Welding on Gas Tank

[White Rabbit]

I need to make an emergency repair to the steel gas tank on my van without draining it or removing it from the vehicle and wanted to know what process you would suggest. I have a Lincoln 300A stick, MillerMatic 251 MIG, and a Sycrowave TIG, and am competent in all processes. I have to leave on a trip in a few hours and do not have the means to drain the tank or remove it from the van, and do not have the time to have it repaired professionally. I know this can be done as I have seen it before, but I'm not sure of the exact procedure used. Thanks for any information on how to accomplish this safely.

[Steved]

I am no professional but -DON'T WELD IT. KAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!

How about a gas resistant glue such as JB-Weld?

Worked on my car for 5 years now.

[Sberry]

Give me full name and address so I can life insure you. Go to auto parts store and get gas tank epoxy repair kit. Dont go welding on this tank.I can see it now,, I was in a hurry,,, didnt have time,, etc. They aint worth welding on anyway, aftermarket tanks thru auto parts are so competitive they just are not worth fixing anymore.

[paulrbrown]

I had the same problem a few years back, used the gastank repair glue, no good, then put fiberglas patch with polyester resin [the stuff most folks call fiberglas], it held for 6 years through the Ohio winters, got rid of car, so I don't know if its still holding, make sure tank is empty or at least below hole, and clean/scuff up area to get patch...good luck, Paul

[paulrbrown]

whiterabbit, it is getting very hard to get professionals to repair tanks, EPA and all, I also tried high temp epoxy putty made by Moroso, which is used for repairing manifolds, good product, but did not work for tank repair. Nothing you do will get you outa there in a couple of hours, except renting a car. Hopes this helps, Paul

[Sberry]

Further more, its not only your life but anyone near you, the van and the buildin you are working in and all the contents. You strike an arc on this rusty old tank and its going to blow a hole in it with fire coming out and burning fuel spill. My parts store has some of them in stock, most overnight. No one on this forum will endorse welding on a live fuel tank.

[JOHN1]

I won't do any welding or cutting even if there is a gas can in my shop area. May should extreme. My Uncle was working on a bus and had a can of gasoline sitting next to him. Spark from engine ignited it.

He died 3 horrible days later, and this was in the 1930's when care for burns was not that good, I understand.

My Dad, now deceased, could not even talk about it as it was so bad.


Don't mean to ramble, please don't do something that stupid!


John

[arcdawg]

spend the 150.00 and get a new one.............if you have one hole in it its only a matter of time before you get another one !!

dawg

[timw]

I had a simular situation, I went camping with friends, on the dirt road into the woods I had to cross a small stream. I was driving a 1969 Buick Riveria, when crossing the stream I bottomed out and cut a hole in the tank. That was the good news, the bad news was someone who owned the car before me had welded a 3" channel frame trailer hitch around the tank and it couldn't come off without cutting it.
I got some 2 part epoxy and put it in/over the hole. Let it set up for a day and made the 50 mile drive home where I dug it out and cleaned it real good and patched it again. It lasted a couple years and I sold the car.

[INTP]

Three hours and no reply... I really hope this is just a joke.

[Tanner]

Well, thats one "white rabbit" I won't be following. ..anyone pick up on the joke?

[White Rabbit]

I did not mean this thread as a joke at all. With all due respect, I was asking for advice on how TO weld a gas tank, NOT why I shouldn't attempt it. As I am a stubborn individual, I decided to TIG a patch on to the tank using the lowest settings that I could get away with. There was no catastrophic explosion and I was able to leave on schedule last night and am now happily vacationing at an east coast beach.

[timw]

I have welded gas tanks, I have brazed gas tanks, I have soldered gas tanks, I have even Welded gasoline tanker trailers and I can tell you it is not possible to TIG weld a tank with gas it. The only way it could possibly be done is in an oxygen free environment such as outer space and even there, there would be risks.

[Sberry]

Well , you got away with it, great! The next guy might not get so lucky. Heck, you might not make it next time either. It would have been quite a "vacation" in a burn unit.

[Sberry]

I have worked on some fuel equipment and done things not reccomended too. What answer did he think he was going to get here? Instructions on a reputable welding forum on the internet on how to weld on a live fuel tank? Too many people read this and may tend to think this is an acceptable practice. Evil Kneivel jumps motorcycles too,,, so we have all seen it done. Dont mean its a good idea for the rest of us to try it. Evil spent some serious hospital time too. As many failures as successes. timw, it is possible, in fact it has been done. Would I want to be under a car welding on an automotive gas tank that has already been comprimised???? All it may take is an arc strike on a rusty spot and you would have flaming fuel all over, or better yet, arc strike on a spot above the fuel level and have an explosion. Or if you were purging it with argon and didnt get it right or hit a spot that had trapped air and didnt get purged. We give advice and instruction on here about how to do all kind of things, wiring piping, some of them even dangerous to a certain extent,,, most have controllable risk factors. But this aint DIY combustion engineering 101 within a couple of threads on the puter.