Welding (auxiliary tank bung) on Fuel Tank - NJ

[kyllini]

Hey guys, I bought the auxiliary belly tank and need to have someone weld the bung onto the fuel tank.

Can anyone recommend a shop or person that can weld this (I'm located in Monmouth County New Jersey)?

I don't do any welding myself & don't feel confident enough to try.

Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

John

[slowshadow]

I had a local radiator repair shop solder the bung onto my tank. It says to use silver solder but they did it with regular solder. I was upset about it and nervous that it would not hold but they assured me it would be fine and so far it has held up for at least 4 months now.

[MarkT]

R&M recommends brazing which is what I did but I'm told R&M does that because that's the skill set they have. Silver solder works too. I wouldn't lead solder it; I'm guessing slowshadow's radiator shop used an appropriate alloy - being a radiator shop, they certainly know their business. Actually it can be MIG or TIG welded by a competent welder.  For thin sheet metal like the tank, welded to the thicker bung, MIG or brazing would be the better methods IMHO. The important thing is the tank is purged and then air displaced to prevent explosion.  I used a shop vac for 30 minutes then argon/CO2 gas.  Just hire an experienced shop qualified to weld/braze on fuel tanks.  They won't fail to purge a fuel tank and bring flame to it more than once.

[rhinor61]

I dont know anybody that will weld on a used gasoline tank.

Its highly flammable.
I heard things like fill with water.. blah blah..

The radiator shops around here wanted to boil out the tank first... NOT going to happen.

I found a sheet metal shop that solders gutter and ducting...
He used a 500 watt electric soldier iron, silver soldier...

Key is making a jig to hold the fuel tank in a vise.... but that just me.. didnt want my tank to get dented.

hope this helps..

John

[MarkT]

I dont know anybody that will weld on a used gasoline tank.

Now you do.  I did it.

This is interesting.  Or foolhardy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnPVnH2zapY

[Firefighter]

That only works in Canada, wouldn't try that at home!!

[kyllini]

Thanks guys - but not sure there's enough alcohol in NJ to get me to try that.

John

[DarkSideR]

Call around to your local welding shops. The questions you want to ask are "Will you weld on a Motorcycle Gas Tank that has had gas in it?" If they say "No", move on to the next shop. If they say "Yes" we will weld. The next question that you need to ask is can you drill a 3/4" hole into the steel tank? If they say "No" call the next shop. If they say "Yes", the next question you need to ask is "How much will this cost me?" Establish a cost ahead of time.

What is most important about welding a gas tank is being able to purge the tank so the gas fumes do not ignite during drilling and welding.

Next do the prep work. Strip the paint, mark the spot, and you may want to wrap the tank in a blanket or moving pad to protect it. Make sure you tell the welder that the bung has to be welded in rotated correctly. You may want to mark it.

Hope this helps.

[kyllini]

Thanks for all the comments / advice guys (all good stuff to consider).

Anyone ever use JB Weld on this?

[DK]

I dont know anybody that will weld on a used gasoline tank.

Now you do.  I did it.

This is interesting.  Or foolhardy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnPVnH2zapY

It appears to me that it was staged to impress. I hope someone doesn't take it seriously and get hurt.

[MarkT]

I dont know anybody that will weld on a used gasoline tank.

Now you do.  I did it.

This is interesting.  Or foolhardy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnPVnH2zapY

It appears to me that it was staged to impress. I hope someone doesn't take it seriously and get hurt.

I saw another one on youtube before I did my bung, but can't find it now.  Looked a lot like the video I linked.  The miscreant welded on a car gas tank with gallons of gas in it, the car also lifted by something like the tractor, out of sight.  Instead of squirting an extinguisher in the tank, he ran the exhaust of another vehicle into the tank and had it running while he welded. There was a yellow flame a couple feet long coming out the hole he was welding.

I understand that just purging the tank isn't enough.  The steel is porous and explosive gas fumes will remain in the tank even if you displace the gas with water and drain it.  (I did.) I also ran a ShopVac into it for a half hour to evaporate whatever gasolene remained - in the inlet and out the bung hole.  What made it safe for welding, was to fill the tank with argon/CO2 gas while welding it. I did that by inserting the gun from a MIG welder in the inlet, taped off, with the trigger taped on and the wire removed from the roller feed. Ran the gas into it for a good 10 minutes before starting the weld (actually brazed with an acetylene torch) and continued the gas feed until I was done.  Worked well.  Going forward, if I do another it will be w/o the water displacement.

[kyllini]

Very interesting MarkT.
I'm not sure I'm up to the task as I've rarely done any soldering/ welding etc..
I don't even have the equipment.
If I can't locate anyone around me to do this - I may just bite the bullet and give it a shot.
Still hoping though that someone can identify a shop / person that will actually do this for me.

John

[gordonv]

That only works in Canada, wouldn't try that at home!!

Well I'm in Canada. I wonder if I could do that. NOT!

I see he is a strong believer in ATGATT. Along with the added liquid refreshment.

Remember, it's only the vapour that causes an explosion.

And NO, I would never attempt it that way.

[hairyteeth]

I washed and rinsed my tank 3 times over a period of several days till I could smell no gas. Then I carefully cut the hole and clocked the fitting for welding. I took it to be silver soldered to a radiator shop but they turned me down. A local welding shop mig welded it for $50...looks great! HT

[DarkSideR]

I googled "Welders" in Monmouth County New Jersey and found Dozens of Weld shops in the area. I bet within 3 phone calls you will find a shop that will do the work. Ask the right questions and negotiate a price up front and this will be the easiest part of installing the belly tank.

[5_19]

Hi kyllini,

Send me the tank and I will TIG weld it. Located in Dublin, TX. Send me a PM.

~TJ

[Tfrank59]

I had to have a hole in my dirt bike tank welded a few months ago.  Welders (smart ones) know what this takes and few want to take it on.  Even with the right procedure it's fairly risky.  It's da fumes man, da fumes, that'll kill ya.  Side bar: I wonder, wouldn't brazing or silver soldering, which also gets the base metal cherry red, be just as risky?  Now I'd think lead soldering, which ain't nearly as strong, and which only gets up to what 500-600F, wouldn't be so scary, but what do I know.

[ridingron]

I would guess the lead soldering is out due the weight of the gas filled hose and vibrations. I'm not sure a soldered joint is up to the tugging on the hose fitting.