MacGregorSailors.com

Wayne nicol wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:59 pm i am in the process of making an aluminum fuel tank that goes under the stern berth, in ali, with fill and venting to the outside, so no smells
trying to get the weight lower, and free up some space in the cockpit.
found plastic ones that would fit, but really didnt like the idea of them not being 100% impervious to gas, and may off-gas the fuel in small quantities.

If I could weld aluminum ... I'll take the easy path and buy a BWY aluminum tank, then see how much fuel I use.

Jimmyt wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:40 am You might want to wait for a season to see how much gas you use. I use the motor to get from the ramp to the bay, sometimes a short planing run up the river to dump ballast, and then back to the ramp. Might go through 12 gallons a season. If you have kids that like to tube, or long motoring runs, you might need a lot of gas. If you plan on doing a lot of sailing and only motoring as needed, you're going to have a lot of gas to get rid of. 6 gallons will run my 60 etec for quite awhile.

Just throwing this out for consideration. I'm a day sailer, launch every time, so this may not apply to your use.

That sounds like a good path, use 6 gallon tanks, determine usage and then decide if I need a 17 gallon tank.

Highlander wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2019 3:15 pm I have 4 of these 6 1/2 gal tanks
J

That would work and would be much less expensive to start. Thanks!

BOAT wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 1:18 pm
I got the big black tanks because Jimmy Alonso got them and so I got them too - I like them:
I like em because they don't take up any more space in the cockpit than the old plastic ones (which I hated )
Those red plastic tanks are evil
These are better ,

I agree, the aluminum tank is better, but now I'm thinking of using a couple of 6's to start, then add the 17 gallon aluminum once I determine fuel consumption. The 17 would be the main tank, the 6's would be used to fill the 17.
Next on the list, an engine ...

JCPH3 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:19 am You can find many 4 to 6 gal tanks that will fit under the seat in tandem. BWY will sell you the straps to hold them in place. I kept the original 12 gal on one side but only fill it for extended trips.

That seems like the best path, couple of 4'/6's to start.

I have 4-6 gal. plastic tanks. The nice thing about them is I can take them out to fill them and at the end of the year I can remove them to drain them into my car. I use 1 for the trip out, one to return, and 2 extra for longer trips.

I ue the 6 gal. tanks also, but I have a 2 gal. gas can I use to fill them. I find that I use perhaps 20 gal all summer.

Y.B.Normal wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 3:31 pm I have 4-6 gal. plastic tanks. The nice thing about them is I can take them out to fill them and at the end of the year I can remove them to drain them into my car. I use 1 for the trip out, one to return, and 2 extra for longer trips.

Russ wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:24 am

DaveC426913 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:54 am I assume that 17 gal is fixed in place? You don't need to haul it out onto the gas dock to fill? That's the downside of my 2x12 gals.

My 12 gal tanks never come out. How do you lift them? Aren't they super heavy?

I only lift them when they're empty.

("What do you do when they're full?")
That's what gas dock attendants are for!

A gallon of gas weighs approximately six pounds (2.72 kilograms); that means a filled twelve gallon tank weighs 72 pounds (32.65kg).

With all due respect, don’t you think it’s bit much to ask someone/someone’s to lift such a heavy container into your Mac?

Ray

Highlander wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2019 3:15 pm I have 4 of these 6 1/2 gal tanks



J

Do you have the part number or source link for these? I could see doing the 17 gallon on one side then the two sixes on the other side to allow for flexibility on how much gas you keep on board.

I use the standard 25l tank. Good for me: around the tank is space for different things to store.
On the other side of the boat I use 4 cans of 10l. Often I have to use gas from the street, so it it easy to carry. And on top: behind the cans I can store little things like harness...

NiceAft wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 4:02 pm We plan on taking a two week trip to the Chesapeake in June. The majority of the trip will be motoring, so I am thinking of adding two gas containers to my original two twelve gallon tanks on my 2005M. I am thinking of getting two Wavian 20 Liter Jerry cans.

Ray

I probably should have posted this three years ago. We did go on the trip.

If I remember correctly, we were on the water for over two hundred miles (321.8 km). The cans worked great. Never smelled gas. I didn’t notice any swelled sides. On the water, I had no difficulty in using the cans. These cans are designed really well. I now understand why NATO use this type of can.

I first read about these on a post on this site. I think it was a forum member from Alaska. I do remember him stating his friends think he was crazy for keeping them below deck. I didn’t replace my existing 12 gallon tanks and increased our fuel capacity to 34 gallons. The tanks now are used for the lawnmower while waiting for doing the trip again.

BOAT wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 1:18 pm

I got the big black tanks because Jimmy Alonso got them and so I got them too - I like them:

I like em because they don't take up any more space in the cockpit than the old plastic ones (which I hated )
Those red plastic tanks are evil

These are better ,

With those aluminum tanks, I've always been curious about the requirement to ground them to negative power (mentioned on the BWY description). Is it to reduce the risk of static shock and possible ignition of vapors? Or something else?

BOAT, would love to know how you did the grounding, assuming you did. Your write ups are always really good

Yes, I grounded the tanks to the negative terminal of the battery and also to the equipment ground bus on the 120V AC panel. Because the tanks are a conductor you could in theory electrically energize them by getting the boat soaking wet so that your shore power plug (if not properly grounded) would try to return AC power back through the water (thus through the tanks). The whole deal with metal tanks is because of the water and getting wet. Electricity DOES flow through water if it comes in contact with any of your voltage sources.

That's why you should never wash your boat on the trailer if it is connected to shore power that is not grounded. Soaking wet boat can carry a charge.

The tanks are sealed there is no vapor but the issue can arise that you pop the caps and vapor comes out and then as you put the caps back on they could spark. Very unlikely it would result in explosion even without ground but with it grounded there will be no sparks.

Almost all boats bigger than ours use aluminum tanks.

I will say that I don't understand why the BWY site says the Moeller 12 gallon tanks don't fit in the anymore. I bought two of these 12 gallon Moeller tanks from Amazon in 2020. They were exact replacements for the two sun damaged ones on the 2012 I bought that year. They fit fine as far as I've been able to tell.