What about fuel bladders? Fuel bladders must meet a higher standard than water bladders, but many of the findings from our water bladder test apply to fuel as well (see Practical Sailor Drops, Drags, and Dissects Three Flexible Portable Water Tanks, PS October 2007).
Simply placing the tank in a locker or on the cabin sole and not carefully strapping it down is asking for trouble. Lockers that close with a simple gravity held lid, and lack a positive latching device, may hide a flexible tank from view, but in a serious knock down, the last thing a crew needs is a 130-pound bag of liquid slamming down on someone in a leeward berth.
In long term use, vessel motion and the continuous slosh of water in a flexible tank can cause it to slide, shift position and chafe. The longer a flexible tank is to be kept in use, the smoother the substrate and the better the securing of the tank needs to be.
Some flexible water tanks can be harmed by winterizing chemicals-a problem not applicable to fuel tanks.
Practical Sailor tested flexible water tanks in October of 2007.
