How To Troubleshoot and Maintain Boat Gas Tanks?

by Brandon Hefner Custom Marine Fuel Tanks

Your ride, safety, and pleasure on water depending on what is in your tank. You won’t enjoy the blunder of not having sufficient fuel, a cranking motor, or a sputtering engine that can put a break on your day. The biggest concern of boaters is water build-up inside their aluminum fuel tanks. When it comes to boat gas tanks, you should not take chances and take all the cautions. Regular troubleshoots and maintenance is important to keep the tank and boat in the proper state.

After a long break when you start your boat without any patronage, you increase the possibility of breakdowns. The motor might fail to start and run the boat due to contamination and poor care.

Common Fuel Tank Issues

If you’re struggling to propel the engine like before, there might be a problem in the boat gas tanks. You should start investigating the issues from the fuel system. The tanks are installed under the floor and thus there remains a little room for boaters to remove it or drain it. The ethanol-based fuel is the main headache for them as it catches the moisture and creates corrosion.

The ethanol blend can be dangerous and this is why you should always trust E10 which is suitable for two and four-stroke engines. Apart from moisture, ethanol also reacts with other plastic components, particularly in older outboards. E10 fuel can save a huge cost of repairing or replacing the entire engine or any other underlying part.

If you’re re-launching your boat after three or four week’s gap, you may check for staled fuel. It is better to drain the remaining fuel when you tend to take a long break from offshore. But in case you forget or fails to drain it, you should utilize some type of fuel stabilizers. The unleaded fuel usually starts degrading in a few weeks in high-temperature conditions.

As mentioned earlier, water build-up is the main concern and that happens when air gets in contact with the tank. Naturally, air contains moisture which sits in the tank and dilutes the fuel. It is best to buy aluminum fuel tanks and keep the water away from the tank by preventing condensation.

Troubleshooting

Again start the troubleshooting procedure from the tank. If you own a fishing angler boat, first of all, remove all the remaining dirt from angler gas tanks. Drain the fuel using the siphon method and let the sun rays enter into it. The next step is changing the fuel filters that are prone to fire from heat. Choose standard filters marked with ISO that are designed for specific fuel-type. A dirty set of filters can affect the performance of your engine.

You should check the fuel lines and vents whether they are intact. If you notice any debris or blocking in the fuel line, it may reduce the flow of fuel to the engine and can also deteriorate the motor.

Maintenance

You can maintain the fuel tank by avoiding corrosion, leaks, ethanol-based fuel, water build-up, and dirty filters. Most of the boat gas tanks made from quality material are long-lasting. But in case your tank is rusted and bearing a couple of leaks, it is better to replace it with a new one. Clean the tank regularly to prevent contamination and sludge. Before doing anything yourself, you should contact professional tank manufacturers for ideal opinion.