Aluminum welding

pburchett · Jul 31, 2017

I got a couple of aluminum tanks (57 gal) to use as fuel tanks. Upon further inspection they have some holes in them. They look oxidized and are bubbling like rust. With a little probing the spot gives away to form a hole. Can these be welded or are they junk?

pburchett · Jul 31, 2017

If they are junk can anyone suggest a use for them?

showcrop · Jul 31, 2017

(quoted from post at 15:42:16 07/31/17) If they are junk can anyone suggest a use for them?

Filler for a recycling container.

85burbanator · Jul 31, 2017

They can probably be patched, what was in them and how thick? How corroded is the inside?

pburchett · Jul 31, 2017

They were water tanks from a house boat. About 1/8 inch thick.

pburchett · Jul 31, 2017

Oh. The insides are really clean and look good except for the holes. About 10 holes per tank

showcrop · Jul 31, 2017

(quoted from post at 15:56:09 07/31/17) Oh. The insides are really clean and look good except for the holes. About 10 holes per tank

It is hard to believe that they eroded through in ten places but not at all anywhere else. Usually if there are any holes that penetrate there are many more about to penetrate.

old · Jul 31, 2017

If all they had in them was water then yes they can be fixed. They can be either mig or tig welded to repair them

cool hand · Jul 31, 2017

Clean them really good and patch them with fiberglass and fiberglass resin. They could hold for a long time. I patched a diesel fuel tank on a tractor 12 years ago. So far, so good!

jon f mn · Jul 31, 2017

That is common for aluminum tanks and they
can be fixed. At 1/8" tig would be best, but
you could do it with mig if your welder is a
good one. A professional should be able to
fix those up pretty easy.

37chief · Jul 31, 2017

I would use some two part epoxy like JB
Weld. I used some on a Volvo aluminum saddle tank with a stripped aluminum drain plug. It must be squeaky clean though. Stan

casecollectorsc · Jul 31, 2017

I use a piece of aluminum and a product called panel-bond to fix alum. fuel tanks.

jon f mn · Jul 31, 2017

If you try that and it don't work there is no chance to weld it after.

Stephen Newell · Jul 31, 2017

Someone that knows what they are doing can weld it but they will need to put a larger piece of metal over the bad spot and weld it. The metal must be pretty thin to corrode like that.

37chief · Jul 31, 2017

more than likely a piece will need to be cut out anyway to get good metal. Stan

jon f mn · Jul 31, 2017

Not real likely with aluminum. I've come across this a few times and welding is usually not too bad if you have welders up to the task. If you put something like silicone or in weld on it it will contaminate the aluminum tho and then you will need a patch whatever size the space covered in the stuff was.

dr sportster · Aug 1, 2017

1/8 is .125 inch thick . Those don't look like a 1/16th. I think a lot of welding shops would turn that away if it is as thin as it looks to me. They would fab new tanks. Maybe I'm not seeing the pics right.

Aluminum welding

pburchett

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