Aw shucks, thanks for the love fellas. Offsets my wife's "C'mon, go for it!" Actually it is close to the cap, might be able to get at it. Good idea.
I’ve done both , fill it with water and run a hose from the cars exhaust and fill it with exhaust fumes . I like the argon one , although a little expensive these days . But nice n simple.
I didn’t think another person, let alone a HAMB member, could possibly have an Indian Sport Scout, a Bantam, and live in California too.
after cleaning gas tanks, I pass the lighted torch over the filler hole. Sometimes get a soft 'woosh' and its ok to weld
I worked at a body shop next to a Mc Donald’s. Whoever installed the wheel-stops in the parking lot did me a favor and left the rebar protruding above the top of the cement. Occasionally someone would back their car into a parking spot and gash the gas tank wide open. Seeing cars all over the place they would come to us for help. I would tell them they could find one in a wrecking yard or pay me to weld it up. The rest of the crew though I was nuts the first time I welded one up. I removed the tank and poked a drain hole in the corner to remove any remaining combustible material. Flushed tank for about thirty minutes with water then carried it to the middle of the parking lot. I kept the welding tanks away as far as the hoses allowed. A crowd of onlookers had gathered by now the word was out and they were anticipating I’d blow myself up. I placed a 1 1/8” piece of plywood on top...lit the torch and stuck in the filler neck. WHOOSH a 1 foot flame. The crowd seemed disappointed- I was relieved. I repaired many tanks in this fashion until the day one sent me three feet in the air on my plywood surfboard. I welded that one back together with trembling hands. I purge them now but still stand on a piece of plywood and flame check every one. I learned that plywood trick as a young kid watching the Clown blow himself up out at the racetrack.
A fellow brought an early Sportster tank he just got painted to me as it was leaking gas. The body shop painter ground the bottom weld smooth thinking this was a good thing, not. The Harley tank has a top shell welded to a bottom pan turned down to form a lip which is then welded' I filled my wheel barrow with water and placed an old blanket within and submerged the tank bottom up with the fuel tap open so tank would fill with water. The bottom lip was about 1/2" above water and then welded with a sheet metal rod. I checked welded area soapy water and air in tank. I told the tank owner to get a stripe painted around the bottom where I had peeled his new paint at the water line. He was happy, no one got electrocuted, end of story.
ive welded dozens of tanks over the years never had one flash , the math here is simple , drain and evacuate, remove it dump it out , then dry it , a air line { USE BRASS FITTINGS ONLY !!!!!! } and put a brass regulator in yer line set it to blow but not wide open , set it in the tank to evacuate all the fumes till dry , the ENEMY IS FUMES, do it till you cant smell anything WITH THE HOSE OUT. this takes 20min to 45min pending on tank size ,when you are comfy then go to town on your tank , ALL THIS IS BASED ON YOUR JUDGMENT AND COMFORT LEVEL < IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS TAKE IT TO A PRO ,,, this is based on my experience ,, IF YOU ARENT QUALIFIED to do THIS THEN DONT GAS CAN KILL!! fabricator john miss you dad
If I weld a dent puller stud on a gas tank without draining or flushing, will I wake up at the Pearly Gates? Nah, I do it all the time!
x2 on this. Back in 1977, we drove to the NSRA Nats in St. Paul from Detroit area. Got there and discovered gas tank leaking in brother's '27 Ford. Found out previous owner used steel line with no hoses. Stress caused leak at steel tank bung. Tom "Trooper" Holden jr. with MHRA Repair Shop filled tank with water and welded tank. We added a piece of rubber hose between the tank and fuel line. Tank lasted until about 8 years ago when it was replaced.
That should be an easy dent for them, and you wouldn't have to repaint. I agree with BB......... When I was a kid, we used to crush Coke cans and put a ladyfinger firecracker in them and light it. The caveat was that you had to hold it in your hand to prove how brave(dumb) you were........but the cans did expand. Perhaps a larger firecracker coupled with the gas fumes, but you probably don't need to hold it in your hand........... Jus kiddin
I pushed out a dent on mine by sealing the openings and filling it with compressed air. Took a few seconds with an empty tank. Why are you even considering using heat??
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