Gas tank welding

[GregWeld]

Since I'm doing the usual "winter" redo on my Nomad... one of the projects is to make my Stainless Steel fuel tank a little narrower... and to add a sump (this Rock Valley tank was originally designed for when I had a carb)...

I found this information about "safe" welding on a gas tank and thought that it is not only informative - but simple and easy.


In order to weld a gasoline fuel tank safely, first remove all traces of fuel. Before welding, wash out your fuel tank with warm soapy water, then rinse with clear water. This should remove fuel residue.

Next, you'll need to remove all traces of flammable gasoline fumes. To remove the fumes from the gas tank, insert small pieces or pellets of dry ice into the filler neck of the tank. As the dry ice comes in contact with air, it will sublimate directly into carbon dioxide gas, which is the fog effect dry ice is known to produce.

Dry ice produces no liquid but rather sublimates from solid to gas. Because CO2 gas is heavier than oxygen, it displaces, or pushes out oxygen from the fuel tank. The fumes will be pushed out of the tank and without oxygen present, the risk for fire or explosion when welding can be eliminated if done properly using this dry ice technique.