Plastic Vs Aluminum Marine Fuel tanks

[gran398]

This great article compliments of Flnative....Thanks!






http://www.floridainshoreangler.com/fis ... ons-debate

[seabob4]

I am a fan of both, for many reasons.  Obviously, from a custom standpoint, aluminum is a hands down winner in regards to shaping.  However, an owner who is re-building his 19-6, 22-2, or what ever can tweak the coffin area a bit to match what's available out there in the plastic arena from Moeller or Incas.  One might lose a bit of tankage, might gain a bit of tankage, but there are hundreds of sizes and tankage amounts to choose from out there.

One of the aspects of fuel tank compartments Allen brought up was the almost ever present smell of fuel below decks...feint, but there.  It is my opinion that the permeability of the various hoses has a lot to do with that.  When I left PL, we were just starting to get into the use of "low permeation" fuel hose, which stemmed from, where else,  Cali, and their CARB board.  Here's a Merc tech bullitin regarding the use of low permeation hose on O/B installs '09 and later...http://marinepartsexpress.com/Merc_Prod ... 008-11.pdf

[Capt. Bob]

The "chance" for permeation odor was the tipping factor in my going with aluminum as opposed to poly. The fact that poly could indeed emit an odor, as stated repeatedly by Moeller engineers to me, was the deciding factor. In a boat without a cabin, I would not hesitate to use a poly tank but with even the slightest chance of the smell of fuel with my wife was a no no. Oh well, I guess I prefer sex over longevity.