Swan 40 Fuel Tank removal & cleaning

Hi has anyone any experience in the removal and cleaning of the S/S fuel tank under the cockpit sole on a swan 40?

I suspect the tank on our 40 Can-Can is fuel of dirt, and I would like to remove the top of the tank to clean it, which only appears possible by removing the woodwork in front of I, between the quarter berths and then pulling the whole tank forward away from the steering gear. And then clean it in this postion, maybe by tilting it forward to gain access.

Can anyone advise how the tank is held in place, bonded, bolted, wedged? And if this is the correct way to do the job, as I plan to tackle this job over the winter.

Many thanks

Jason

Hullo CanCan,

I did this work about 10 years ago in my Swan 40 (Sunniva V, Hull#36) and removed the top of the tank but not the woodwork in front or the quarter berths. It was possible but indeed a very "uncomfortable" way to work. I did not move the tank so the work was quite tricky and it was a real trial of my patience. However it was possible to clean it but I remember that I had wanted that I had had "more joints than one elbow" on the arms and was shorter than 6ft.... Please tell me if you find a better solution as I am afraid that one need to do this cleaning at reagular intervals and I am not looking forward to the next time.

Best regards

Leif

Jason

Suggest you try to empty the tank by inserting a suction hose through the filler line, or through the sounding plug if there is one.

Kind regards

Lars

Hi Jason, I cleaned my tank on 07, it was not that difficult but my boat does not have the woodwork above the tank. I got a 30 gal drum and with a dc Jabsco pump rated for fuel I emptied the tank passing all the fuel through a 500series Racor fuel filter with a 2 micron element. Once empty the tank was cleaned with mineral spirits (2 gallons) and lots and lots of rags. Then I checked all the fittings and replaced hoses (fuel rated) plus added an online fuel valve for convenience. The next step was on the other end, I added a 3-way  valve, one  end was the supply, another end went to the primary fuel filter (Racor 500 with 10 micron element) and the other end went to an in line motorcycle fuel filter then to a  priming pump and from there to the same filter via a t-fitting. The ideal situation was to have the priming pump after the primary filter but I did not have the room. The inline bike filter allows me to see through and visually detect dirt and it also protects the priming pump.

After all the plumbing was done, I put the fuel back on the tank filtering it again. I transfer 5 gallons of fuel at the time and with a teak dip stick (1cm X 1cm X 100cm) inserted through the fuel fill I marked the height of the fuel fill plate on deck and put a notch at the height of every 5 gallons. That is my most accurate fuel gauge. I know it is archaic but it works for me. By the way Jason, as far as I can tell, you can not remove the tank, it is integral into the hull. I also kept the DC transfer pump with the Racor filter and I polish my fuel periodically. In addition to that I use a fuel additive and keep the tank full to prevent condensation.

Regards, Rod

The attached picture shows the inside of the tank.

Hi Leif, many thanks for the information, I am interested how you managed to get the top of the tank off in situ, does Sunniva V have wheel or tiller steering?, Can-Can has wheel steering with the wire pulleys running just over the top of the tank making access very difficult, that’s why I thought I may have to slip the tank forward.

Hi Lars, many thanks for the information, I have already emptied the tank and didn’t want to re-use it as the quality of the fuel / muck that came out of it was very disappointing and I assumed that I would need to physically get into it to remove the dirt.

Hi Jason,

I have wheel steering but the wire pulleys are running to the steering wheel quadrant above and slightly behind the top of the tank, so the access to the tank is possible but tricky. However the drawback is that it is extremely difficult to adjust the wires for connection to the steering wheel quadrant, which was necessary when it loosened while I was far offshore and had to use the reserve tiller until we reached harbour. It was an experience to learn to steer with a tiller pointing backwards! Best regards Leif