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Homemade fuel tank concern for all
Since I really dont feel like working this morning...(ie. still tired from Zanesville) I will share a story with a problem we had at Constantine.
Please understand I am typing all the facts that I know. I am not blaming anyone or the product manufacturers. I only want to share what happened so that it will not happen to you.
As some of you may remember from another thread that my son Justin and I built a Sorenson runabout kit this spring and just got it done in time for the first spring race at Franklin, Pa. I never finished that thread due to our hurry to get to the race, but all went well and we love the boat. Darrell makes one fine kit.
One variation to the boat that we included was our own built in fuel tank under the left side that we made from left over plywood and the System 3 epoxy that came with our kit. We have made many fuel tanks of different sizes and shapes with West System epoxy and have never had or heard of a problem.
When I built the tank, the inside was coated with the System 3 and nothing else. I did test it for leaks before I installed it by filling it with water and all was well.
Fast forward three weeks later at the Divisionals in Constantine, Mich. Justin placed 2nd in Jsr on Saturday morning. In inspection, Lou Howard (Chief Inspector) tested his fuel as usual. The digitron read what it always does for our fuel and oil mix. We are usually in the -55 to -75 range and this day was a -67 if I recall correctly.
When this was done, Lou did another test that I had never seen called a citric nitrate test. He showed me that the color of the glob of yuk in the bottom of the sample vile was the wrong color and he could not pass our fuel. After many questions and doing my very best to stay calm (whew, that was hard!) Lou explained that the color at the bottom should be amber yellow. Our fuel was a nasty brown color with an odd fish egg like texture to it.
Obviously at this point, were screwed and I had to apologize/explain to my son that his 2nd place was being taken away. My family has raced since the middle fifties we have never been tossed for such a thing so I had to figure out why. I went thru the pits asking every question I could to many of you to understand what had happened.
Then, I went on a theory and proved it correct. I took my fuel can to Lou and asked him to test it and explained that I thought something was wrong with my tank. If you are thinking ahead as you read this, I am thinking at this point it must be the new epoxy system that I had never used before was eroding away into the fuel and making the test think I had some funky additive in my fuel.
So, our fuel tested fine in our 5 gal jug. I went back to our pits and drained all the bad fuel I could out of the tank. Hauled the boat back to the inspection area and filled the tank up with the 5 gal jug of good fuel and let it sit for an hour and a half. Then, I asked Lou to once again test my fuel. (Lou had probably seen enough of me by this point! But stayed calm too!) Sure enough, it looked just like the very first sample!
Atleast I figured out what had happened so I could fall asleep that night!
When we returned home the tank met it's fate with my Dewalt Saws-all with a 8" blade and was replaced with a metal tank.
So, hope this all helps someone else someday. Just taking your fuel can to inspection to get tested may not be the ticket...you may be better off taking the whole boat, cause you never know what's going on inside your boat's tank!
Please understand I am typing all the facts that I know. I am not blaming anyone or the product manufacturers. I only want to share what happened so that it will not happen to you.
As some of you may remember from another thread that my son Justin and I built a Sorenson runabout kit this spring and just got it done in time for the first spring race at Franklin, Pa. I never finished that thread due to our hurry to get to the race, but all went well and we love the boat. Darrell makes one fine kit.
One variation to the boat that we included was our own built in fuel tank under the left side that we made from left over plywood and the System 3 epoxy that came with our kit. We have made many fuel tanks of different sizes and shapes with West System epoxy and have never had or heard of a problem.
When I built the tank, the inside was coated with the System 3 and nothing else. I did test it for leaks before I installed it by filling it with water and all was well.
Fast forward three weeks later at the Divisionals in Constantine, Mich. Justin placed 2nd in Jsr on Saturday morning. In inspection, Lou Howard (Chief Inspector) tested his fuel as usual. The digitron read what it always does for our fuel and oil mix. We are usually in the -55 to -75 range and this day was a -67 if I recall correctly.
When this was done, Lou did another test that I had never seen called a citric nitrate test. He showed me that the color of the glob of yuk in the bottom of the sample vile was the wrong color and he could not pass our fuel. After many questions and doing my very best to stay calm (whew, that was hard!) Lou explained that the color at the bottom should be amber yellow. Our fuel was a nasty brown color with an odd fish egg like texture to it.
Obviously at this point, were screwed and I had to apologize/explain to my son that his 2nd place was being taken away. My family has raced since the middle fifties we have never been tossed for such a thing so I had to figure out why. I went thru the pits asking every question I could to many of you to understand what had happened.
Then, I went on a theory and proved it correct. I took my fuel can to Lou and asked him to test it and explained that I thought something was wrong with my tank. If you are thinking ahead as you read this, I am thinking at this point it must be the new epoxy system that I had never used before was eroding away into the fuel and making the test think I had some funky additive in my fuel.
So, our fuel tested fine in our 5 gal jug. I went back to our pits and drained all the bad fuel I could out of the tank. Hauled the boat back to the inspection area and filled the tank up with the 5 gal jug of good fuel and let it sit for an hour and a half. Then, I asked Lou to once again test my fuel. (Lou had probably seen enough of me by this point! But stayed calm too!) Sure enough, it looked just like the very first sample!
Atleast I figured out what had happened so I could fall asleep that night!
When we returned home the tank met it's fate with my Dewalt Saws-all with a 8" blade and was replaced with a metal tank.
So, hope this all helps someone else someday. Just taking your fuel can to inspection to get tested may not be the ticket...you may be better off taking the whole boat, cause you never know what's going on inside your boat's tank!
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