flexible fuel tanks

[ladydiane]

I am looking for :

1. sources for flexible diesel fuel tanks in the range of 85 to 100 gallons.

2. anyone with experience using these tanks on a sailboat

I need to take out my 110 gallon steel diesel tanks, and am considering using flexible fuel tanks. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[engcon]

I have a 50 Gal diesel tank in my 40' Endeavour and I can't wait to get rid of it. It was installed by the previous owner and is not so good. There is no way to measure fuel remaining and it is very slow to fill. I will replace it with a custom stainless tank as soon as it comes out of the water.

[sailingdog]

One problem I see with using large flexible bladder tanks is that they are more prone to free surface effects than a properly designed rigid tank, as they do not have baffles.

[Valiente]

I know they exist, but I have the perhaps unsubstantiated belief that these tanks are best in smaller sizes. I replaced a 15 gallon Monel tank with an 11 gallon Tempo plastic tank for gas, because I wanted an extra fall for a spare sheet, and this gave me the space in the locker. But when you are talking 100 gallons, that's a big sucker. I have no idea how thick the walls of that would be in order to be safe, and I wonder if it internally baffled or otherwise supported.

[Sailormann]

Vetus makes flexible tanks. I think you can order customs sizes .... I have no idea of how they perform. Comments above sound logical though...

http://www.vetus.nl/digcat/DIGCAT_20...ges/digcat.php