Mercury Optimax external oil tank

[xpertski]

Perhaps a silly question but I’m looking at where to place the external Optimax oil tank. It has a bracket which I presume suggests it can be mounted on the transom, and I could fit it in the rear bench seat with a couple other items - batteries and water/fuel separator.... I did explore putting it under deck at the rear because I’m building access to all the under floor as storage but the oil tank is too tall.

Other thoughts were the rear splash well some how, perhaps on top of a stainless grill that would sit on the gap of the splash well, or whether I build a housing for it between the transom supports

... any thoughts and ideas?

[Waterman]

I have mine inside one of the double jockey seats...... easily accessed for top up.
I wouldn’t fancy it exposed at the transom as there is a couple of sensors attached to it and the chance of the oil line getting snagged by someone climbing in etc.

[xpertski]

Originally Posted by Waterman

I have mine inside one of the double jockey seats...... easily accessed for top up.
I wouldn’t fancy it exposed at the transom as there is a couple of sensors attached to it and the chance of the oil line getting snagged by someone climbing in etc.

Yes agree - it looks like there is plenty of room in the bench seat so will put in there [emoji106]

Looking at creating a removable internal shelf so the space above can be kept separate and clutter free/clean - exploring ideas but not worked it out fully yet

[jakew009]

Originally Posted by xpertski

Yes agree - it looks like there is plenty of room in the bench seat so will put in there [emoji106]Attachment 135954Attachment 135957

Looking at creating a removable internal shelf so the space above can be kept separate and clutter free/clean - exploring ideas but not worked it out fully yet

I don’t think the 6mm acrylic would be a good choice - it’ll be way too flimsy unless you went up to 15mm or so and then it’ll be expensive and heavy.

It’s also not the easiest material to work with; it likes to crack when you drill it.

Can you not fibreglass some little battens in along the walls of the seat that the shelf could sit on? Then you could lift it out to access underneath and it would be much stronger.

It might also be worth making the shelf in two half’s. That way you only have to half empty it to refill the oil and would give you a bit more space above the batteries (which you will never need to access).

Finally, maybe it would be worth having the oil tank right at the top? That would you wouldn’t have to lift anything out to get to it to top it up (presumably a relatively frequent activity?)

[Searider]

I have a couple of double jockeys in the back of my RIB. One has the two batteries and the oil tank - a "dirty" space if you like. The other is for storage.

Depending on your usage you might not need to access it that often. It's a 10 litre tank and typically you'll use less than 50:1 fuel to oil ratio. How long will it take you to get through 500 litres of petrol?