The other day the phone rang in the office and it was Shelley Jory-Leigh (Shelley is one of the United Kingdom’s leading powerboat racers and the top female in the world) asking us if we like to help out with some tanks for the new British Global Circumnavigation boat she will be a team member of.

The boat, named ‘Good Heart’, is a completely new design based on experience and modern technology. She is 80 feet of pure technology, designed and constructed in the UK from aluminium, and encompassing an exceptionally efficient ultra-slim wave-piercing hull. She will be able to submarine beneath waves under the constant propulsion of her twin engines.

The Global Circumnavigation Challenge is a bid by British ocean adventurer Alan Priddy to design and build the fastest and most efficient wave-piercing powerboat to circumnavigate the globe for the much coveted UIM world record, which is currently held by the New Zealander Pete Bethune at 60 days 23 hours 49 minutes. The Global Circumnavigation Challenge team intend to cover the 24,000 miles at sea in under 50 days.

The tanks we will be supplying are for water and waste. We do not have any more information than that at the moment as the boat is in it’s early stages of build. As soon as we have made them we will put some pictures of them here.

For more information on the Team and the Boat please click here to visit the website. The story can also be followed on Facebook.

We wish Alan and his team the “Best of British Luck” in their attempt and look forward to posting the outcome on the blog soon.

Global Circumnavigation Record Newsletter October 2011
Global Circumnavigation Record Newsletter November 2011

For many years we have been asked to quote for tanks in either Stainless Steel or Aluminium and have not been able to help. Well now we can. Due to poular demand Tek-Tanks are pleased to announce that they have the facilities, skill and knowledge to now manufacture in these materials.

Tek-Tanks non-ferrous metal tanks are manufactured from only the best materials available. The stainless steel is 2mm thick 316L and the aluminium is 3mm thick 5083, both known to be very corrosion resistant. Aluminium tanks can be supplied with a powder coated finish if required.

Tanks manufactured from stainless steel and aluminium will contain more liquid than a polyethylene tank due to the thinner wall thickness. A gain of 10% can be achieved on a small tank over a Tek-Tanks custom HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) tank.

Stainless tanks are however more expensive but sometimes they are the only option. For example, a custom built petrol tank in HDPE is just not possible but in stainless steel it is, also in some industrial processes where the possibility of a fire is an issue only stainless again will be acceptable.

Stainless and aluminium tanks lend themselves well to one off’s and short production runs because there are no moulds to make. Most shapes can be accommodated as long as each panel is flat or slightly curved, compound curves cannot be achieved

 All tank fittings are either made from tube and welded directly to the tank or they are screwed into a BSP female thread.

 For more information or a quotation please contact our sales team on 01420 520830 and they will be pleased to help with your enquiry.

Tek-Tanks have decided not to issue a Serial Label for their 13,000th tank as we felt it would be unfair on the owner to own a tank with such an unlucky number.
The photograph above shows Mrs Marsh from Plasma Marine being handed her tank by Martin Rye along with a nice bottle of bubbly. The tank Serial Label identified the tank as 13,001 and was a diesel tank for a boat named Vlad in Poole. For more information on Plasma Marine please click here.

The Aluminium Boatbuilding Company (ABC) collected their tanks last week from the factory. Before they left we snapped this picture. It shows all the tanks on a trailer towed by a small flatbed truck. The total volume was 16,526 litres, 1,880 litres of that was for water, the rest was for diesel! Six of the tanks were 1,785 litres each. All the tanks were manufactured from 12mm thick HDPE with 10mm thick baffles. The total weight of the tanks was 2400 kg.

The boat is a 60 foot aluminium catamaran which will be used up in Scotland to install and service the latest windfarm there. For more information contact either Paul or Trevor at ABC. You can check them out at http://www.alloyboats.co.uk/contact-us/

The new Tank Selection Guide allows users to quickly and easily find the best tank for their application.

Because of the large number of moulded tanks which the company now stock, this simplifies the process of finding exactly the right tank.

The unique Tek-Tanks Guide has been produced to lead customers through their total range with fast, step by step , “button clicking” choices. If no suitable pre-made moulded tank is available, the users are taken through to the alternative of Custom Built tanks.

There are downloadable PDF dimensioned drawings of all the tanks and these can be checked against the boat or vehicle for size and shape.

We  will update the guide regularly as new tanks become available. It can be accessed by clicking the blue “Tanks Guide” button on the news pages or clicking the same button located in various places around the website.

There is also searchable database which contains details of tanks for many types of well know yachts and boats, always worth a look to see if yours is there.

We hope that users will find it useful and any feedback would be most welcome.

As your photographs come in we will publish them here with a brief description. If you have installed a Tek-Tank and not sent us a photo then please do so and we will publish your handywork. Please tell us the make, model and year of build, where the tank is situated and the name of the boat.

Click photos to enlarge

Broom Ocean 37 “Ocean Star” Waste Holding Tank Under Cabin Floor Richard Bavister – Kent
C-Boat 12 Diesel Fuel Tank Jason Carrington – Lymington
Fairline Corniche Diesel Fuel Tank
Fairline Targa 38 Waste Holding Tank Martin Hutchings Total Marine – Hamble
Colvic 32  “Sonas” Diesel Fuel Tank Port Side Engine Room Douglas Anderson
“Parrot” Waste Holding Tank Lower Half of The Hull Roy Fox

Tek Tanks can supply a wide range of either custom built  or standard water tanks suitable for the following applications:

Marine

Leisure motorboats and sailing boats up to 80 feet long.

Vehicles

RV, motor home, caravan, horsebox, hospitality, expedition and fire applications.

Domestic

Loft tanks and header tanks.

Industrial process

Plating tanks, cooling water, research and agriculture.

Cleaning applications

Car valeting, window cleaning, jet wash water supply and chemical storage.

 A comprehensive fittings list is available for downloading as well as our Water Tank Design Guide.

Waste holding tanks make up about 50% of our business hence there are not many shapes or sizes we have not supplied. Our knowledge of marine holding tank systems is second to none. Holding tank layouts are available on our website and cover probably every variation there is.

We can either build a custom tank to suit the intricate shape of your boat or vehicle, or supply a standard off the shelf unit from a comprehensive stock range.

A comprehensive fittings list is available for downloading as well as our Waste Tank Design Guide.

Tek Tanks custom fuel tanks are manufactured from 10mm thick high density polyethylene and are suitable for diesel fuel only. For petrol applications we can supply tanks from a standard blow moulded range with capacities from 140 litres.

Custom tanks come with brass fittings for the filler, vent, feed and return. Fittings are screwed into female BSP threads welded to the tank. A comprehensive fittings list is available for downloading as well as our Fuel Tank Design Guide.

Tek Tanks vs Aluminium

Heavily corroded waste tank

1. Tek Tanks will not corrode when used for waste, Aluminium will. Aluminium tanks could show signs of corrosion within a few years.

2. Aluminium tanks should not used be used for water because there is a possible link to Alzheimer’s disease when used for drinking water tanks.

3. Aluminium tanks have been know to crack at the welds when used in high performance applications.

4. Aluminium tanks need to be painted in a marine environment to combat corrosion, painting adds to the cost and has to be checked and repainted when necessary. Tek Tanks need no further treatment.

5. Aluminium tanks needs to be earthed to the boat’s electrical system. Tek Tanks do not need earthing.

6. Contents are visible with a Tek Tank, Aluminium tanks need a sender.

7. All Tek Tanks fuel tanks are CE marked for added peace of mind.

8. All Tek Tanks fuel tanks will almost eliminate condensation within the tank. Metal tanks have to be kept filled when not in use to reduce condensation. Water in the fuel can cause engine problems.

Tek Tanks vs Stainless Steel

1. Tek Tanks will not corrode when used for waste, stainless steel will. Stainless steel  could show signs of corrosion  within only a few years.

Heavily corroded weld on stainless steel tank

2. Stainless steel tanks are generally heavier than a Tek-Tanks custom built tank if built from a reasonable thickness of material.

3. Stainless steel tanks are quite often more expensive than Tek Tanks if built by a reputable company.

4. Stainless steel tanks need to be earthed  to the boat’s electrical system. Tek Tanks do not need earthing.

5. Contents are visible with a Tek Tank: Stainless steel tanks need a sender.

6. Stainless steel tanks have been known to crack at the welds when used in high performance applications.Tek Tanks have manufactured tanks for performance craft with no failures to date, boats include Sunseeker P1 race boat, several Round Britain boats and the famous blade runner.

7. A Tek Tanks fuel tank will almost eliminate condensation within a fuel tank. Metal tanks have to be kept filled when not in use to reduce condensation. Water in the fuel can cause engine problems.

8. All Tek Tanks fuel tanks are CE marked for added peace of mind.

Tek Tanks vs Flexible Bag tanks

1. Flexible bag tanks have been known to fail at the fittings due to excessive movement of the tank. When half full the contents will move  violently in a heavy sea as there are no baffles.

Worn out flexible tank

2. Flexible tanks can be askward to install …they should have slats between the tank and hull so as the hull can breath and also avoid chafing of the bag on the hull.

3. Flexible tanks when used for waste have a reputation of smelling badly. With no vent the contents turn sceptic. Tek Tanks are completely odour free when used for waste due to the 10mm thick walls.

Flexible tank that has failed at the fitting

 

Main Advantages of Tek Tanks

1. Corrosion free. Will not rust or corrode and are not subject to electrolysis problems.

2. Contents can be seen through the tank under most conditions.

3. When used in a fresh water application Tek Tanks water tanks are absolutely taste free.The material used is a food grade polyethylene which has FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approval. We can support this fact with documentation from Rochling the material suppliers.

4. No smells when used as a waste holding tanks.10 mm thick combat any odour problems. To eradicate smells throughout the whole system, a large breather has to be used, minimum 1″ in diameter, preferably 1  1/2″ in diameter.

5. Lighter in weight than most Stainless steel tanks which is ideal for racing boat applications.

6. All Tek Tanks custom built tanks come with a 5 year guarantee.

7. All Tek Tanks waste tanks comply with the latest ISO standards within the marine industry and can be fitted to boats being built under the RCD (Recreational Craft Directive.) This includes almost every new boat being built in Europe.

8. All Tek Tanks fuel tanks are CE marked and comply with the latest ISO standards within the marine industry.