Why not bladders?

[robert sailor]

Extra fuel for long trips can very easily be carried in fuel bladders mounted on the coach roof. A better option than Jerry jugs but of course nothing's cheaper than jerry jugs and sailors through nickels around like man hole covers.

[HopCar]

I sold a lot of fuel bladders, ATL and Goodyear, back in the late seventies and early eighties. They always bought a number 410 chart of the Caribbean and paid with twenty dollar bills. It was very strange.

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

One of the main challenges with bladders is chafe. They have to be securely mounted, but in a way that avoids all chafe. I think baffling is also an issue for big bladders.

Line a bladder's nook with corrugated cardboard, like cardboard box material, and the chafe will be a lot less.

[40 South]

Never touching bladders again!

Case 1.
Had two water bladders made, about 100lt each. Fitted one under a settee in the main saloon and filled. The next day all the timber around the bladder was damp. Out with the bladder. Lay on some carpet and refill.

Guess what....the material was porous!
It developed small droplets on the outside of the material.

After several months of arguing with the manufacturer I got my money back.

I have now fitted a custom fibreglass tank.

Case 2.
I had a diesel transport bladder made to fit the tray of my ute along with a bund to catch any leaks. At the first fill it leaked through a seam. It went back for repairs. Because of the manufacturing process it could not be repaired. Money back again.

Case 3.
I had another diesel transport bladder made by a different manufacturer. This one was OK until about year 3 when it developed a pinhole in the fabric. Out of warranty so out it went. I bought a plastic tank to replace it.

Case 4.
I did a delivery of a 40' Roberts (yacht), Melbourne to Brisbane. About Coffs Harbour we noticed water on the saloon floor, you guessed it....the Plasimo bladder split!
We removed the bladder and filled the split corner with sikaflex and allow to set.

No more bladders for me.

[NorthernMac]

Originally Posted by 40 South

Never touching bladders again!

Case 1.
Had two water bladders made, about 100lt each. Fitted one under a settee in the main saloon and filled. The next day all the timber around the bladder was damp. Out with the bladder. Lay on some carpet and refill.

Guess what....the material was porous!
It developed small droplets on the outside of the material.

After several months of arguing with the manufacturer I got my money back.

I have now fitted a custom fibreglass tank.

Case 2.
I had a diesel transport bladder made to fit the tray of my ute along with a bund to catch any leaks. At the first fill it leaked through a seam. It went back for repairs. Because of the manufacturing process it could not be repaired. Money back again.

Case 3.
I had another diesel transport bladder made by a different manufacturer. This one was OK until about year 3 when it developed a pinhole in the fabric. Out of warranty so out it went. I bought a plastic tank to replace it.

Case 4.
I did a delivery of a 40' Roberts (yacht), Melbourne to Brisbane. About Coffs Harbour we noticed water on the saloon floor, you guessed it....the Plasimo bladder split!
We removed the bladder and filled the split corner with sikaflex and allow to set.

No more bladders for me.

My only other experiences have been with bladder wing tanks in aircraft, including my current plane, I much prefer them to a wet wing.

Also took a look, the bladders the boat has now are Nauta brand

[BlueH2Obound]

Originally Posted by 40 South

Never touching bladders again!

Case 1.
Had two water bladders made, about 100lt each. Fitted one under a settee in the main saloon and filled. The next day all the timber around the bladder was damp. Out with the bladder. Lay on some carpet and refill.

Guess what....the material was porous!
It developed small droplets on the outside of the material.

After several months of arguing with the manufacturer I got my money back.

I have now fitted a custom fibreglass tank.

Case 2.
I had a diesel transport bladder made to fit the tray of my ute along with a bund to catch any leaks. At the first fill it leaked through a seam. It went back for repairs. Because of the manufacturing process it could not be repaired. Money back again.

Case 3.
I had another diesel transport bladder made by a different manufacturer. This one was OK until about year 3 when it developed a pinhole in the fabric. Out of warranty so out it went. I bought a plastic tank to replace it.

Case 4.
I did a delivery of a 40' Roberts (yacht), Melbourne to Brisbane. About Coffs Harbour we noticed water on the saloon floor, you guessed it....the Plasimo bladder split!
We removed the bladder and filled the split corner with sikaflex and allow to set.

No more bladders for me.

Craig, MOST people would have learned after the SECOND experience Just saying!

[carlosproa]

I had waste water bladders in my old CAL39 and love it, I don’t remember the brand but it was indestructible. I understand the new bladders in the market today may have quality issues

[Tayana42]

I’m not advocating for or against bladders but some times they can be a viable option. I’ve reported before that due to a diesel fuel leak in one of my black iron tanks which was built in below the sole under the galley and could not be repaired or replaced without major demolition I chose to install a high quality custom bladder inside the existing tank. It has worked well for me for 16 years so far.

It required opening up the top of the tank to remove the baffles in the tank and grind them down smooth so as not to have any chafe on the bladder. I also padded the inside of the iron tank with rubber decking tiles before inserting the bladder. You want a high quality bladder tank builder to manufacture one to the exact dimensions of the inside of your existing tank so you need to measure the rhomboid shaped tank very carefully.


I used Aero Tec Laboratories, Inc.
Spear Road
Ramsey, New Jersey 07440


201-825-1400
ATL@ATLINC.COM


Cost for the bladder and fittings was $1296 in 2004. That was in addition to the cost of grinding out the baffles in the iron tank and installing the bladder.