Fuel tank bladder
 

I have an older boat with a single SSMIII and a brand-spanking new 540ci EFI motor, and a main fuel tank which has just recently started leaking to the bilge :mad:. I've already contacted two companies regarding fuel bladders that can be installed inside the existing tank. I don't want to go through the hassle of tearing the deck and two bulkheads apart to get the old tank out. Looks like a high quality bladder with my choice of fittings will run $1000-1500, and probably 5-10 hours of my time to install, compared with probably $750 for a custom tank, and most likely 40+ hours of nasty fiberglass work.

Does anyone here have experience with this and any good recommendations? I'm waiting on quotes from ATL and Aircraft Rubber Inc. Anyone know any others?

Thanks!

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

i am not sure but i beleive years ago car companys made them for older corvettes and if fuel level ran low they would collapse and vacuum could not let them open again , not sore something i heard long time ago

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

We use Fuel Safe.

You can find them at http://www.fuelsafe.com/

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Just don't offer me a ride in your boat. Those gas vapors will be in a confined space for a very long time. That makes for a very nice floating bomb. As painful as it may be, do the job right.

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Make sure it is not leaking from the Fuel guage sending unit. The gasket is an easy replace!

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Good point. Happened to me.

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Just to ease Cord's worries, I'll be running a vented bladder from Aircraft Rubber Inc (FuelSafe). It will function just like a regular tank, just without the trickle of gasoline into the bilge. The folks that built my boat weren't thinking too far ahead, and didn't make any accesses to the fuel tank whatsoever. Therefore any project on this is going to involve a fair amount of cutting, even to check the level sender. I'm just going to go ahead and order the bladder, and then I can cut into the tank without having to worry about how to put it back together.

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Just to follow up on this old post, I finally got my fuel bladder, and got it installed. It turned into a project, but that's what boats are for, right? I cut several access holes to the old tank, cut out the four baffles and vent line from inside, ground everything smooth, sheeted the insides with 1/8" rubber, then installed the bladder. I went with a custom bladder from ATL, and they were great to work with. I got all the fittings I wanted, and a Gaffrig-type level probe. The ATL bladders (used in many race boats) are completely packed with foam, so there is no free surface, and lower chance of explosion than a regular tank. I had to take all the foam out to stuff the bladder down into the tank, but it was very easy. Attached are the pictures. If anyone else on here runs into leaky tank problems from years of 95 mph running and doesn't want to tear the whole boat up, this is a viable option. It does cost significantly more (about $2200 for the bladder vice about $600 for a custom tank), but you save tons in fiberglass work, new flooring, and the headaches that go with that. For the do-it-yourselfer, this works great.

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

Don't know what happened to the pictures, but hopefully they will upload this time... Oh, I forgot the maximum picture size.

Re: Fuel tank bladder
 

And the last two...