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03-24-2019, 12:52 PM
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#21
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
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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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03-24-2019, 01:32 PM
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#22
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 328
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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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03-24-2019, 02:34 PM
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#23
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: TN
Posts: 10,278
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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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03-24-2019, 03:08 PM
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#24
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,401
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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???
__________________
TwoXentrix
"AWOL"
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03-24-2019, 07:52 PM
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#25
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: TN
Posts: 10,278
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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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03-27-2019, 02:40 PM
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#26
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 625
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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.
__________________
N8SRE
1990 E-250 Sportsmobile w/ penthouse top, converted when new by SMB Texas.
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03-27-2019, 07:43 PM
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#27
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Sonoma County
Posts: 796
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SierraHawk
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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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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03-28-2019, 11:28 AM
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#28
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,245
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Scotty
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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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.
__________________
Arctic Traveller
KC6TNI
2001 GTRV
Advanced 4wd
Agile Ride improvement package
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03-28-2019, 07:31 PM
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#29
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Vacaville, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 1,068
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Most common in a refinery environment is to use nitrogen as the inert gas.
__________________
“Flint” - 2016 SMB Sprinter 4x4 144" RB 150S w/ PH
KN6BJX
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