Anyone Have Plastic Water Tanks ?

[sailorgal]

Our stainless fresh water tanks are starting to show signs of age. One of them has developed a leak. We are investigating have them re-welded, but also want to investigate the possibility of replacing them with the newer polyethylene tanks. We are looking at two 80 gallon tanks. It looks like one manufacturer is Ronca. Does anyone have any opinions on these tanks?

From what I have read, they don't make the water taste funny. Is that true? Also, they don't have baffles. According to the manufacturer, that shouldn't cause problems.



Any and all opinions welcome!
Thanks.

[sailorboy1]

My plastic water tankls are 22 years old and have never had any problems or taste issues

[capngeo]

IMHO once they begin to leak, they are all but done. IF you can remove/reinstall a new tank do so (many were installed at the time of building and cannot be easily changed) An option is to install a bladder inside the old tank.

[capn_billl]

My boat has the polyethylene, they do have baffles, (2" wedge shaped bumps across the bottom). That is what milk comes in in my area. They work great and I expect them to outlast the boat. Any water will taste stale and grow algea if left long enough, but otherwise no taste.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

My boat has the polyethylene, they do have baffles, (2" wedge shaped bumps across the bottom)...

The wedge bumps sound more like structural reinforcement, than baffles, to me.

[sailorgal]

Luckily, the tanks are fairly easy to remove (although they are a bit heavy). They are located under the aft berth. We took the leaking tank to a local shop to have it evaluated. I'm thinking that just biting the bullet and getting two new pastic tanks is the way to go. We know that if one is already leaking, the other will start pretty soon. There is already corrosion along the weld seam.

The stainless tanks are over 20 years old, and we are planning to head out to the Bahams and Caribbean after the holidays. Probably best to take care of the water tanks while we're still here in the states.

Plus, we have a brand spanking new Spectra watermaker (Thanks Tellie!) and I like the idea of having new water tanks, too.

[Ed_Sail]

We have a 25 year old 60gal plastic in our boat. It has two rather deep, maybe 4-6 inch wedges in the top and bottom (structural or baffle?). Its located under the entire Port Settee. No issue with taste or performance.

[JamuJoe]

Plastic water tanks are standard on my Leopard 42 Catamaran, and I believe the entire Leopard line. I've had no issues with my 2 x 106 gal tanks located each side of my chain locker.

[LexLocal]

QUOTE--"The wedge bumps sound more like structural reinforcement, than baffles, to me. "

GordMay--Misty memory that you -in another thread-spoke of after market baffles for the polyethylene tanks--

Do you still think a 48" X 24" X 18" poly tank--should have baffles--

[witzgall]

We had a stainless water tank leak at the seams. The tank overall was in very good condition. For a few hundred dollars, a welder repaired the seams, and pressure tested to ensure there were not other spots ready to "Go".

I then coated the entire bottom, and halfway up the sides with West System epoxy. Then, while the epoxy was STILL WET, I wet sanded the entire area. This removes the oxidation, but allows no new oxidation as the epoxy is keeping the air out. My reason for doing this was that it would help keep any new rest from forming (from the the outside) and if there was another pinhole leak, that the epoxy would stop it.

Chris

[imagine2frolic]

I have 11 plastic tanks all running off 2 manifolds. They are Vetus, and 20 ltrs each. If you look at Vetus be sure to get the inspection plate with the metal backing plate to keep them from weeping water. You can get larger tanks with baffles........i2f

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by LexLocal

... Do you still think a 48" X 24" X 18" poly tank--should have baffles--

I don’t know that I ever opined what size tank would require baffles, or surge arresters.
That decision would depend upon many specific variables.

There are after-market floating surge arresters, that can be installed through small inspection ports. They prevent slosh, but add nothing to the structural integrity of the tank (baffles reinforce the tank)

[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by GordMay

I don’t know that I ever opined what size tank would require baffles, or surge arresters.
That decision would depend upon many specific variables.

There are after-market floating surge arresters, that can be installed through small inspection ports. They prevent slosh, but add nothing to the structural integrity of the tank (baffles reinforce the tank)

Hey Gord. I dredged this thread up and your comment re: aftermarket floating surge arresters interests me. I googled but struck out. Any idea who carries this item?

Thanks.

[jeremiason]

Repairing 20 year old tanks is at best a bandage, You are better off purchasing new tanks.

Almost all new sailboats are delivered with "Plastic" tanks.

There are several suppliers of Marine Water Tanks and I am sure you will find the right ones....

Ronco is one supplier, they have over 450 different tank designs

[sailorgal]

We did end up getting new plastic tanks and have been very happy with them. We got them from Ronco and they were delivered with no issues. We like the large inspection ports that make any future cleaning issues easy to deal with.

We did consider repairing the steel tanks, and often wondered if we should have gone that route to same some money, but as the previous poster said, it would probably just have been a band aid approach. With the new plastic tanks, we won't have to worry.