Fuel Tank pick up problem

[cemiii]

I suspect I'll need to do this to. I have a glass filter in my kicker line and can see it is just spraying\trickling fuel irratically through the filter and dies completely at idle with insufficient suction. Same problem/symtoms as Vern. I suspect my pick ups to be original 87's! Niether bulb firms at all after new lines. I am wondering if the fix is significantly less costly than replacement of the tanks?

Chris

[CAVU]

Vern,
Did you remove your old tank pick-ups? What material were they made of? One of my fuel tanks cracked recently so I am in the process of replacing both tanks. I removed the fuel tank dip-tubes to check them. They were just a piece of heavy wall plastic tubing with a brass fitting on the end and a fairly large mesh screen on the brass fitting. These are original tanks from 2002 and the tube appears to be in good shape and had never given me any trouble.

[Holoholo]

That appears to be the same type of material that my pickups were made of and I would NOT reuse them even if they appear to be in good condition. When I emptied the tanks, the fragmented pieces were old and yellow. After shaking the pieces out of the tanks, they just crumbled if you squeezed them. Also for the earler poster, I would not change your tanks unless you first check with the factory on your year and brand. Maybe all you would need to do is thoroughly clean both tanks and then replace with good pickups. I was told that the factory did switch tank mfr's (yr?) because of some issues.

Vern

[CAVU]

Vern,
I wasn't planning to reuse them-my tanks came with pick-ups installed. It just seemed strange that yours had failed while mine which were a year older were still in good shape? I thought maybe yours were made from a different material. It could be that alcohol in the fuel could cause them to deteriorate?

[cemiii]

I removed one of my 87 pickups last night. It is totally different from the one Ken shows above on a later model. On the older tanks there is about a one inch nipple in the molded plastic tank that sticks up. There is a round aluminum fitting that slides down through it and can be rotated. Screwed into the fitting was a manifold that provided 2 omc brass snap on fuel hose bibs. (one goes to the seperator, the other directly to the kicker motor). The plastic nipple had a crimped band that attempted to seal the rotating fitting. The pickup itself is a straight rigid plastic pipe about a half inch diameter that goes to the bottom of the tank. There is no strainer at all on, or in, the pickup. I found no air leakage in the pickup. I wrapped the top with teflon tape, reinserted it with a stainless band screw in hose clamp to replace the crimp one. Ability to pump up the bulb is much better now.

I suspect it is probably about time to pull the tanks out and clean them, but I dread messing with all the screw holes in the floor. Wouldn't hurt to reroute the kicker hose to after the seperator too, I suppose.

I'm not sure there is an anti-siphon valve anywhere in the system. Do I need one? Where?

Chris

[Tad and Toby Jackson]

I pulled the gas tanks out of the Comfy Dory this weekend without too much difficulty after siphon draining the fuel into 5 gallon containers. The tanks were made by Todd Industries in Cranston, RI in 1995. They are the model #X90-2148 and have a capacity of 19 gallons each. Their dimensions are: 26 1/2" long x 16 1/4" wide x 12" high. The dimension for the height of this same model # in the current catalogue is 2 inches higher than the tanks that I have and the capacity is shown as only 18 gallons.

The tops of my tanks have become concave over the years and that contributed to water, from rinsing primarily, standing on the tops of the tanks and leaking into the tanks around the fuel gauge float assembly. The rubber gaskets had deteriorated over time and allowed some of that standing water into the tanks. When I pulled the pick up tube fitting for the starboard tank, which I was having the problems with, I found the problem immediately. The rubber or soft plastic tube with the small filter on the bottom end had broken off just below where it was crimped onto the fitting and was laying in 2 pieces in the bottom of the tank. The fitting extends about 1 1/2" down into the tank, so when I filled the tank up full, I would pick up fuel through the fitting until I ran about 2 gallons out. Then I would start sucking up air and have to change over to the port side tank.
I used carbuerator cleaner to spray down into the tanks to break up the accumulated crap and then a small amount of gas sloshed around to rinse it out and then a de-greasing cleaner to finish off. The tanks are nice and clean now. Hopefully, the ethanol required to be added to fuel here in FL (as signed into law by our good Governor Charlie Christ a couple of weeks ago) will have nothing to break loose from the inside of the tanks and clog the filters.

I checked with West Marine and a local boat dealer that I know to try and find new pick up tubes, but had no luck. Could not even get recommendations for who could supply those parts. I Googled up Todd Industries and found a number to call. Todd has apparently been aquired by another company called Chemtainer I think. The number I called is (888) 228-7229 and I spoke with Donna @ extension 2500. She was very helpful and told me she would call her contact at the manufacturing plant to see if they were available. I spoke with her later in the day and she said her contact knew exactly what I needed. He said that the tubes were a 5 piece assembly (fitting, hose, screen and 2 crimped connectors each) and they would cost $12.49 each...hallelujah! Shipped out yesterday by UPS ground and should be here by Friday! I will spend evenings this week cleaning out, and opening up the screw holes into the cockpit floor where the tank mounting brackets were fastened and then Marine Tex repair. I'll re-install the tanks this weekend with new SS filler caps and vents and all new hoses and a new water/fuel separator. I bought an in-line filter with replaceable filter cartridges that I am going to install between the fuel pump bulb and the engine. It is clear and I can see if it is getting clogged before the fuel gets to the internal filter on the Honda 75. It's much easier to change out the in-line filter than the one in the engine.

Thanks for all the input and suggestions on working this problem out. Hopefully my solutions may help out some other Brats with a similar problem.

Tad

[lloyds]

In a pinch I have used the hydraulic hose, like the stuff that runs the trim tabs. No screen, but with the bowl I never felt like I needed the screen as a primary filter.