Cracked weld on fuel tank?
 

Just wondering if anyone has ever cracked a weld on an aluminum fuel tank?
My tanks are less than a year old. Running offshore about 30 miles out at the end of the summer on a relatively flat day when I started smelling fuel. The tanks where topped off the day before so I thought maybe fuel sloshing around had leaked out of the sensor. Ran back pulled the boat, resealed fuel sensor, topped off tanks. No leaks on the top, straps are tight holding tanks with no movement.
I'm draining fuel now to pull the tanks to further investigate problem.

get a pro to do the repairs a 100gallon tank full of fume being lit up by a torch would be ugly.......

I have had mine fixed. The shop I used filled the tank with CO2 and then welded it. They told me that the main reason for this is not that the welds crack, but instead small holes from electrolisis. Make sure your ground wires are intact. Both ends of them. Should be one from the sender to ground, and one from there to the fuel fill. If you get any water in your bilge, and have no ground, electrolisis will occure. My tank had 3 small pin holes in it. Leaked out gallons a day though. Had to remove the tank on the water at the marina. Had to get special permission to do it too. Sucked!!!!

if you're bringing it someplace rinse that thing out with soapy water really well to get out the vapors many places won't touch it if it smells like gas spark, spark, KABOOM

Try calling a few semi truck repair places. As I understand it, they fix tanks all the time.

We repair aluminum fuel tanks regularly. We ask the customer to clean the tank out with soap and water. If they don't do it we charge to do it. We generally see tanks last about 10 years in our area and that's operated in salt water.

A common problem we have found is one or more of the baffles in the tank was not properly welded so it beats against the side of the tank and wears a hole through. The repair of the tank is the easy part, getting it out and back in is the hard part.

Matt

yeah, getting it out required the entire interior of my boat to be removed. Bolsters, back seat, floor. What a mess. Somewhere I have pics...... I'll see if I can find them!!