine.com/full.asp?page=0551&LinkBackProdId=232502 (http://ecatalog.westmarine.com/full.asp?page=0551&LinkBackProdId=232502).
Thought I would finish up with a description of the reinstallation of the tank with its new hatch. The tank is manufactured by Skyline Manufacturing, LLC, and the material is given as XLPE (polyethylene?). The first figure shows the Seabuilt Access Plate System loosely installed on the tank prior to installation. The fuel tank hatch is about centered on the tank top surface so that I can reach every part of the interior with a small cleaning brush. I had to uninstall the plate system in order to slide the tank into its compartment and then install the access plate to the tank through an access hole I previously cut into the lazaret floor in much the same manner as Mark Elkin showed earlier in this discussion. It was then a matter of reinstalling the fuel inlet, outlet lines and the fuel gage. To do this it was necessary to move the tank about somewhat to install these items from existing small hatches in the lazaret floor. Finally the lower tank brackets were fastened to the tank compartment floor. The next photo shows the fuel sediments left in the tank once all the fuel had been removed. The white specs are bits of plastic left over from cutting the hatch. The tank was brushed out well with a degreaser and dried. The last photo shows the interior of the tank, cleaned and installed. Hopefully now the tank will be easy to inspect and clean without removing it from the boat. Thanks again to all the forum folks for their helpful comments and suggestions on this topic. Bill