Welding a used gas tank

[Vega$69]

Looks like this guy is welding on his. He also has a 2 post lift. Lol

[MeanMike]

Wash with soapy water a few times, then fill it with argon. Then say a prayer before striking an arc. I've done it twice and that first arc always makes you pucker.

[DBasher]

Originally Posted by Vega$69

Looks like this guy is welding on his. He also has a 2 post lift. Lol

Speaking of stupid....Years ago my brother picked up an early 60's Lincoln for cheap. After getting it running on a gas can we decided we needed to drop the tank and clean it out. Problem was it was full....solution, suck it out with a shop vac! My dad wasn't real proud of us that day.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by rjardy

Hey guys, I am looking to upgrade my fuel system and considering an in-tank pump. My tank is all but new but has had gas in it. Id like to weld the fuel return and the sump into this tank but have reservations about welding to a tank that has had fuel in it. Any recommendations on how to purge this and weld it safely?


Regards,

Rob

Rob -- Depends on what kind of tank -- Stainless Steel? Aluminum?

Don't bother if it's galvanized stamped steel.


I wash my tanks with Simple Green and water - about three times..... making sure to slosh this mixture around so it gets in the corners etc.

Then I rinse with plain water.... and sniff the tank... I don't want anything that even remotely smells like gas. IF the tank sniffs okay -- then I set it in the sun to bake and dry out. I've also done this with standing them up and directing some heat on them.... just to evaporate the water.

Before welding -- I get some dry ice and put that in side the tank -- I wait until the vapors are pouring out of all the openings. The dry ice turns into CO2... and purges the air out.

Add more dry ice if you need to as you weld and reposition etc.

What you don't want is any air in the tank -- it's the gas fumes that are explosive! If you've done your job washing... remember GAS is an oil so needs some soap of some kind to get it clean.... and you've got an inert gas -- then the fumes can't ignite.

[bigkarz]

dish soap works the radiator shop showed me

[rjardy]

Originally Posted by bigkarz

dish soap works the radiator shop showed me

Perfect! Thank you. The tank is a stamped one. I'm thinking it is probably galvanized. I have had good luck with muruatic acid to remove the galvanizing, any other tips on removing it? I know what happens when you weld it. (Ask the 20 year old me about that) so ill do my diligence in removing it.

Rob

[T_Raven]

I used the pump out of a 98 Camaro tank in my 67 GMC. I just needed a quick, cheap way to get the truck running so I put the Camaro pump in the stock, in cab GMC tank.

I filled the Camaro tank with water and cut the ring out



I filled the GMC tank with water and welded it in. It works fine until I get around to putting a tank under the bed.



A lot of people are really concerned about welding on a gas tank. It can't explode if water is displacing any fuel vapor. If there's a cheap option to just buy the tank you need, then that's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't be afraid to weld on a used tank.

[raustinss]

Originally Posted by T_Raven

I used the pump out of a 98 Camaro tank in my 67 GMC. I just needed a quick, cheap way to get the truck running so I put the Camaro pump in the stock, in cab GMC tank.

I filled the Camaro tank with water and cut the ring out



I filled the GMC tank with water and welded it in. It works fine until I get around to putting a tank under the bed.



A lot of people are really concerned about welding on a gas tank. It can't explode if water is displacing any fuel vapor. If there's a cheap option to just buy the tank you need, then that's not a bad idea, but I wouldn't be afraid to weld on a used tank.

As someone who is a fabricator I must say you are retarded !
-there is still air space in the tanks
-Water and electricity don't mix
-Metal fume fever is not cool
-Just because you have done it and it's worked ok doesn't mean it always will, why do you think that professional shops are leary about welding them. Not only that just because you have a "good" looking weld (which look terrible and just a bunch of tacks) on the tank I must ask
-Was the tank pressure tested after welding ?
-Did you use a mirror to inspect the other side of the welds to ensure proper penitration ?
-Was the tank "regalvinized "?
-If the tank wasn't pressure tested were the welds tested with liquid dye pen.?
Mag particle ?
-If it was pressure tested to what pressure and what was your process for finding potential leaks?
So please go ahead and fill my mind with your profound knowledge as you are now a professional gas tank welder and are teaching others how to endanger their own and possibly others lives

[Vega$69]

Right Stuff sells a new tank for $120

Not worth the risk. You'll spend more on Argon, Dry Ice and/or all the other misc. and still may blow your ass up.

[GregWeld]

Like most things --- the fact that people don't understand or know how to do something - doesn't make the practice inherently dangerous... People that are willing to learn, and listen, can be quite successful.

Simply understanding the process is critical. Cleaning the gas out of the tank is not overly complicated. Smelling the tank for fumes is not rocket science... and making sure you have an inert gas (of choice) so that fumes are not able to ignite is not hard or expensive either.

The naysayers probably have never welded something like this - and there's nothing wrong with saying "I don't want to do this". Many shops don't or won't work on this stuff because they either A) can't make money doing it or B) their insurance won't cover it.

Like most things - there's the right way and the "I think I know what I'm doing.... the wrong way".

Just FYI -- Antifreeze is flammable and when heated in a tank will also ignite with explosive results.... and there's millions of radiators worked on.