How I Made My Kevlar Fuel Tanks

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6 жыл бұрын

This was the process of how I made my Kevlar, under floor fuel tanks for the Tremlett.
I shot the video about 8 months ago when I made them and have used them in the boat ever since with great results. The baffles run horizontally, half way up the tanks with the corners cut away so the fuel can weir between the layers. This allows the fuel to move around freely as the boat moves without any slow surging from one area to the next meaning it balances very well. The tanks are joined via a 38mm filler hose at the base of the tank rears and vented via breather hoses at the front.
The tank capacity totals 60L between the two tanks. The fuel is filtered through a sock filter on the in-tank pickup and also an external spin on fuel filter.
The tanks are pinched in place via neoprene rubber between the hull and the floor of the boat meaning that when the floor is up you can move the tanks backwards and forwards to adjust the balance of the boat.
You can find me at all the places below for more info.
- Website -
danleeboatbuilding.co.uk
- Facebook -
/ danleeboatbuilding
- Instagram -
/ danleeboatbuilding

Пікірлер: 87

@johngregory4801 2 жыл бұрын

A great tutorial... With a gorgeous cold molded hull at the end.

@markmalonson7531 5 ай бұрын

Boat looks like a dream.

@SailorJames 4 жыл бұрын

This is BRILLIANT Thanks for making this video and explaining the process!!!!!

@farmnranchapiarybeehiveser8120 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. Nice boat! I have been building an airplane out of S - Glass. Been contemplating making my own fuel tanks out of Kevlar. Each Wing tank is close to $700. Now after watching I'm sure I can beat that price by several hundred $ . Thanks

@sawyersdad5292 10 ай бұрын

Did you end up building your own tanks??? I'm building a plane as well and want to do my own tanks.

@kiwiwifi 2 жыл бұрын

Magnificent boat with state of the art fuel tanks. Thank you

@Antipodean33 Жыл бұрын

I've built a kayak and small boats using glass/epoxy and I've used an Australian epoxy called Bote Cote and it has no amine blush and is cheaper than West system. My kayak I built over 15 years ago and has had a hard life but it's still as solid and sealed as the day it was built. It also lives outdoors. The other thing is there's no nasty skin reactions to the epoxy and no strong odor, it's really good stuff. When you compare the US dollar to our Aussie $ it would be super cheap for you fellas to buy

@DanLeeBoatbuilding Жыл бұрын

I'm not sure we can get that in this country, haven't seen it anywhere that's for sure.

@antoniogray5344 5 жыл бұрын

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! And thanks for the info. Love it man! 😲👍😁

@neiljborja 6 жыл бұрын

Very impressive, thank you for documenting and sharing.

@johnslonsky3956 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing. Never thought of melting the poly.

@schnecks2180 4 жыл бұрын

Very nice! You have saved me a lot of work there!!!

@darrellhoekstra8514 Жыл бұрын

This is excellent, it looks like they worked out so well. Thanks for sharing

@joelfuller4677 4 жыл бұрын

Didn’t even know it was possible. Thanks! Nice work!

@GabrielVonWahl 4 жыл бұрын

Great way of doing baffles.

@garthlee8166 2 ай бұрын

Very Neat Many Thanks for sharing the method

@Albert87nl 5 жыл бұрын

Wow amazing work on this one :O .. great explanation to! some day im gonne try this my self :)

@kstoff2218 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. I thinking of doing a custom tank for my datsun z build. This is great content for my project.

@mjakutyte 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thanks!

@rocketsurgeon1746 3 жыл бұрын

Great job! Thanks

@superformOG 4 жыл бұрын

ha i only stayed to watch how you were going to get the polystyrene out!

@gixrman 4 жыл бұрын

As stated at 7:39 you can use acetone to de solve the poly.

@noahhastings6145 4 жыл бұрын

@@gixrman funnily enough, you can also use gasoline to do that, and then you get a fun little sticky mixture called "homemade napalm"

@davidrobins4025 4 жыл бұрын

Nice

@user-pi2nl6iu2n 4 жыл бұрын

Your efforts were pretty impressive!

@NZRFoster 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for posting this, it's great how you have just ploughed ahead and just built using normal West System epoxy, and everything seems to have worked just fine. Despite the countless debates online whether it's a good idea, and which/what resins to use etc. Think I'll do the same!

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 2 жыл бұрын

Yep, still no issues to date. I know someone that has made epoxy tanks with West and they have lasted a long time. I'm not sure how they may fair with some of these new fuels though.

@nathanchalecki4842 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the update etc. I actually tried making a motorcycle tank with west systems epoxy and there were issues- but who knows what composition our petrol is here in new Zealand

@naeemgorchani9482 2 жыл бұрын

Wao. Vvvvvvv good

@mosoworks619 3 жыл бұрын

Its been a couple of years. How are your tanks holding up? They look awesome.

@thalassobiote 3 жыл бұрын

What an easy way! Isn't some form of primer-protection needed for the inside of the tanks staying in permanent contact with fuel?

@n0sl1w 6 жыл бұрын

Kelvar! Holy shet those wont break anytime soon.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 5 жыл бұрын

Lets hope not... they hold 60 litres of fuel right below my arse most of the time!

@BladeMarine Жыл бұрын

Great video, thanks! How many liters did 1 tank turn out, what is the wall thickness and what is the weight of the tank?

@jakefromstatefarm9721 3 жыл бұрын

very nice but curious why you choose Kevlar?

@bizeigel 2 жыл бұрын

da bomb

@cryptotron 3 жыл бұрын

What kind of resin you was using? I am thinking of doing something similar, but I am scared that gasolin will eat trough reisin ower time.

@Liam8488 Жыл бұрын

Are you using an epoxy resin for the gas tank? I wasn't aware that was possible. Did you have to use a special epoxy?

@mikemandeno6022 Жыл бұрын

A really neat video, thanks for sharing. Are you able to share the volume and finished weight of your tanks? I'm considering something similar for my boat. It needs a new fuel tank and the wait-list for an alloy tank is very long where I live.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding Жыл бұрын

These were approx 60L total capacity of both tanks. They were very lightweight, quite thin but they were completely supported by the bottom of the boat.

@theosommer8532 4 жыл бұрын

Great informative vid how cost effective this method compared to aluminium

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, for me (someone who can't weld) this is probably a cheaper option although the material cost is probably higher than that of Aluminium.

@SteelDoesMyWill 6 жыл бұрын

Nice! Forgive my American English, but what chemical do you guys call 'Thinners'?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 6 жыл бұрын

Just a standard cheap paint thinner was what I used, you can also use Acetone although I found this didn't completely melt the polystyrene and left a sludge in the tank which was harder to remove.

@s.e.m8202 9 ай бұрын

What epoxy did you use?

@MrSmashSr 5 жыл бұрын

Did you use a liquid fuel tank sealant to coat the inside of the tank after you washed the foam out?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 5 жыл бұрын

The only areas I re-sealed were around the fittings where I had cut into the tank exposing the edge of the matting.

@MrJgem12345 6 жыл бұрын

what West System epoxy did you use? Did you account for chemical corrosion caused by the fuel?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 6 жыл бұрын

Just the standard 105/206 resin. The 5-6 coats of resin applied before the glass were aimed to give a good coating to the inside of the tanks. There are also some helpful guidelines here that I read before starting: epoxy-it.com/ss/wood-epoxy-composite-tank-guidelines/

@johnschmucker8676 4 жыл бұрын

Very informative, Who is the manufacturer of the combination fuel tank filler, vent, and draw tube ? Is " THIOPLY" the same as polyethylene sheeting ? I am very impressed with your ingenuity.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 4 жыл бұрын

The filler plate is made by Vetus. I'm not sure what thioply is?

@kiwiwifi 2 жыл бұрын

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding Thioply is melted chocolate.

@mikemandeno6022 Жыл бұрын

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding I think that's a typo of Peel-Ply

@yassers.167 5 жыл бұрын

awesome work! what type of Kevlar you used?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I think it was 170g plain weave kevlar.

@yassers.167 5 жыл бұрын

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding thnx man! btw have you measured the overall weight of the project?

@chrisjamison376 Жыл бұрын

Gorgeous boat!!!! Did you use Kevlar to seal around the fittings? Thank you for the video I’m planning on doing some fuel tanks for an airplane.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes I did, I seem to remember I cut up some chopped strands and used them to bed in the fittings.

@chrisjamison376 Жыл бұрын

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding thank you!

@chrisstratton3430 5 жыл бұрын

What kind of resin did you use? I here nothing but bad things about fuel and carbon fiber and I am poised to make a CF tank for my R1. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 5 жыл бұрын

I just used standard 105 West System epoxy resin and 205 hardner. I've had no issues with the tanks so far so nothing as of yet to report. Out of interest what issues have you heard of other people having? MAS epoxies do make a special fuel tank resin which might be worth looking at: www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/product/mas-fuel-tank-epoxy-resin although I have never used it myself so I don't know what it's like.

@johnnymckenna1889 5 жыл бұрын

Search up "Por15 tank sealer" It's a thick, fuel proof epoxy designed for lining fuel tanks. Does great in the metal tanks i've worked on and cant imagine why it wouldn't work in a carbon tank.

@johannhans678 5 жыл бұрын

@@johnnymckenna1889 thx I am also working on a carbon fibre fuel tank project

@jimg3364 Жыл бұрын

Any chance you could post links of fittings you used in the tanks?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding Жыл бұрын

Sure, the filler fitting is: www.vetus-shop.com/vetus-fuel-tank-fitting-kits-c-21_87_165_280.html And the other items were straight forward hose tail skin fittings in stainless steel. Keyed up heavily and bonded in between layers of the laminate. I drilled out the holes in the centre of them after installation. Thank you for the super thanks, very much appreciated 👍

@Zapo9668 4 жыл бұрын

Does this work for gasoline fuel? Is there a special type of expoxy required that fuel does not mess with?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 4 жыл бұрын

Yes this is for gasoline, there are special fuel tank epoxies available from MAS epoxies I think.

@ubacow7109 5 жыл бұрын

What's the benefit of a composite tank over a metal tank other than weight?

@ultralinx200 4 жыл бұрын

Rust

@nochan99 Жыл бұрын

Why was kevlar used?

@cardinhamkilligrew9712 2 жыл бұрын

what is the best epoxy resin to use to paint on to woven fiberglass for a boat waste tank?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 2 жыл бұрын

I'm not 100% sure on that one. I would probably consult a supplier as they should be able to tell you.

@magicman9486 5 жыл бұрын

what do you figure those tanks cost you in material?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 5 жыл бұрын

Probably around £800 for the two tanks roughly as follows: Polystyrene - £40 Filler plate, fittings and hose - £300 Resin (approx 10kg) - £200 Kevlar (I think I bought 10m) - £170 Thinners - £20 Misc consumables - £50

@ubacow7109 3 жыл бұрын

Is kevlar chemically stable with gas/ethanol fuel?

@kiwiwifi 2 жыл бұрын

Yes.

@sdknstar601 2 жыл бұрын

Juat subscribe your channel...may i know what type of resin and hardener you uaed...and the mixing ratio...thank you..

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 2 жыл бұрын

Welcome on board, this is just standard West Epoxy, 105 resin and 206 hardener.

@sdknstar601 2 жыл бұрын

@@DanLeeBoatbuilding thank you for the info

@surajdharmavira3614 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. There are no baffle plates. Any fuel splashing issues

@a914freak 3 жыл бұрын

Would it have been easier to just wrap the Poly Styrene in foil tape and make a mold leaving one end open so you can slide the poly styrene core out after it dries then just finish the end. This way you still have good molds in case you need to make another one.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 3 жыл бұрын

I don't think so, sliding a 1.5m mould out of something like this would be very difficult and generally a mould would need to be tapered to aid release, meaning you would need a slight taper down the whole length of the tanks. You also have the baffle to consider which would give added resistance. If I was doing these again though I think I would split them into top and bottom moulds and join them with a banded seam going round the outside afterwards. That would also give good access to the baffle.

@erkopihlak 4 жыл бұрын

Can you make me one?

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 4 жыл бұрын

Possibly, drop me an email at danleeboatbuilding@outlook.com with the spec you need and I can have a look.

@nevillecreativitymentor Ай бұрын

2024 BUMP CHEERS

@tlj3399 4 жыл бұрын

You want to be careful washing out styrofoam like that. What you basically just made was napalm, a rather nasty substance that burns extremely hot for a very long time. You could have done the top and angle using styrofoam and mold release tape then after the epoxy set removed the plug and wrapped it in fabric a few times then epoxied. You would have got the same shape without the need to remove the styrofoam in such a dangerous way.

@DanLeeBoatbuilding 4 жыл бұрын

Good job I'm not a smoker then!