Noticed a wet spot on the pad at home and then at the track, the grass was oily, and several other places we've stopped for a day or so. Removed the stainless cover and
. Sure enough the tank has rusted enough that fuel is coming out, bummer! Decided against JB weld or any other patch. Started removing
which wasn't difficult at all. It's a little tight on the studs spot welded that hold the parallelogram door mechanism. (that's my name for the door mechanism) , i had to cut a little off of them for clearance. Once out, I noticed the barrier between the battery compartment was rusted at the bottom. Finished up the side walls with rust encapsulator and prepared to add a piece to the rusted out area.
. After the applications had dried, added a piece of HDPE to replaced the original plywood
. Once the tank was out, I took some measurements, removed the suction tubes, and was impressed by the size
. The suction tubes extend nearly to the bottom (both Aqua-Hot & generator) however the main engine suction extends into the sump/sediment tank which is about 3 gallons.
Commissioned a friend to build a new tank from aluminum, pictures follow
Coated the bottom with a substance similar to bed liner and zinc chromate to the rest. added the suction fittings and fuel gauge. I made the tank 3/4" shorter than the original to aid in installing (the fill neck was a tight fit upon removal). However I discovered the tanK gauge sender was too tall so, I had to turn out a spacer.
Reinstalling was easy, it was the door that took all day. the tank capacity is 268 gallons now. I figured when the generator runs out of fuel, you've 30 gallons left. there is a low fuel float switch that activates about the same time.
Quite a project but fun anyway. Without labor, cost was about $4,500.
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