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Gas tank fix

A

AllisG

Member
In order to fix my old ford N series gas tank i need to cut off part of the top that was rusted through. It has a mouse nest in it and has a hint smell of gas still though it hasent had gas in it for a year. Is it safe to use an acetilyn torch to cut off the top and is there a way to do it safely?


Yes i know its easier to buy a new one but i have time and materials so iam going to try and patch it.
 
NO!!!! it is not safe to cut a hole in a gas tank with an acetylene torch. You may as well do it with an ax for the way it would look after a torch was used. When a tank is heated up there can still be fumes created years after there has been gas in the tank.

My brother washed a tank out with soap and water. He then was going to repair the neck by brazing it. He had a lot bigger hole to fix after it blew up on him. He was not hurt but it did scare the pants off of him.

When I have to cut open a fuel/gas tank I fill it with the gas off of my wire welder. I have a tee in the supply line and a ten foot hose on it. Then I use a cut off wheel. You can control them better and have a good straight clean cut. If you don't have inert gas available then do it old school with exhaust fumes. The carbon monoxide will keep it from blowing up.
 
ive been advised to fill it with water by an uncle who does it full time. ive planned to use a grinder with cutting gear on it. it has more holes in the top of it that the inert gas would never stay in it.
 
The water will work for getting it apart but when you go to re-weld it being water filled makes it hard to weld. When I use inert gas in them I am using a tee flowing off of my wire welder tank regulator. So it is putting a little pressure on the tank so even with hole it is safe. I weld dividers into fuel tanks all of the time for hydraulic tanks for semi wet kits. When I am doing this I may have five inch holes in the tank. The key is just don't let there be enough oxygen mix with the old fuel vapors to cause an explosion.

Think about weather this is worth the risk??? A new tank is only $135.00. That will be clean and ready to go. If you have the skills to fix your tank then do some repairs for someone else and make the money needed for the tank. I used to try to do it all too. Then I found out I was wasting too much time doing things that could be done better ways. Learning when to pull the plug is hard to do.
 
well iam just cutting the real bad areas off. i have an uncle who does custom welding full time and he does tanks all the time still on the veichele. only know of 2 that have caught fire on him.
 
If you do it, video it, thataway, at least you can pay some of your hospital bills, from the you tube check! For $ 135.00, I'd replace with a new tank!
 
I've learned that sometimes for the sake of harmony it's best to bite my tongue...
Wash it out real good with detergent and hot water. I use Tide liquid clothes soap for stuff like that.
If you are really worried about it blowing up tie a rag onto a long sapling - 12' long or so.
Soak the rag in diesel fuel and light it. Get behind the corner of the shop and from a distance lower the burning rag into the fill hole on the tank. If it blows at least you're a few feet away.
I wouldn't use a cutting torch though. That will warp it all to heck. Use an angle grinder with a cut off wheel on it. Cuts real fast and clean. If you don't have a cutoff wheel you should get one as they are very handy. You could also use a jig saw on it after you drill holes in the 4 corners.
 
I've never used an acetylene torch on gas tank. I have used a electric welder and angle grinder on a 10 gal Jeep gas tank. I did like ultradog and washed the gas tank out and stuck a flame in the tank on a long stick first. The only time I had an ignition is after testing the tank with lacquer thinner one time, I didn't get it dry enough and when I went back with the welder it went woof with a small flame from the neck. It was completely nonviolent without the gas cap on it. What little pressure it developed came out the neck.
 
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