I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

Walt,

You have taken some good steps to get rid of most of the fumes.
Buy a nice chunk of dry ice and put it in the tank and LIGHTLY
cap it. (Saran Wrap the gas cap flange). This will keep the CO2
in the tank but let any pressure escape if necessary.

Done this on car gas tanks and no problems.

I don't thing trying to make it explode by putting a torch in
it is a good idea.

Bart D. Hull

Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

Remove -nospam to reply via email.



wallster wrote:

I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

Subject: motorcycle gas tank welding -advice needed
From: "wallster"
Date: 13/08/04 23:57 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

One traditional method is to pipe car exhaust fumes into the tank to flush out
anything combustible and to displace all the air so there's no oxygen. Exhaust
gas, having been burnt once is pretty much inert so any remaining petrol vapour
won't ignite anyway. You need to keep the exhaust running while you weld of
course.
--
Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)

In article , Dave Baker says...

One traditional method is to pipe car exhaust fumes into the tank to flush out
anything combustible and to displace all the air so there's no oxygen. Exhaust
gas, having been burnt once is pretty much inert so any remaining petrol vapour
won't ignite anyway. You need to keep the exhaust running while you weld of
course.

Have you ever personally done this, Dave?

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt


all done fellas! I purged the tank with argon from my tig and tacked it with
the mig... no boom.
thanks,
walt

Just fill the tank up with water. Close the cap and vent tube. Turn the
tank over so that the area that you are going to weld is located at the
small air space left in the tank.
I have done this with Oxy-acetylene and occasionally I would get a
little burp at the crack or opening I was repairing. There wasn't enough
space for any gas residue to have any power.
Randy

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

I did the same thing. I got a hole in my tank from something that got kicked
up off the road. I filled the tank with water and as much as I could leaving
only a small air pocket. I was going to braze weld it shut with my propane &
oxy torches. I had at least 90 % full of water. When I put the torch to it
the tank still had enough vapor in it to cause it to give a big burp. Water
sprayed me all over from the fill hose. It scared the snot out of me! I
wasn't sure if it was the water from the tank, or if I ****ed my pants!

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia





"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:xOdTc.96746$M95.53638@pd7tw1no...
Just fill the tank up with water. Close the cap and vent tube. Turn the
tank over so that the area that you are going to weld is located at the
small air space left in the tank.
I have done this with Oxy-acetylene and occasionally I would get a
little burp at the crack or opening I was repairing. There wasn't enough
space for any gas residue to have any power.
Randy

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode
because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to
mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick
a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it
most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to
tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

Subject: motorcycle gas tank welding -advice needed
From: jim rozen
Date: 14/08/04 01:32 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

In article , Dave Baker says...

One traditional method is to pipe car exhaust fumes into the tank to flush
out
anything combustible and to displace all the air so there's no oxygen.
Exhaust
gas, having been burnt once is pretty much inert so any remaining petrol
vapour
won't ignite anyway. You need to keep the exhaust running while you weld of
course.

Have you ever personally done this, Dave?

Nope, as I don't weld, or at least only in extremis. I've heard it mentioned a
number of times though by racing people having to do emergency repairs at the
trackside.
--
Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)

I once had to weld a hole in my car gas tank .So i took the tank out and filled
it with water I emptyed it and did this 3 times . But i still smelled a slight
gas smell .So i rolled up a news paper about 3 foot long put one end in the
tank and lighted the other end and got away from it.To my suprise there was a
loud bang .It expanded the tank alittle but a mashed it back in and fixed the
hole.

"Randy H." wrote in message
news:jaeTc.41087$Oi.32787@fed1read04...
I did the same thing. I got a hole in my tank from something that got
kicked
up off the road. I filled the tank with water and as much as I could
leaving
only a small air pocket. I was going to braze weld it shut with my propane
&
oxy torches. I had at least 90 % full of water. When I put the torch to it
the tank still had enough vapor in it to cause it to give a big burp.
Water
sprayed me all over from the fill hose. It scared the snot out of me! I
wasn't sure if it was the water from the tank, or if I ****ed my pants!

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia


hehehehe.... where's a camera when ya need one!
walt



"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:xOdTc.96746$M95.53638@pd7tw1no...
Just fill the tank up with water. Close the cap and vent tube. Turn
the
tank over so that the area that you are going to weld is located at the
small air space left in the tank.
I have done this with Oxy-acetylene and occasionally I would get a
little burp at the crack or opening I was repairing. There wasn't
enough
space for any gas residue to have any power.
Randy

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled
like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then
rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode
because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but
i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to
mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and
stick
a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it
most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to
tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

I have done quite a few with co2 or argon, and no embarrasing burp either.
Do yourself a favor while it's cleaned out, and line it with Red-Kote (my
favorite), Kreem, or some other "fuel tank sloshing compound".

--
Paul Calman, Hathaway Pines, California

wallster wrote in article
...
.....A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it
most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.


I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy - thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......

--
Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E.
Race Car Chassis Analysis & Setup Services
Chassis Blueprinting Services (as in engine blueprinting)

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:29:14 -0500, "Bob Paulin"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I believe the torch is meant to be lit before application. G

I also reckon the "friend" who suggested this should be invited to try
it themselves.

I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy - thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......

************************************************** ***
It's not the milk and honey we hate. It's having it
rammed down our throats.

I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy - thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......

I believe that would be like a comparison of 110v. and 220v. One will kill
you. The other will only blow off a few fingers and knock you unconscious
for a while.

Or was that vice versa?

It's been so long since the explosion, I don't remember.

Is the phone ringing?

bye

........................

steve ........................ ;-)

wash tank with hot soapy water, then fill tank with water 95%, position tank
so air pocket in the weld area, and weld your area.


Tony
"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant to mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and stick a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't, it most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

Keep the cap off and you wont have a problem... I watch my friends at
the junkyard cut up barbecue gas tanks... All they do is take a hammer
and knock the valve off with a hammer and while the gas is coming out
they cut the tank in half... Not something I would want to do...

If you live in a larger city you can probably buy dry ice. A couple ice cube
size chunks of dry ice in the tank will fill the tank with CO2 and displace any
gas vapors. Then weld away. Put some in a cooler with your beer and you can
have a reaaaaally cold beer after the job is done.
DL

SteveB wrote:
I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy - thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......


I believe that would be like a comparison of 110v. and 220v. One will kill
you. The other will only blow off a few fingers and knock you unconscious
for a while.

220V merely tickles.....its what you're used to that matters...

Steve

Steve Taylor wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:
I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy -
thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......


I believe that would be like a comparison of 110v. and 220v. One will
kill
you. The other will only blow off a few fingers and knock you
unconscious
for a while.

220V merely tickles.....its what you're used to that matters...

Steve

Tickles, my ass. Try it hot and sweaty lying on your belly and brushing a 3
phase feeder. With very little room to maneuver away from it.

Garrett Fulton




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On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:05:08 -0500, "gfulton"
wrote:


Steve Taylor wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:
I, for one, would be interested in understanding why a gasoline vapor
explosion caused by a propane torch is, somehow, of lesser energy -
thus
safer - than a gasoline vapor explosion caused by any other source of
ignition......


I believe that would be like a comparison of 110v. and 220v. One will
kill
you. The other will only blow off a few fingers and knock you
unconscious
for a while.

220V merely tickles.....its what you're used to that matters...

Steve

Tickles, my ass. Try it hot and sweaty lying on your belly and brushing a 3
phase feeder. With very little room to maneuver away from it.

Garrett Fulton


Brrrrrr...the memories of something similar still haunt me....

Gunner





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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

"There is no difference between communism and socialism, except
in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism
proposes to enslave men by force, socialism - by vote. It is
merely the difference between murder and suicide."
- Ayn Rand, from "Foreign Policy Drains U.S. of Main
Weapons"

gfulton wrote:


Tickles, my ass.
Depends where you're pointing....

Try it hot and sweaty lying on your belly and brushing a 3
phase feeder. With very little room to maneuver away from it.

phase-phase you're up to 415volts, that DOES hurt.

Steve

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:14:51 +0100, Steve Taylor
wrote:

220V merely tickles.....its what you're used to that matters...

Worst I've seen was 50V - telephone exchange busbars. They'd deliver
a squiggaamp and not break a sweat. At least 230V usually has some
sort of fuse somewhere.

Lately I've been zapping myself with 12V - the electrolytic derust
tank, because I'm still to stupid to always switch it off before going
near it. It's "only 12V", but across two hands that are wet with
salty water, you sure feel it.

--
Smert' spamionam

"Steve Taylor" wrote in message
...
gfulton wrote:


Tickles, my ass.
Depends where you're pointing....

Try it hot and sweaty lying on your belly and brushing a 3
phase feeder. With very little room to maneuver away from it.

phase-phase you're up to 415volts, that DOES hurt.

Steve

Yeah. And it was 400 cycle too.

Garrett




-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 21:30:38 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 16:05:08 -0500, "gfulton"
wrote:
Steve Taylor wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:

I believe that would be like a comparison of 110v. and 220v.
One will kill you. The other will only blow off a few fingers
and knock you unconscious for a while.

220V merely tickles.....its what you're used to that matters...

Tickles, my ass. Try it hot and sweaty lying on your belly and brushing a 3
phase feeder. With very little room to maneuver away from it.

Brrrrrr...the memories of something similar still haunt me....

I just got bit pretty good week before last - 277V from the base of
my left index finger to one of my forearms laying on the rim of the
steel access hatch in grounded steel lath ceiling falsework...
Wa-Ha-Ha-Hoooiee!!! Was repeating George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words"
routine for 30 seconds ;-) and shaking my arm for a half hour...

Compared to that, 120V is nothing but a strong tickle. The little
(1/8" x 3/8") 2nd degree burn where the wire touched at the edge of my
palm (almost on my thumb web) made a dry blister and is healing up
nicely.

G--D---ed retail store in an old office building, with the 277V
panel for those lights locked up in another office's utility closet.
Which made it far easier to pull the wirenut in the ceiling to kill
the fixtures we were replacing two at a time...

Moral: Copper wire makes a decent spring and can jump sideways to
bite you when you take the wirenut off.

-- Bruce --

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Now for my method! First, find an old hair dryer, the type that had a hose
on it. Discard the plastic head cover. Now, fill the tank with water, and
empty. Do this three times. Now, insert the hair dryer hose into the filler
hole. Turn on the dryer. The hose is usually smaller then the filler hole,
so air can escape. let it completely dry the inside of the tank. Weld
immediately. If allowed to sit for a while, the adsorbed fuel molecules on
the inside surfaces may slowly evaporate. This can form a combustible
mixture.

Steve R.

If you put the exhaust from any engine into it and weld with the engine
running you will be ok. The exhaust will not burn, no oxygen. It will stop
the fumes from exploding the same way dry ice does. - no oxygen. This works
great, and no need to find a supply of dry ice.

"wallster" wrote in message
...

"Randy H." wrote in message
news:jaeTc.41087$Oi.32787@fed1read04...
I did the same thing. I got a hole in my tank from something that got
kicked
up off the road. I filled the tank with water and as much as I could
leaving
only a small air pocket. I was going to braze weld it shut with my
propane
&
oxy torches. I had at least 90 % full of water. When I put the torch to
it
the tank still had enough vapor in it to cause it to give a big burp.
Water
sprayed me all over from the fill hose. It scared the snot out of me! I
wasn't sure if it was the water from the tank, or if I ****ed my pants!

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia


hehehehe.... where's a camera when ya need one!
walt



"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:xOdTc.96746$M95.53638@pd7tw1no...
Just fill the tank up with water. Close the cap and vent tube. Turn
the
tank over so that the area that you are going to weld is located at
the
small air space left in the tank.
I have done this with Oxy-acetylene and occasionally I would get a
little burp at the crack or opening I was repairing. There wasn't
enough
space for any gas residue to have any power.
Randy

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and smelled
like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then
rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode
because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed but
i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit relunctant
to
mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and
stick
a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't,
it
most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve to
tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

Reminds me of the old joke.
A parachutist jumped out of the plane, counted 5 and pulled his rip cord.
Very little happened. Oh *** he thought. Never mind, dump that canopy and
deploy the reserve. Pulled the second rip cord and nothing happened. He is
now plummeting earthwards at a fair rate when he sees his pal flying upwards
at a similar rate. "Know anything about parachutes?" he shouts. "No" came
the reply, "can you weld gas tanks?"
Apologies to all who have heard this before.

John

"John Smith" wrote in message
...
If you put the exhaust from any engine into it and weld with the engine
running you will be ok. The exhaust will not burn, no oxygen. It will stop
the fumes from exploding the same way dry ice does. - no oxygen. This
works
great, and no need to find a supply of dry ice.

"wallster" wrote in message
...

"Randy H." wrote in message
news:jaeTc.41087$Oi.32787@fed1read04...
I did the same thing. I got a hole in my tank from something that got
kicked
up off the road. I filled the tank with water and as much as I could
leaving
only a small air pocket. I was going to braze weld it shut with my
propane
&
oxy torches. I had at least 90 % full of water. When I put the torch
to
it
the tank still had enough vapor in it to cause it to give a big burp.
Water
sprayed me all over from the fill hose. It scared the snot out of me!
I
wasn't sure if it was the water from the tank, or if I ****ed my
pants!

Randy Hansen
SC Glass Tech
Scam Diego, Comi-fornia


hehehehe.... where's a camera when ya need one!
walt



"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:xOdTc.96746$M95.53638@pd7tw1no...
Just fill the tank up with water. Close the cap and vent tube.
Turn
the
tank over so that the area that you are going to weld is located at
the
small air space left in the tank.
I have done this with Oxy-acetylene and occasionally I would get
a
little burp at the crack or opening I was repairing. There wasn't
enough
space for any gas residue to have any power.
Randy

"wallster" wrote in message
...
I have an old gas tank off of a motorcycle that needs a mounting
tab
tacked
on to it. When I emptied the tank, the gas was real old and
smelled
like
varnish so i flushed the tank with acetone (rusty in there), then
rinsed
it
out with soapy water several times. I dont think it would explode
because
of
the age of the fuel that was in it and it was thoroughly rinsed
but
i'm
not
a big fan of blowing my fingers off my body so i'm a bit
relunctant
to
mig
this thing. A friend suggested to go outside with the cap off and
stick
a
propane torch in the opening and see if it flashes. If it doesn't,
it
most
likely wont explode. Any comments before I muster up enough nerve
to
tack
this tank.

thanks in advance,
walt

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 01:59:17 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:



Worst I've seen was 50V - telephone exchange busbars. They'd deliver
a squiggaamp and not break a sweat. At least 230V usually has some
sort of fuse somewhere.

Lately I've been zapping myself with 12V - the electrolytic derust
tank, because I'm still to stupid to always switch it off before going
near it. It's "only 12V", but across two hands that are wet with
salty water, you sure feel it.

Been there! Also bear in mind that, if you've got one or two good sized grazes
on your hands, the current with 12V and the electrolyte can come very close to
fatal levels. I have ended up even applying the old BTH test house rules to
this situation... "When working on open switchgear, the worker must keep one
hand in his pocket at all times". It's a good rule and it usually works.


Mark Rand
RTFM