PDA

View Full Version : Anyone interested in NEW Plastic Donzi Gas Tanks ?



silverghost
05-02-2011, 06:01 PM
One of the biggest issues we have with our 35+ year old Donzi 18s & 16s is old rusted corroded, and dangerous fuel tanks with pin-holes.
Gasoline fumes in your boat's bilge can be very dangerous, if not deadly.
It seems to be standard practice in restoring these older boats to remove the deck and replace the old dangerous fuel tanks.

I am thinking of contacting several high quality builders of the newer injection roto-cast molded cross-linked Polyethylene plastic fuel tanks used on many new high-cost/quality boats & RVs to see IF they will build custom Donzi tanks for us..
These tanks meet all new Coast Guard safety reguations.

As a side note I have a 1988 skiboat that has had such a 47 gallon "Poly" gas tank since it was new.
I have had NO issues with this plastic tank.
All these years later it is just like new. It is 3/8" thick.
It sits in the stern of my boat and often sits in bilge & salt water after a heavy rain with no issues.
It does NOT leak gas fumes as some have often stated...
With the new ethanol blended fuels that we are now forced to use in our boats traditional Aluminum & tin-coated Steel tanks now will have a corrosion & rust issue in the future.
Thesenew fuel blends attract water & condenstion.
These new fuel blends are also very corrosive as we all have found out latey.
The cross-linked polyethylene tanks are 100% immune to water & ethanol based fuels. It will NOT attack them.
They meet all NEWER Coast Guard safety regulations in all new boats.

The tank-builder's mold tooling & set-up costs might be quite high indeed to build such a tank for our older Donzi 16s &18s .
I would be willing to pay for these mold & tooling costs IF there is enough interest in these "Poly" plastic tanks.

My questions to the Donzi forum members here are as follows.

1) Would you be willing to use a new "Poly" plastic tank in your next older Donzi 16 & 18 rstoration ?
Would you actually BUY "Poly" plastic over the Aluminum fabricated tanks most owners buy & use today for their restoration ?

2) What size tank would you like to see manufactured ?
Original size & capacity ?
OR~~~ A Larger size ?

3) Where should the inlets & outlets & fuel gauge level sender be located ?
What type of sender ?

4) Do you want a "Poly" tank with internal baffles ?
Where should these baffles be located ~~~Fore & aft ?
How many baffles?
It would cost more to add these baffles.

5) Should an additional fuel line inlet be added for a [possible fuel return line for use with the newer fuel injected engines ?
It will also cost more for this feature ?

6) Should any new mounting brackets or "Ears" be added o these new plastic tanks ?
If-so~~
Where shoud these be located?

7) What price range would you be willing to pay for a new coss-linked polyethylene gas/fuel tank?

8) Can ONE custom tank be built that will meet BOTH the needs of most 16 & 18 Boat owners ?
Can ONE tank work on both size Donzi boats ?

Let me know your thoughts & opinion on this new "Poly" plastic proposed tank building project .

Would YOU buy & install one yourself in your Donzi 16 or 18 restoration project ?

Grizz (Randy) talked Solas into building the Titan Propeller for old Volvo 270-280 outdrives~~~
Maybe we can get a "poly" plastic tank manufacturer into building us some new Donzi 16 & 18 fuel tanks ?

After I get enough feeback on our Donzi forum here I MAY look into this project~~~
IF, and only IF there is enough interest.
There seems to be a need out there?

We shall see ?

I would then sell these tanks myself IF the builder will not build them on their own cost for speculation because of the mold & tooling costs.

Perhapps they may choose to market the tanks themselves ?
That would be much better !

Let's hear your feedback & opinions !

silverghost
05-02-2011, 07:20 PM
I have to add here that nobody is going to make any real money having custom "Poly" plastic fuel tanks built.
In fact~~~ It would most likely be a BIG $$$ money loser.

I just want all your feedback & opinions on this idea before I actually explore this gas-tank project with the four or five marine & RV fuel tank builders out there.

Do the NEW production Donzi 18 & 16 "Classics" have a "Poly" plastic fuel tank ?
Most new production boats built in the USA today do in-fact use them.
IF SO~~~
Who actually builds these Donzi 16 & 18 model specific Cross-linked "Poly" plastic tanks ; & is there a builder's part number for them ?

donzidon
05-03-2011, 12:02 AM
I am a fan of plastic, but I think the cost of a custom molded tank would be prohibitive. The idea of running down Donzi's current supplier is a very good one. They will have researched and solved the size & placement questions in the current hull. They also probably have the best fuel tank sender solution. My gas gauge starts off slow and then drops like a rock when it hits 1/4. I ran out going to the gas dock when I first had it. The wife was not amused.

LKSD
05-03-2011, 06:13 AM
Aluminum or plastic is the way to go these days.. The galvanized is what to stay clear of. Also if using aluminum I coat them before install..

The later 16 & 22 has plastic tanks, I think the 18 is was still using aluminum.. I offer tanks for them. In some cases larger capacities are possible. I would not really consider any of them cheap, but I can get them from the original manufacturer in some cases & I also do some custom builds & replacements..

I'm here if anyone needs me.. :) Jamie / Lakeside Restorations

Just Say N20
05-03-2011, 06:33 AM
1) Would you be willing to use a new "Poly" plastic tank in your next older Donzi 16 & 18 rstoration ? If replacement aluminum was $350, and plastic was $550, sure.
Would you actually BUY "Poly" plastic over the Aluminum fabricated tanks most owners buy & use today for their restoration ? I have no problem with plastic tanks, as they nicely address the issues you mentioned. However, if I'm doing a restoration, and replace the tank with another aluminum one, I figure I'm good for at least another 25 years. It seems unlikely that I will own the boat in 25 years. If they were similarly priced. Sure.

2) What size tank would you like to see manufactured ?
Original size & capacity ?
OR~~~ A Larger size ? Initially, original size. This would increase the potential market to include those who just need to replace the tank, not just those who are doing a complete restoration, and are willing to move bulkheads to accept a larger tank.

3) Where should the inlets & outlets & fuel gauge level sender be located ?
What type of sender ? Inlet and fuel vent at the front, sender and fuel withdrawal at the rear.

4) Do you want a "Poly" tank with internal baffles ?
Where should these baffles be located ~~~Fore & aft ?
How many baffles?
It would cost more to add these baffles. I would have at least one baffle in a 24-ish gallon tank.

5) Should an additional fuel line inlet be added for a [possible fuel return line for use with the newer fuel injected engines ? Having it available even if not used makes a lot of sense.
It will also cost more for this feature ?

6) Should any new mounting brackets or "Ears" be added o these new plastic tanks ?
If-so~~
Where shoud these be located? 2 per side, as stringer height seems to be consistent?

7) What price range would you be willing to pay for a new coss-linked polyethylene gas/fuel tank? $0 - $600.

8) Can ONE custom tank be built that will meet BOTH the needs of most 16 & 18 Boat owners ?
Can ONE tank work on both size Donzi boats ? The tanks in my 1976 X-18, 1979 18 2+3, and 1967 Ski-Sporter (not the original tank) all hold about the same amount; 23 - 24 gallon. However I don't know if the tank shape was exactly the same, which would make them interchangeable.



Interesting idea. With all the work I have done on my boat to this point, and all the corresponding money spent, even though the current tank (1995 manufacture date, passed all the inspections with flying colors) is fine, I would spend about $500 for a plastic tank, knowing it would be good to go from here on out.

RedDog
05-03-2011, 06:59 AM
The 1990 18 Donzi I use to have had a poly tank - something around 42 gallons?

roadtrip se
05-03-2011, 08:24 AM
Nice to have, but not really needed. Most stock fuel injected motors are closed loop and you don't really need a return until the custom horsepower really starts getting high, like 600HP+. Even then, there are very simple return systems like the one available from Hardin, that install in the fuel fill tube. I would think polly would be a nice option.

Tidbart
05-03-2011, 09:30 AM
Just a thought, don't try to combine the 16s and 18s into one tank.

B

Moeller is one of the biggest makers of plastic tanks. They did the plastic 22 tanks.

OFFSHORE GINGER
05-03-2011, 04:25 PM
Hey guys ATL ,makes some nice tanks from Aluminum to Bladders and Rotor molded tanks with baffles . www.atlfuelcells.com (http://www.atlfuelcells.com)

silverghost
05-24-2011, 07:58 PM
There seems to be very little forum interest in tooling-up for any Crossed-linked Poly Plastic Gas Tank reproduction project.

Last Call ?

boatnut
05-26-2011, 11:58 AM
I would be a customer if a plastic tank was available to work in my '69 18. I won't bother to answer all your other questions at this point as I am not sure what the right answers are. Original size would be sufficient for me. As an added note, some imply that Aluminum is as good as plastic, in the aspect of the corrosion you get when you allow moisture to get to the metal and not enough oxygen (air) aluminum, galv. steel, and stainless steel will all corrode. Either some super coating to keep the moisture away from the metal or plastic is the only protection when you foam in a tank and allow moisture without air flow to get to it. Ed

Forrest
05-26-2011, 03:01 PM
I'll be buying a new tank for my 1972 16 one of the days soon. If a nice plastic tank were available, I would buy it. Othewise, I'll buy an RDS (http://www.rdsaluminum.com/marine-custom.html) aluminum tank.

VetteLT193
05-26-2011, 03:49 PM
I'll be buying a new tank for my 1972 16 one of the days soon. If a nice plastic tank were available, I would buy it. Othewise, I'll buy an RDS (http://www.rdsaluminum.com/marine-custom.html) aluminum tank.

A good friend of mine parents' own RDS and even I couldn't get a deal on a tank. RDS bought a ton of aluminum in bulk many years ago and they ran out a while back, so the prices are through the roof now... and they don't seem to want the business.

Forrest
05-27-2011, 12:28 AM
. . . and they ran out a while back, so the prices are through the roof now... and they don't seem to want the business.
Ouch! I think that I bought both tanks custom designed and built for my Magnum from RDS back around 2002 for about $550.

gcarter
05-27-2011, 07:01 AM
Forrest, I don't know if you saw it, but I used a different tank mfgr for the TR, Best Fab in Bartow.
They did an extraordinary job and they offer coal tar epoxy coating for $50.00. Their overall pricing was very fair.
Here's my thread on it;
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=50476&page=63

Forrest
05-27-2011, 10:56 AM
Looks like a nice tank job, George.

Bartow huh? I haven't been to or through Bartow in quite a while, but believe it or not, my work has taken me there more than once in the past. The main reason that I would use RDS is that they are about 50 miles from where I live and I could easily run down to Perry, FL, and pick it up saving the freight charges. However, with a little more gas in the Excursion, I could make Bartow work as well.

Thanks for the tip!

VetteLT193
05-27-2011, 11:00 AM
Ouch! I think that I bought both tanks custom designed and built for my Magnum from RDS back around 2002 for about $550.

I think the 22 classic tank, from memory, is $800 or $850 now. I don't recall exactly. :bonk:

George's deal is much better.:cool: