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- Joined
- Jul 27, 2008
- Messages
- 947
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 18
- Location
- Alaska
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 3.0
- Transmission
- Manual
- My credo
- Shit Happens...Then You Die.
After reviving the wifes Honda ATC200 3-wheeler and getting it all ready to sell, I smelled gas and discovered a pinhole leak in the steel gas tank. I emptied the tank, let all the residue evaporate in the sun and flushed the tank several times with hot, soapy water. I then used a heat gun to evaporate all the moisture from the tank.
I do not use a flame or advocate using any flame for soldering a gas tank. The risk is just to high for having an explosion. Yes, there are the common tricks of routing a cars exhaust in to the tank or of using dry ice in the tank to displace all the oxygen to prevent an explosion but they are quite the hassle.
I generally use an ancient 300 watt soldering iron but today I couldn't remember where I stored it away... I did find a 105 watt soldering gun so I figured I'd give her a try. I sanded the paint off the area to be patched and cleaned the area with metal prep solvent.
Using a good paste type flux and acid core solder I went to work...BUMMER! Damn thing wouldn't get hot enough for the solder to flow. IDEA! Dragged over the heat gun and pre-heated the patch area and the solder flowed like hot butter. The tank was saved and I didn't kill myself.
Caswell has a new 2- part epoxy gas tank liquid tank sealer that I also plan on using to mitigate the rust in the tank. Tis a tad rusty since 1981. HaHa!
Hope this brief tutorial helps someone else at some point in time. Be Safe!
I do not use a flame or advocate using any flame for soldering a gas tank. The risk is just to high for having an explosion. Yes, there are the common tricks of routing a cars exhaust in to the tank or of using dry ice in the tank to displace all the oxygen to prevent an explosion but they are quite the hassle.
I generally use an ancient 300 watt soldering iron but today I couldn't remember where I stored it away... I did find a 105 watt soldering gun so I figured I'd give her a try. I sanded the paint off the area to be patched and cleaned the area with metal prep solvent.
Using a good paste type flux and acid core solder I went to work...BUMMER! Damn thing wouldn't get hot enough for the solder to flow. IDEA! Dragged over the heat gun and pre-heated the patch area and the solder flowed like hot butter. The tank was saved and I didn't kill myself.
Caswell has a new 2- part epoxy gas tank liquid tank sealer that I also plan on using to mitigate the rust in the tank. Tis a tad rusty since 1981. HaHa!
Hope this brief tutorial helps someone else at some point in time. Be Safe!
