fuel bladders-gctid373215

[Guest]

I had a previous question here about the gas tank in my 1995 24 ft Trophy. It is apparently leaking and is sealed underneath the cockpit floor. I was told I would probably have to remove the engine to get at the tank or cut thru the fiberglass cockpit floor to get it out. Someone today mentioned that there are rubber like bladders used in aircraft that fit thru small openings in tanks or other enclosures, then are filled with high pressure air to fit into all corners of an existing tank and then can be used as a regular tank. This would preclude pulling the engine or cutting thru the floor. Anyone know of anything like this and does it work.

DBH

[CaptTom]

I've heard the same thing, around the time E10 first came out and the old Bertrams and Hatts (and others) were having their fiberglass fuel tanks develop leaks.

It's a great idea, and I know it's been done in commercial vessels. Just never heard of anyone who tried it. You'll probably lose some fuel capacity, but I'm thinking the cost has got to work out in your favor, over replacing a hard-to-reach tank.

[Guest]

deltabighat wrote:
I had a previous question here about the gas tank in my 1995 24 ft Trophy. It is apparently leaking and is sealed underneath the cockpit floor. I was told I would probably have to remove the engine to get at the tank or cut thru the fiberglass cockpit floor to get it out. Someone today mentioned that there are rubber like bladders used in aircraft that fit thru small openings in tanks or other enclosures, then are filled with high pressure air to fit into all corners of an existing tank and then can be used as a regular tank. This would preclude pulling the engine or cutting thru the floor. Anyone know of anything like this and does it work.

DBH

Fuel bladders are most definetely used in aircraft fuel tanks. They are also used in race car fuel tanks. I have never heard of anyone making them for marine appliciations.

They must be manufactured to the specs of the fuel tank. They are very expensive and I doubt that the marine industry would justify the investment due to the number of different size tanks used.

Bob