Day Tank

[R. D. Pukal]

Hi All,
Has anyone added a day tank?
Thanks,
Rich

[jleonard]

I haven't added one but I've thought about it. I won't do anything though, unless I have to replace my tanks. Right now since I changed to multi-stage fuel filtration I have had zero issues with fuel.
IF I have to change out tanks number one will be much less capacity. No way I need to carry 360 gal of diesel. Probably something like 150 or 200 gallons is more realistic. Then I'dd add a 30 gallon day tank.

[R. D. Pukal]

Jay,
I have about 400 to 500 gal of fuel that is a few years old and I am going to add a Gulf Coast filter (F1) before the Racors .
I do not want to polish all the fuel just what I would use and not have a filter problem. In the next month I will be going
from Annapolis to Pittsburgh so I will be adding new fuel on the way. I thought a day tank would work out?
Thanks,
Rich

[jleonard]

I don't polish fuel. I just filter it from the tank on it's way to the engine. 30 micron to 10 micron to the on engine filters which I believe are 7 micron.

[TheJudge]

Good question. I had no idea what a day tank was until recently when I had a 36 ET surveyed. The original purchaser was an MIT engineer who believed in over-engineering just about everything. He had a 20 gallon day tank installed when the boat was built. It sits dead center behind the engine. Or to be more precise in front of the engine which is mounted backwards in this boat. Two 2" hoses come from the two main tanks and fill the day tank by gravity. This also acts as a fuel equalizer between the tanks keeping the boat from listing. Then there is a fuel shutoff handle in the top of the day tank from which two lines go out to the engine and generator. The engine line goes through a fuel/water separator then an Algae X unit, whatever that does and then to through the first fuel filter and then to another fuel filter on the engine itself.

[Despacio]

I kind of use the day tank principal on my Albin 33.

I replaced my old tanks with new, smaller (4 X 50 gallon) aluminum tanks. I added a cheap small fuel pump (7 gph) and a small Racor filter. I can pump the fuel from or to either side, or around, through the filter and back again. If there is an equal amount of fuel on both sides my boat lists a bit, I'm thinking because the galley weighs more than the dinette.

I use fuel from the starboard side. When the boat lists a bit, I pump fuel from the port side to the starboard side until the boat floats level. When the boat won't level I know the port tanks are empty.

There needs to be approximately 30 more gallons of fuel on the starboard side for the boat to float level, even though I moved the water heater to the starboard side.

I added sight tubes to the new tanks so I know exactly how much fuel I have.