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Old 03-24-2019, 12:52 PM   #21
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Easy way to purge fuel/propane tanks is to blow out with compressed air then fill with water. But then you have to get them dry afterward. Can you modify the existing brackets with bolts instead of welding or use a strap mount of some type. As mentioned before, I wouldn’t weld on a propane tank.

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Old 03-24-2019, 01:32 PM   #22
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I would just take the propane tank off your rig. While they are welding sand the outer surface down, apply a coat of Rustoleum, paint it after the Rustoleum dries and mount it back under the van. Lots less trouble than emptying and purging the tank.
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Old 03-24-2019, 02:34 PM   #23
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This is a little bit different scenario but it's a wonderful video I remember from years ago of an old guy welding a fuel tank the old fashioned way and scaring the absolute crap out of everyone who has ever watched it. This is, after all, how the world got built and though it looks scary, this guy knows what he's doing.

Enjoy.

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Old 03-24-2019, 03:08 PM   #24
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Very interesting...but was a follow-up ever posted, or do we make the assumption what we all thought might happen DID???
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Old 03-24-2019, 07:52 PM   #25
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TwoX, if you're meaning a follow up to that video I don't think so but I'm sure he lived to weld another day. There are a few videos like this of folks using the exhaust-fill method.
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Old 03-27-2019, 02:40 PM   #26
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I'd be too scared to try it, but it does make sense. Gasoline engine exhaust doesn't have much oxygen in it. Diesel exhaust at idle might have significant amounts of oxygen though.
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Old 03-27-2019, 07:43 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by SierraHawk View Post
I would just take the propane tank off your rig. While they are welding sand the outer surface down, apply a coat of Rustoleum, paint it after the Rustoleum dries and mount it back under the van. Lots less trouble than emptying and purging the tank.
It's not an original SMB tank. It's a Westy tank I found on CL for $20. Hoping I can mod it to fit my E350 and save a few hundred bucks.

Seemed simple in my mind until I thought, "Wait, is it safe to weld on a used tank?"
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Old 03-28-2019, 11:28 AM   #28
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TwoX, if you're meaning a follow up to that video I don't think so but I'm sure he lived to weld another day. There are a few videos like this of folks using the exhaust-fill method.
It's common to fill fuel tanks on ships with inert gas when welding on them. Most often it's done by dropping in a bunch of dryice and waiting for it to evaporate. A marine chemist then tests the air inside and when it's well below the LEL (lower explosive limit) he sign some papers and allows the hot work to begin. Tankers use exhaust gas to fill cargo tanks when cleaning them as they learned the hard way that high pressure water jets can cause static electric sparks. More than one tanker went boom.
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Old 03-28-2019, 07:31 PM   #29
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Most common in a refinery environment is to use nitrogen as the inert gas.
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