Fuel tank hole repair

[MBrawley]

Looking for suggestions for repairing a hole that was punched through a plastic type fuel tank. Will ABS plastic plumbing pipe glue work on the tank plastic?



Thanks

Mike B

 

[JLandry]

Mike,



I'm not aware of any type of adhesive that'll adequately stick to our plastic tanks and resist fuel... maybe someone else will know. There are a couple of mechanical way to attack the problem...



If you are willing to drop the tank and can reach the hole from inside through the sender module access hole, then the best way is to cleanly drill out the hole to the minimum size necessary to install a bolt with fiber sealing washers under the head and nut. Drill the hole using a step drill for the cleanest edges:



#ad




A more sophisticated approach (if you're willing to drop the tank) is to drill the hole out as mentioned above, then install a bulkhead fitting with a pipe plug in it. One can be ordered here:



Tank Bulkhead Fitting



If you absolutely don't want to drop the tank, then you can drill the hole out and install a special rubber fuel tank grommet like this in said hole:



Tank Grommet



... then into the rubber grommet you would lubricate and insert a shutoff valve like this:



Fuel Valve



... or possibly instead of a fuel valve you could machine your own flush fitting plug (I'm not aware of any being sold).



Best regards,



John L.

 

[Hoefler]

Look for a RV holding tank repair kit. You will most likely have to remove the tank to clean the area and keep it clean while doing the repair.

 

[JHardwick]

You could have a patch welded over it too.

 

[msperos]

The tanks are Polyethylene, Find A plastic fabrication shop they can weld it up for you or find a plastic tank distributor, they may be able to spin weld on a patch with a router. We do it here in Denver with good results. I stock the plugs but you would need a big router and the adaptor for the router to patch.