1985 Oprey170 fuel tank replacement.

[osprey170]

Well It's been about 8 months since I posted and since I took my boat out.  I've gathered up enough will to take the floor up and pull my tank.  I've had gas in the bilge and assume that the tank is the culprit after replacing and checking everything else.

Questions - I want to replace the tank, should I go with aluminum or stainless?  Anyone know of a place near around Houston, TX that will build one?  What are most people paying to have custom tanks made?

Thanks!

[JimCt]

Aluminum.  Installed properly it'll outlive the boat.  Measure your tank and take a few pictures of it showing fill, vent and sender locations.  A tank fabricator will be able to duplicate it.

[osprey170]

Thanks for the reply Jim - I'm going to pull my tank and see what I've got going on but I'm 99% sure that I have pitting around the foam areas.  I should have removed the tank the last time I had the deck up.  I'm going to look for a local fab shop to make one up.

I'm wondering if it's a small leak whether JB weld would fix it?

So why not stainless?  Cost?  I'm just wondering why stainless rarely gets mentioned when the topic of corroded tanks comes up?

BTW - your rebuild is looking good.  Looks like your making quite a bit of progress.  Maybe when my kids grow up a little more I'll have the nads to tackle a job like that.

[JimCt]

Aluminim is cheaper I suspect.  Also easier to fabricate.  If you do decide to repair your tank you should have it welded.  JB weld is fine for non-critical repairs but a fuel tank is something else.

Kids, when they are older, can help with the boat project too.  I remember as a kid when my father let me help him with a real project I really enjoyed it.

[jdupree]

osprey 170,

I just replaced the tank in my 170 and have the measurements drawn on a diagram.  If you need them let me know and I will post it here or e-mail it to you.

[osprey170]

jdupree,

I would appreciate it if you could email me or post them here.

Thanks a bunch - I'm going to try and get the tank out today if I get off from work early enough.

eddie@advtex.com

[osprey170]

jdupree,

I got the diagram... what year is your 170?  Mine is nothing like yours in the diagram.  Do you have the name, maybe a phone number of the company that made your tank?  Sounds like a good price, also what was the turnaround?

Thanks for your help.

[jdupree]

osprey 170,

My 170 is a 1988.  The place a got it from was Alloy Metal.  There number is 631-694-8163, They are out of New York.  The turnaround was about a week.  I would think your tank would be the same as mine but who knows.  Just let me know if I can help further.

[jdupree]

osprey 170,

I noticed the pics in your galley.  Looks like your filler neck and sending unit are at the front of your tank.  I would think that the tank should be the same size as mine anyway.

[osprey170]

ONE WEEK?!  That's great - most places I've checked out are 3-6 weeks!

I haven't measured mine but dimensionally it looks about right.  So the tank looks like good quality?  Heavy gauge aluminum, good welds?

Thanks for the info.

[jdupree]

osprey 170,

The tank looked great.  Welds looked really good and the tank was heavier than the original.  Looked to be a good quality job at a great price.  If I remember correctly,  I ordered it on a tuesday and received it the next thursday.  Let me know how it turns out!

[osprey170]

I just got an email back from Alloy and they quoted me $225 plus $75 shipping.  Did you call in?  If so who did you talk to?  $185 plus shipping sounds better to me.

[jdupree]

I think that a father and son works there.  I talked to the father.  I think he usually answers the phone.  It is possible that he could have gone up since I got my tank(2 months ago).  The shipping sounds high to me.  I had mine shipped ups ground and it was around $35.00.  I live in North Carolina.  It might be cheaper to ship to NC versus Texas.