Stainless steel vs plastic vs internal vs external fuel container

[Orwell boy]

well firstly I must have been "living under the stairs " as I bought a highfield 5 metre rib a couple of years ago and athough far from a rib expert, at least I was apprentice trained engineer 38 years ago and I think the product is superb , as an older guy once said to me in the landscape trade ,"they said that about the Honda stationary engines when they first brought them over " now what would you choose and pay a premium for on a lawn mower ??
on the fuel question I personally am not a real fan of built in tanks (even though the highfield has a 90 litre under deck) as modern unleaded absorbs a lot of water very quickly when open to the atmosphere (through breather ) rendering it flat fairly quickly ,so I admit you can take shares in fuel additive company but that's annoying ,
on my rib I have linked a brass quicksilver connector threaded into the outlet of the water removal filter (yes highfield fit as std) and then fuel hose to engine clips on with std tank connector , when inboard tank is empty I clip onto a quicksilver plastic tank and carry on ... in the winter or times of low use I just use the portable tank all the time , I have swallowed enough dud petrol trying to get it out syphoning to last me a lifetime

[sameh]

Originally Posted by GuyC

A number of things I notice:

The fuel filler appears to be in the aft end of the tank which means that once the tank is over a certain amount full, fuel will run up and down the fuel filling tube which I would have thought wasn't ideal. With the shape of the tank this will happen once the tank is a bit more than half full.

The tank sender is just off to starboard which seems OK although may not plumb the bottom of the tank.

There is possibly a fuel pick up at the forward starboard corner. If so and on the assumption the pick up is angled to the bottom of the tank, its probably at the shallowest end of the tank which means you won't get to use all your fuel.

I can't see a breather pipe or, if the fwd stbd corner pipe is the breather, a fuel pick up.

There doesn't appear to be an access 'hatch' in the top for inspection / cleaning.

Finally, it appears that the tank is glassed in. I think that due to differential contraction between the tank and the FRP, the tank will become unstuck from the FRP.

I'm sorry to be critical of your boat particularly as you've obviously invested a lot of time and money on it.

Guy thanks for the comments.appreciate your examination.
Luckily, this is not my boat but a photo from the company as an example for their fuel tanks. My boat is still not built.

I will dig further to have better idea of best fuel tank designs and demand something better to my boat.
You critisim came at the right time. Better now than after getting false tank in my boat.
One question: should filler pipe come from top, not from side?

[GuyC]

Fuel filling lines should be self draining to the tank when the boat is in its normal static trim. In the vast majority of cases the fuel filling line should enter the tank from the top.

One other thing that you may want to ask about is that the metallic components of the tank should be grounded i.e. a non-current carrying wire should be led back to the boats earth. I can't see any electrical connections.

I would be really concerned if that was an example of a fuel tank that I was about to be supplied.

Whilst the forum is useful, most of the posts including mine are personal opinions and opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one.

I would recommend that you seek some independent professional advice on the build quality and more importantly safety of the RIB that you are buying. They will be able to compare it against a recognised build standard and advise you if there are any shortfalls.

[CDK1]

Please define "high quality Chinese".

My Chinese RIB has an internal stainless tank with the stability of an empty beer can. The 2 inch filler neck is mounted low, so fuel can slosh in and out the rubber hose. The tiny air vent is installed near the bow where it can pick up spray and rain drops. They might have omitted installing it: the storage compartment under and behind the seat smells like the tank has no lid at all.

A proper fuel tank should have compartments to keep the fuel in place when the angle of the boat changes. In my RIB when the gauge says 50% at rest, it rises to full when we take off and when my wife goes to the bow to drop the anchor, is says "almost empty". And of course there is no service hatch!

[sameh]

Guys, after your comments, it is evidient that fuel tanks is not the factory specialty. I dropped that from my list. Possible that i will do good stainless fuel tank here locally, inside console or under seat or something like that..
Thanks alot

[treerat]

Hi - out of interest here's an image of the fuel tank location on mine.

If there's an issue the console has to come off but it does mean the deck doesn't need cutting out.

[sameh]

Originally Posted by treerat

Hi - out of interest here's an image of the fuel tank location on mine.

If there's an issue the console has to come off but it does mean the deck doesn't need cutting out.

Thank you. Can you send pictures with the tank?

[treerat]

Originally Posted by sameh

Thank you. Can you send pictures with the tank?

No - as it arrived under the deck with the console on top .

[sameh]

Originally Posted by treerat

No - as it arrived under the deck with the console on top .

[emoji51]