Hi All Owners , Has anyone looked inside their diesel fuel tanks , recently ?
My BCC is a 1985 vintage , I installed two inspection plates in the aluminum fuel tank , first to swamp out any fuel sludge and water , in an effort to avoid sudden engine stopage during port manovures .
What I found was that water droplets had contacted the aluminum tank floor and pitted it .
Of course I moped out that water and a small amount of diesel sludge , but did notice that the tank bottom was rough and pitted where the water droplets contacted it .
After that , there seemed little that I could do , I have continued to watch, (once a year) to see if any further pittimg or corrosion was evident !
Since I have not noticed any further tank bottom pitting , I suspect that is because there is no further condensed fresh water or “Salt Water” has entered the tank .
I don’t know how deep the old pits are in that inside surface . Although brown discolored , the tank sides , appear smooth and un-pitted .
Using a face mirror , to inspect the inside welded joints , there appears to be no pitting or corrosion anywhere in the tank , otherwise on the tank floor .
I did wish that our tanks had a water trap on the botton that could be drained , but alas , that must have been an expensive option .