Leak in watertank

Marc Rainaldo

Marc Rainaldo

Active Member
Apr 18, 2019
260
Netherlands
Boat Info
Sea Ray 500 DA 1994
Engines
Detroit diesel 6v92
0B3A06F2-2E78-4C61-8396-335D52589822.jpeg
hello all, I have a crack with small hole in my watertank. Sea Ray 500da 1994.
Does anyone knows What kind of material this watertank is?

The acces to the leak is not good, I dont want to take carpet off and make a hole in te Floor for welding. If possible I want to use kit or something but I need to know What kind of material the tank is.

In the red circle there is a hole

Thanks for effort
 
Usually made from rotomolded plastic. JB Weld makes same 2 part adhesives that may work to repair.
 
hottoddie said:
Usually made from rotomolded plastic. JB Weld makes same 2 part adhesives that may work to repair.
Click to expand...


That might work but what would be helpful is a broader picture of the tank itself. That area looks like a molded brace or support of some kind which could help explain the crack.

I had to cut one out of my 1994 years ago and it was tough rotomolded plastic which makes me wonder why his cracked.
 
Short of major surgery to R&R the tank an attempt to repair would make sense. Cleaning up the area with a Dremel tool and some type of reinforcing mesh along with some 2 part material such as J&B Weld plastic repair might work out. Note the boat is in the Netherlands and must get pretty cold. I wonder if someone in the past did not drain the tank and ice caused the crack.
 
Boat just arrived in the Netherlands for a month now, previous berth was Italy. I order jb weld and When arrive I continue.

The crack is on top so I dont think ice caused the crack

To be continued.....
 
I would expect the tank to be polyethylene. However, at least on my computer screen, the tank almost appears to be fiberglass? But, going on the PE assumption... one thing to be aware of with "plastic" epoxies is that typically don't stick well to slippery plastics like PE. Or, for them to have a possibility of working, you have to first "heat treat" the plastic with a blow torch.
 
Marc Rainaldo said:
Boat just arrived in the Netherlands for a month now, previous berth was Italy. I order jb weld and When arrive I continue.

The crack is on top so I dont think ice caused the crack

To be continued.....
Click to expand...

If that is the top of the tank then the fix Hotoddie (JB Weld) suggested will work fine (just sand the area so it is roughed up a bit). Without seeing a wider frame picture....I'll speculate that the molded brace helps keep the tank in place. If the tank brace made contact with the fiberglass structure next to it.....that will explain why it cracked.
 
endless seas said:
What about 5200?
Click to expand...

That is a good suggestion as well....that stuff sticks to everything. I have much less concern because it is the top of the tank and there is almost zero pressure at that location. My only concern is that something caused the crack and possibly a more flexible sealant (like 5200) may hold up better than if that area continues to flex.
 
That "molded brace" might be the water fill. Which may mean addressing the fill hose as it might be putting pressure on the "brace".
 
It looks like the crack goes around the corner... In addition to what I mentioned above, is that rectangular piece rubbing against that fiberglass part directly above it? That could have cause the crack, as well - constantly pushing on it if the tank shifted slightly. That would need to be addressed, as well.
 
DB1ACCFA-82C2-4B96-8C6D-91B1A08E5938.jpeg


The crack is in the circle

In 2017 the previous owner had an accident at Night When anchor, wind was turning and hitting Some cliff, a lot of damage on the bottom and everything was repaired, Maybe with that hit the tank got a blast too.
After that accident his wife got scared and they didnt go out for 2 years and put boat in sale.
Big Problem now is that you cant acces the spot in a good way so I have to do everything with a stick or something.

The crack is now free from obstacles so I hope after repair it wont go bigger. After repair I Gonna pay attention with filling and stop at time, normally I forget the filling Some times :(
 
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OK, so definitely a brace as mentioned above. Just double check the other side of that brace for good measure. In the end, it's only fresh water - so your idea of filling partially will certainly work and probably eliminate water splashing out 99% of the time.
 
I'm impressed he found the leak given the location. The accident would explain it....Just seal it and fill the tank to the 3/4 mark.
 
To found the leak was pretty easy, I filled the tank and looked. Lucky the leak is on top. Because of the pressure the water squirted out very hard.

I just noticed the wooden beam that holds the tank in place is loose on the left side. Probably it went up and down and caused the crack.

Normally easy job but how to acces. I loosen the carpet in guest room but no hatch to find.
I messured distance to a possible hatch and Its under a closet.
I already removed bottom but another wooden bottomplate is in the way.

To repair correctly I have to attach the wooden beam also to avoid smashing on the tank again. In worst case I can do, after the jb weld job, a pur foam job between tank and beam by attaching a long thin pipe on the foam syringe.
 
Marc,

Save yourself the effort and cut a hole and install one of these on the floor above the tank in the closet. That way you can get all the access you need without "sticks and things." It will give you direct access to the area. They come in different sizes and are pretty inexpensive. The hardest part is making sure you have the right location. What I do is drill a small hole and push a wire coat hanger thru to make sure I have the right spot.

A 8" hole saw makes short work of drilling the hole out but requires a big drill. In a pinch you can also use a jig saw if you have enough clearance.



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After his last post about the floor of the closet, I was thinking the exact same thing, John. Work smarter, not harder. If needed, a rectangular (and larger) access hatch could be used, as well. I can't think of a single, good, reason to NOT do this.
 
Dennis,

There is an interesting piece of wood with what looks like bolts/screws in it above the tank (see picture). That might be what Marc has run into at the base of the closet. You won't know without an exploration hole.
 
Hmmm. You're right, John. I wonder if that is directly above the area in question? Looking at it, compared to the hose ties, it does appear to be at least partly above. It must be reinforcement for something above, I would think. However, there still may be a way to get to it, even if it's not directly above. I'd have to look at a schematic, though. A nice exploration hole, though, would be nice! A little snake camera could help.
 
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