Moeller Marine Below Deck Permanent Fuel Tank - Compatible with Boats Built Before 2011 | Durable Gas Tank for Marine & Boating Applications

I purchased this 19 Gallon Moeller Marine Below Deck Tank to replace a 30 year old aluminum tank in a 1979 Century Model 200 (19 foot runabout with Mercruiser 228 I/O)The original tank was filled with bad gas. Even after pumping it out it was still having issues... most likely because the layers of deposits on the inside of the tank being eaten off by ethanol in today's gasoline.I always used Sta-Bil products in the gas but that didn't seem to help. The inside of my carburetor always ended up with gel like deposits no matter how many times I cleaned it, or changed the fuel filters (I have a water separating fuel filter as well).When I cleaned and rebuilt the carb (Edelbrock 1409 marine 600cfm carb), Pumped the old gas out of the new fuel pump (only 5 hours on it max), changed the fuel filter... and ran the boat from an external 5 gallon gas jug... it ran like a top, and had no issues at all... so I knew something was up with the old tank, and it had to go...My experience with swapping it out wasn't that bad... as my old tank was fairly easy to access.I carefully measured the dimensions of the old tank and found one of these Moeller tanks that fit it as closely as possible. The old tank was 27 gallons, but I didn't think I needed one that was that large for my purposes. So, I was very pleased to see that this 19 gallon tank which fit the dimensions I needed, was only $150 shipped! I did purchase the mounting kit for an additional $20 with shipping and was pleased with that as well...I replaced the 30 year old fuel filler hose as well as fuel line from the tank to the engine... and that added about $50 to the project... but still... the peace of mind I have now from having a new fuel system is worth it.You would not believe what came out of the old tank! The fuel had of course separated, and there were layers of different colors... I ended up with 15 gallons into three 5 gallon gas containers, and each container was a different color! One clear, one light brownish, and one coca-cola brown with gel globs floating in it! I have photos of the whole swap and the bad gas and will hopefully post them on here. I've been told the brown color is the old varnish deposits that the ethanol has dissolved from the inside of the tank, and the Gel stuff is leftover MBTE material that used to be in gasoline back in the day that reacts with the ethanol. Supposedly no filters will be able to filter out everything if your tank is that bad...Even if I had removed the aluminum tank, and cleaned it out as best as possible, I would always worry. I didn't put all the effort into reconditioning my Merc 228 and going through the whole Stern drive, just to have something so stupid as an old gas tank + ethanol situation keep messing it up... so... again, a $200 project was no big deal for me.THE TANK:One big difference from the photo shown here is a large, 6 inch diameter metal plate which is removable from the top, in the center next to the fuel sender. I believe this is removable to allow for inspection and cleaning of the inside of the tank. In my tank's location, I could access this easily if I needed to! A nice addition, as my previous aluminium tank had NO access to view the inside, and thus, is why I had to replace it.My tank also had a molded filler inlet, not metal as the photo shows. This is an improvement/revision over the original design I suppose because it's one less place to leak. The Vent connection was still metal, as the fuel pickup connection. I was very pleased my old barb fitting for my fuel line threaded into the Moeller tank pickup perfectly! I used some "perfect seal" on the threads and I have a leak free tank!I was overjoyed when I connected the 1979 original Fuel gauge to the Fuel Level Sender and the needle showed the correct amount of gas in the tank! I didn't have to buy a new fuel gauge! So it must conform to the electrical standards of other gauges. Couldn't be happier about that!The mounting brackets require a bit of thought if you plan on using them...The tabs which screw down to the mounting platform stick out from the side of the tank by approximately 1.5 inches. This caused me to actually rethink how I originally intended to mount it, but it wasn't that bad.I used two pieces of outdoor rated / weather resistant 2x10 boards, cut to the width of the tank... and I mounted them inside the boat, in the location that the old tank used to be in. Then I mounted the tank to the boards... using the Brackets. I could have used a strap mounting system... but I didn't find anything that looked as stable as these metal brackets.The walls of the tank feel sturdy enough and should last for as long as the boat does...I will hopefully post photos soon.It's a great product for the money, and is worth it if your old gas tank is giving you problems.I should expect that If I keep adding the Marine Sta-Bil product to each tank fill up... I shouldn't have anymore problems with bad gas... finally!