What's My 1950 gas Tank Made of?

[cmeke0870]

I am guessing galvinized steel. 1950 Cruiser 30" It seems to have a green patina on it. From my searches of the forum it seems that I should replace the tanks which I think I will. Since I have the bottom off the boat now is the time. Prior owner did cedar decking on top of these tanks so going up and out not an option.

[cmeke0870]

They seem to be copper! Or something like that. Has a weathered green patina and when I rub that off it appears to be copper. Is this possible?

[Wood Commander]

I would think your tanks are galvanized steel painted gray.

You should have a center hatch in the aft deck between the two tanks that you can cut out the plank seams even with, and aft from the opening, with the aft seat base also removed and out of the way, that might give you enough room for tank removal. Then you can put extra framing in underneath, reinstall the cut out piece and recaulk the cut seams and you won't be able to tell the piece of deck was removed.

I would think going out the bottom would be tough. Even if all of the bottom frames in that area were removed, you would still have the engine stringers to get past.

[Wood Commander]

Oh, and not only the engine stringers, but the sister keels as well.

[RRGadow]

It will probably only work coming out thru the deck. Im replacing my deck so they will come out rather easy...but im also struggling with what to do...they are galvanized steel and not leaking so I may stay with them....or Im going to replace them with some nice plastic ones.

[cmeke0870]

Yes going out the bottom doesn't seem possible unless I cut up the tank. These tanks must be replacements though. They appear to be copper-nickle. I feel fairly sure Chris Craft didn't put in copper-nickle tanks in 1950 (or probably ever). Supposedly such tanks should last a very long time so maybe I don't need to replace??

[cmeke0870]

Hey RR--I found lots of old threads about galvanized tanks and the advice was pretty consistent to replace them. Apparently they are very questionable after a few years and will develop hard to detect pinholes that allow gas vapor to escape. If I had Galv steel they would definitely come out

[campjer]

Here I am about to head down near Windsor to put the back end of the DCFB back together. Now you guys have me reconsidering putting the galvanized tanks back in. Is the consensus that people have moved to plastic?

[Wood Commander]

Fittwermee.......... I'd definately want to pull the tanks out while/if I had either the deck or the transom apart, for a good tank inspection at least.
Cruiser tanks are a bit awckward to deal with, being big, heavy and having interior baffles. But they can be cleaned out and it is much easier out of the boat.

I would reuse my old tanks if I found them to be in good repair, haven't been experiencing any previous problems with them, and felt I could do a good job of cleaning them out properly.
In the past I have cleaned cruiser tanks out to a useable condition by soaking them with mineral spirits and laquer thinner, sloshing everything all around as vigorously as possible, and then using elbowed fittings on a steam jenny pressure washer to blas everything down inside as best I could.

My tanks were not horribly bad, and it was not a totally perfect cleanout. But it was a reasonable piece of maintenance that gave dependable service. But somebody elses situation could be quite different.

[cmeke0870]

Have verified these things are copper-nickle. Wow! Somebody spent some bucks to buy these babies. I guess I will pressure test them and see if they are still good. The walls are very thick. Supposedly the Navy uses copper-nickle tanks and they last quite a while.