who says ya cant weld a tank???

[squid]

Awhile back some people doubted me, when I said that I welded up the rotten holes in my tank, so lucky for me i just got a digicam, and this years project for the winter is to have the tank painted properly, so i am in the process of taking the tank down to bare metal and going to have a dent fixed too (dent was in the used tank). it already has a por type of bladder inside, but to get that I had to weld up all the holes, so now with less paint, I can show ya all in progress pics over the winter :D

[Coil Coyle]

Squid,? :-X i never said you couldn't weld up a tank...

Did you use the fill it with exhaust first method..
Or the Argon/CO2/Nitrogen/Helium flood method...
Or the fill it with water to below the weld area method...
Or the "I thought it was empty until it whooshed itself bigger than CrackerKoreans first tank" method?

;D

coil

[Ron_McCoy]

You can weld gas tanks safely if you do it right.
I worked for years at a shop that repaired gas tanks and have done welding repairs on everything from 10,000 gallon tankers to motorcycle and automobile tanks.? Use a shop-
vac to blow air through the tank, first to dry any liquid or vapors and then to keep the air/fuel ratio too lean to burn.? The important thing is to provide an exit for the air. On motorcycle tanks I usually use an adapter, easily made, to 1/2 inch pipe nipple several inches long inserted into the filler neck which allows room for the air to escape.

DO NOT try to weld on a tank that is partially filled with water.? That is like building a bomb.?
Also the exhaust method is only safe if you can keep it flowing through the tank any time there is a source of ignition in the area. This could lead to asphyxiation.

The airflow will make welding difficult. Covering the weld area inside with a piece of duct tape works well if you can reach it.? A TIG welder or MIG on low settings works well. A 000 tip or jewelers torch works well for oxy-acetelyne welding or brazing.? Be sure to limit the amount of time heat is applied to minimize distortion.? Soldering with a torch works well for cracks or split seams but is difficult to fill holes with.? Remember that rust holes will be extremely thin around the edges and tend to grow as you try to weld them.

I hope this helps. Remember to keep the air flowing as long as ther is any source of ignition nearby.? Mistakes can be fatal.? I've seen the end of a Butler building blown off by an exploding automobile tank and serious injury incurred by the welder working on it.

Ron

[Ron_McCoy]

I forgot to add that flooding the tank with inert gas works well, but is expensive and difficult to control.  This is usually reserved for exotic metals like titanium and magnesium. 

Ron

[squid]

When I welded up this tank (keep in mind it was about 3 years ago now) I first flushed out the tank with water and let it air out for about a week, basically untill I was 100% sure that there was no more vapour left to go bang ;D. I used oxy/acet and golden rod, loads of patience and took my time, some of the holes were really big after removing the rust and filling in the pitts that became holes after grinding and finding them with flame, before it went to the rad shop to have the liner put in it had to be water tight, the welds looked like hell but once the liner was in I was able to grind them down, again taking my time and not building up heat while grinding as not to ruin the new liner,
its been three years and no leaks from it, its only now that i am going to finish it properly, lucky for me we have a body shop at work and the painter and I help eachother out ;D just the way things should be.

[Kevin]

Fine job braising up the tank, Ron is right about his warnings. It doesn't take much air  flowing through the tank to prevent fume buildup. I wash the tank out and stick a air wand in with the air very lightly flowing. I still cringe every time I put a torch to a tank.Don't let the body shop do a lot of smoothing out your welds, I got back one beautiful shiny smooth tank that I had to redo.   Kevin C. 

[jasonm.]

That's brazing, not welding. Looks good. You can use some acid core solder to insure all is sealed. It's very easy. 

[squid]

Actually, brazing is a weld, the rod is only being used to add material that is not there, the brazing rod fuses with the metal in its "puddled" state, unlike solder which will only sit on top of the metal, I would have used a tig welder if it was available at the time (I am also a licenced/certified tig welder also)  besides sealing is not a concern now, the brazing was done first and then the bladder was installed, so it can look like a pin cusion and it will not leak ;D

[Blake]

Hey Squid,

Noticed (well..read actually) that your a certified welder..

You ever use a Meco Midget torch/ heard anything about it?  I was looking at the Henrob 2000, but then came upong this sucker thats plenty of $$ less.  I really need to update from my low end flux-core welder, to a torch that i can weld steel/aluminum, etc with..(gas tank, exhaust, some aluminum plate, etc)   just wondering what you thought?


Blake

[squid]

I havent personally used any of the midget torches my self, but I have talked to people that have and here is what they told me. If you are just going to use it for light duty home type use, then it will be more than sufficent for the type of work you want to do, the henrob is more along the industrial day to day use and is usually overkill for the occasional use, also check for availabilty of servicalbe parts and service centers in your area, just in case, there is nothing worse than buying a good tool and not being able to get it serviced locally, (i was stupid and bought MAC tools and there is few dealers left in ontairo)

[squid]

Finally after weeks of waiting I got my tank back,,, it looks awesome and you can even tell where i welded the tank,,,the pics are the best i can get in here, the lighting is poor and the flash makes it look funny but i think you can all get the idea :P

[Tiger]

Nice one Squidly? ;D? :D? ;)