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fuel tank drain for Outrage
jorders	#1  Posted on 05/22/09 - 10:17 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 125 Comments: 3 Joined: 07/06/06	my outrage has the original fuel tank in it and i was wondering if the coffin it sits in has a drain to let water out.
Blackduck	#2  Posted on 05/22/09 - 10:27 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 519 Comments: 0 Joined: 02/25/06	It drains to the rear sump.
JDooley	#3  Posted on 05/22/09 - 12:01 PM
Member Posts: 4 Comments: 0 Joined: 10/07/05	Based on pictures I've seen of the fuel tank cavity of an Outrage 18, it does not have a drain tube. I believe some people have even installed a pump system to remove water that may get in there...and usually does. Here is a link to member's Outrage 18 fuel tank replacement project. Look through all the photos, he's done a nice restoration and very well documented with photos. I'll probably be replacing my fuel tank on a similar 18 this fall. Still trying to get a better handle on the tank shipping costs from Florida Marine Tank (OEM source). http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff16/linwoodthompson/Tank%20Removal/
jorders	#4  Posted on 05/22/09 - 12:22 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 125 Comments: 3 Joined: 07/06/06	wow, great pics. thanks. i did not see any way for water to get out of the tank cavity naturally. would Whaler not plan for water getting into this area or is it sealed off around it from the factory?
JDooley	#5  Posted on 05/22/09 - 1:16 PM
Member Posts: 4 Comments: 0 Joined: 10/07/05	Water can and often does enter the fuel tank cavity through the port side fuel fill tunnel access whole behind the plastic under gunnel plate, leaking Beckson deck plates, failing caulk around fuel tank deck pannel and the fuel line access hole which leads from rear tank cavity through the starboard sump well. Many OR-18 owners have made the mistake of letting rain water/hose down water overflow the rear sump well and poor into the fuel tank cavity through the stern fuel line access tunnel. Take a look back under the starboard side rear Beckson plate where the fuel line passes between the fuel tank cavity and sump well. It is suprisingly open between the sump well and the fuel tank cavity. Just remember to pull the sump drain plug when washing down on the trailer or leaving the boat uncovered in the driveway in the rain if the sump well bilge pump is turned off. It doesn't take much water to overflow the sump well and poor into the fuel tank cavity if the pump is off and the plug is in. Many OR-18 owners, myself included, will pull some of the Beckson deck plates to ventilate and dry the fuel tank cavity when the boat is out of the eliments. Hard to figure out what BW was thinking with this design other than they may have overestimated the closed cell qualities of the foam surrounding the tank thinking that if water entered the area it wouldn't matter. We know better now. By the way, I like the anchor bracket and raw water wash down you installed in your bow locker. Very neat set up. Jim
jorders	#6  Posted on 05/22/09 - 1:48 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 125 Comments: 3 Joined: 07/06/06	how would i know if i have a sump bilge? were they standard in 1988?
Blackduck	#7  Posted on 05/22/09 - 2:12 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 519 Comments: 0 Joined: 02/25/06	You have a sump. It is where your wires and cables exit the rigging tunnel in the aft of your boat. As I tried to say before, any water that gets into the fuel cavity will drain to this point, unless it is absorbed by the foam around the tank. Other than BW under estimating how much water the foam will retain as water runs by, or thru it, it is a good design.
jorders	#8  Posted on 05/22/09 - 2:30 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 125 Comments: 3 Joined: 07/06/06	in the pictures that Jdooley mentioned above, i could not see how that water could get out of the fuel tank cavity. he also mentioned a bilge pump which i don't think i have. I also need to understand the definitions of Bilge and sump. are they two in the same? i keep my drain plug out whenever it is out of the water. is that the same as what he is saying sump drain drain plug.
Blackduck	#9  Posted on 05/22/09 - 2:40 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 519 Comments: 0 Joined: 02/25/06	Yes, for what we are taking about, the bilge and sump are the same. By keeping that plug out while your boat is being stored on land, you will allow all the water that gets into the tunnel and sump and the tank cavity to drain.
JDooley	#10  Posted on 05/22/09 - 3:06 PM
Member Posts: 4 Comments: 0 Joined: 10/07/05	Your sump well is visible in your personal page pictures. It is the large opening in the deck under your stern seat into which you can see the motor rigging cables run. The sump well collects water (rain, wash down, waves splashing over gunnels) that may land on the deck of the boat. There is a brass through hull drain tube in the bottom of the sump well which drains out though the bottom of the hull on the starboard side, well below the water line. You should be able to see the tube exiting the hull when looking up under the hull of the boat when it is on the trailer. Because BW's are self bailing some people leave the sump well drain plug out all the time. Others prefer to plug the sump well drain and rely on a bilge pump to evacuate any water that may run down in the sump well. Again, I'm not talking about a drainage for the Fuel Tank Cavity, just the sump well which can cause problems if it overflows into the fuel tank cavity when too much water enters the sump well and does not evacuate. If you have a sump well bilge pump you will have a hose exiting the rear sump area to evacuate the water. My point on this was to be sure the sump well drains properly and does not overflow into the fuel tank cavity in heavy rains or wash down. Blackduck is probably right that the original BW design was for any water that entered the fuel tank cavity to run across the top of the fuel tank and exit through the access tunnel the fuel line runs though and the drain into the sump well. The problem is that after twenty years the closed cell foam surrounding the fuel tank becomes compromised, gravity takes over and water which amy get on top of the fuel tank drops low into the fuel tank cavity. Evaporation is the only way out at that point. I hope this clarified what I was talking about. Jim
Island Trader	#11  Posted on 05/24/09 - 6:02 AM
Member Posts: 10 Comments: 0 Joined: 05/11/09	Thanks to this thread I found out that the 98' Outrage 17' does have a drain plug for the tank coffin. I never would have seen it behind the hoses and bilge pump.