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Old 04-01-2010, 16:50   #1
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Fiberglass Holding Tank ?

before i have one made in alu, is there any reason not to build one in a similar style to a f.g. water tank? dont know how much i will save over an alum one but it seems like a project i would enjoy, yea im a glutton for punishment
but it will be good practice for when i build my water tanks

so should i go ahead with this, any special considerations i should consider?
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Old 04-01-2010, 17:05   #2
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Read-up and get busy.

I have built 4 boat tanks over time, 2 gasoline, 1 water, 1 waste. All were in service for 15 years when I sold the boat.

But it is not so simple. Read-up on the topic and keep the inside very smooth. Aluminum will be easier.
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Old 04-01-2010, 17:32   #3
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Don't make your tank of aluminium!!!!! salt+urine+stagnation+fill in here with what ever you want= holes in the worst tank to have holes in!!!!!
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Old 04-01-2010, 18:02   #4
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fiberglass holding tank

I built a fiberglass and epoxy holding tank to replace a rubber bladder that had a very small but smelly leak. It started by making a cardboard mock up of the tank to fit in the Vee berth locker. From the disassembled cardboard mock up, and using a plastic yearly wall calander as a base, flat sheets about 3/16" thick were made up by alternating woven cloth and mat with epoxy. The plastic yearly wall calander is flexable enough to peel away leaving a flat sheet after the epoxy kicks. I made enough of these to build the basic box keeping in mind of slanting the bottom to a low spot to install the discharge fitting on the side bottom. I then started assembling the sides and bottom by using 3" FG tape again epoxied both inside and outside. A clean out port was installed on top and again using 3" FG tape the top was epoxied to the sides. After completing this I coated the whole inside again with epoxy slightly thickened to make everything smooth inside. Round support patches total thicknes of about 1/2" were epoxied where fittings were to be installed. This included out going on the bottom side, incomming on the top, and two vents on top. Total thickness of tank sides came up to about 3/16 to 1/4". The old bladder was about 15 gal and the new tank is about twice that. I contacted West System prior to start for compatability with chemicals for the holding tank. Their comment was their epoxy would be a great application. Hint I borrowed some pipe taps from local plummer sized for marlon fittings.
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Old 04-01-2010, 20:13   #5
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Nicely done Mr.Gulfstar!

Clean, neat, and well finished. Nice shop too.

I buy epoxy by the 55 gallon drum. Do you need a job? J/k

To the OP - never, ever make a waste tank out of metal. Well, maybe monel, but who can afford that?

Go with epoxy or vinylester. I would use epoxy.

Pre-made 3/8 inch thick poly tanks from Ronco are a pretty good deal. Something to look into anyway.

Mike
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Old 19-07-2010, 03:52   #6
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holding tanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by pressuredrop View Post
before i have one made in alu, is there any reason not to build one in a similar style to a f.g. water tank? dont know how much i will save over an alum one but it seems like a project i would enjoy, yea im a glutton for punishment:banghead:
but it will be good practice for when i build my water tanks

so should i go ahead with this, any special considerations i should consider?:whistling:
Made mine from 300 mm storm waterpipe with stopends cemented with pressure pipe glue, all pipework in 40 mm pressure pipe and dump with compressed air , to easy and it didn't break the bank.
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Old 14-11-2010, 14:04   #7
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aluminimun and urine don't live well together. go with plastic.
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Old 14-11-2010, 18:15   #8
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I agree with the folks that say don't use metal for a holding tank. My preference would be epoxy. West Systems has some good information on building tanks with epoxy, although they don't necessarily condone it.
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Old 14-11-2010, 18:52   #9
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hilding tanks

Hi all, Made my 55 gallon holding tank with epoxy panels then took the whole unit down to the local truck bed liner company and had him spray it inside and out with a heavy rubber coating before I epoxied the lid down. It is bullet proof for sure. Did that with my anchor chain locker as well. 75 bucks each!
cheer, greg
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Old 14-11-2010, 19:06   #10
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What about stainless (or Aluminum) and water, or diesel? Are there any problems with those?
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Old 14-11-2010, 21:38   #11
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but it will be good practice for when i build my water tanks so should i go ahead with this, any special considerations i should consider?
You will find some negative opions here about fiberglass/epoxy tanks. They can be done well or poorly. Apparently the expoxy can have has carcenegenic tendancies and a "taste" if it's not cured sufficiently.

My new boat has fiberglass/epoxy drinking water and holding tanks. To cure the expoxy in the drinking water tanks, a radiator heater was placed in each tank for two months (left on continuosly) after the epoxy coating to ensure it was dry. We weren't so particular with the holding tank so I won't be surprised to find it has a funny taste.

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Old 14-11-2010, 21:45   #12
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Originally Posted by Eleebana View Post
You will find some negative opions here about fiberglass/epoxy tanks. They can be done well or poorly. Apparently the expoxy can have has carcenegenic tendancies and a "taste" if it's not cured sufficiently.

My new boat has fiberglass/epoxy drinking water and holding tanks. To cure the expoxy in the drinking water tanks, a radiator heater was placed in each tank for two months (left on continuosly) after the epoxy coating to ensure it was dry. We weren't so particular with the holding tank so I won't be surprised to find it has a funny taste.

Greg
Very funny Greg... but in poor taste...
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Old 14-11-2010, 22:54   #13
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G'day, mate. Fiberglass holding tanks here. Have never had any problems with them. Cheers.
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Old 15-11-2010, 18:35   #14
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What about stainless (or Aluminum) and water, or diesel? Are there any problems with those?
Everything is a compromise. Dave Gerr suggests that stainless is the best (only?) material for water. Aluminum or stainless can be used for fuel. They must be mounted properly to prevent crevice corrosion and it is imperative to make sure that any water that settles to the bottom isn't allowed to stay there and that the tanks are kept clean.
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