Welder for leaking tank

[Priller]

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So I have an RC51 with a leaking tank, at the rear where a tilt sleeve is welded on to the tank via a bracket. It's a known issue that Honda was replacing under warranty once upon a time, but that ship has long sailed.

My understanding is that they tack welded the bracket to the bottom of the tank. Over time (and with heavy and full tanks being tilted back), the tack welds fail, resulting in cracks under the bracket. Because these cracks are still moving, any tank liner product will also fail eventually, so the only long-term fix is to weld the leak and also reinforce that part of the tank by completely welding around the bracket.

My issue is that no welder I've talked to thus far is willing to work on a gas tank, some saying a flat-out no, others saying they need a professional cleaning and certified letter to that effect. I can understand the reluctance to apply a spark near where fuel has been stored, but there must be someone who can clean and weld in one shop?

If anyone can recommend somewhere willing to take this on, I'd be very grateful...

 

[Gary]

Most radiator shops used to repair them.

 

[bitzz]

Truck shops have to deal with leaking/damaged fuel tanks all the time.
Welding up fuel tanks is no big deal... purge it with Argon or CO2 or nitrogen, or fill it with water.

Go see Ed at Vangro Welding, Cawthra and Dundas, southeast corner 905 279 6082

 

[GreyGhost]

Truck shops have to deal with leaking/damaged fuel tanks all the time.
Welding up fuel tanks is no big deal... purge it with Argon or CO2 or nitrogen, or fill it with water.

Go see Ed at Vangro Welding, Cawthra and Dundas, southeast corner 905 279 6082

That's what I was thinking too. Displace all fuel vapour and oxygen and there is nothing to go boom.

 

[bitzz]

The old school method was to fill the tank to the brim with fuel and weld 'er up
Diesel doesn't burn.

NO I'm not kidding.

 

[Mad Mike]

I doubt they are worried about

The old school method was to fill the tank to the brim with fuel and weld 'er up
Diesel doesn't burn.

NO I'm not kidding.

I've done a few of my own tanks using a small MIG. All I do to prep the tank is the inside with hot soapy water, then blow it out with compressed air. I'd volunteer to help but my welding esthetics are best suited to rat rods and farm implement repairs.

Most gas tank work is done with TIG, any custom bike shops should be able to handle this as they do tank and sheet metal TIG work all day long.

My guess is most welding shops don't want to take on the liability associated with of messing up the tank during the repair, or liability if the repair fails in the future.

 

[Priller]

Above are pics of a similar repair. I've called Ed at Vangro, but no answer and no option to leave a message (voicemail not set up). It's been the weirdest thing, I've talked to about five welders, most just say absolutely no work on gasoline tanks. One only responded to an email by saying they would if it was professionally cleaned and certified with a letter, but when I replied asking where I could do that, they didn't reply.

Fear of liability may be a real thing, as I had similar issues getting anyone local to fab up some swingarm pivot bolt sleeves. Cleaning the tank can't be that big a deal, especially considering the two openings with the pump and cap removed.

Thanks all for your input, and I'll keep hunting. Buying another one just risks the same issue, so I'd rather pay to fix this one and know it's solid.

 

[GreyGhost]

View attachment 45856
View attachment 45857
Above are pics of a similar repair. I've called Ed at Vangro, but no answer and no option to leave a message (voicemail not set up). It's been the weirdest thing, I've talked to about five welders, most just say absolutely no work on gasoline tanks. One only responded to an email by saying they would if it was professionally cleaned and certified with a letter, but when I replied asking where I could do that, they didn't reply.

Fear of liability may be a real thing, as I had similar issues getting anyone local to fab up some swingarm pivot bolt sleeves. Cleaning the tank can't be that big a deal, especially considering the two openings with the pump and cap removed.

Thanks all for your input, and I'll keep hunting. Buying another one just risks the same issue, so I'd rather pay to fix this one and know it's solid.

That was TIG? (Yes according to the sharpie on the tank) :/ The bigger the gob, the better the job.

EDIT:
I needed a pic of a nice TIG weld to restore my faith in the craft. This one has had no cleanup after the 2nd pass. Ari Emmett was the welder.

 

[Priller]

That was TIG? (Yes according to the sharpie on the tank) :/ The bigger the gob, the better the job.

Ha! To be fair, if you look at the thumbnail of the tank before welding (which didn't get included in the message body for some reason), the gobs are covering what appear to be alighnment dimples in the tank. It's not exactly stacking dimes, but I've seen much worse and it's not an easy job, especially if trying to avoid blistering paint...

 

[Delboy]

Welding up fuel tanks is no big deal... purge it with Argon or CO2 or nitrogen, or fill it with water.

+1^^^

I've done a few tanks in my time and am still alive. Just wash it out with dish soap and as Bitzz says purge the tank with Argon or Argon/CO2 depending on the welding process.

Even if a tank never had gas in it in its life this is the proper way to do it as it shields the back of the weld which is important when butt welding thin metal

Unfortunately I'm not in Ontario at the moment otherwise I could do it for you. Have you tried Gas Tank Exchange on Morningside Road? I know they weld bungs and such in when they seal tanks

EDIT: sorry, Martingrove Road, not Morningside

 

[Priller]

Have you tried Gas Tank Exchange on Morningside Road? I know they weld bungs and such in when they seal tanks

Yup. They said no, suggested a motorcycle shop...

I'm definitely surprised how reluctant everyone has been so far. Must be an insurance/liability thing...

 

[J_F]

the risk/reward equation for a welding shop makes them say no
one explosion and they are very likely out of business
who's gonna take that risk for a 30 minute job?
it's not a matter of it being difficult

 

[Delboy]

Barton radiator in Hamilton used to do gas tank repair. It may be worth a phone call

I assume a lot of commercial folks have their hands tied because of health and safety concerns

 

[Delboy]

Ah, The good old days before health and safety... Now you can’t climb 2 rungs without a harness and rope

The guy died in his bed and the only time he ever got hurt on a ladder was when he was decorating the bedroom... LOL

 

[GreyGhost]

Barton radiator in Hamilton used to do gas tank repair. It may be worth a phone call

I assume a lot of commercial folks have their hands tied because of health and safety concerns

Or insurance. I could see insurance throwing in a clause that blocks coverage for such events. Clear line in the sand and avoids big claims. I know my insurance completely absolves themselves of anything related to nuclear/radiation.

 

[Priller]

May have a line with Dysant Welding in Mississauga, who was recommended in another thread from 2012. They haven't committed yet, but seemed to think it was doable. By all acounts they do excellent work, too. Fingers crossed...

 

[Priller]

Ah, The good old days before health and safety... Now you can’t climb 2 rungs without a harness and rope

It's changed a lot in my working career, which started in the mid-'90s. One of my first jobs was doing small-scale demolition, and I remember scraping the spray-on insulation off the q-deck ceiling of a warehouse, about 28' up. Most was done with basic rolling frame scaffold towers, no harness or railings. The worst was the areas with pallet racking where the towers couldn't roll, so we just set up a tower on each side and bridged them with a 2x12. Standing in the middle with the plank bouncing and the scaffold towers rocking, all while trying to scrape overhead with sharp steel pallet racking underneath was by far the most terrified I've been in my career...

Now, as you say, you can't eat a bean burrito without doing a hazard assessment, or fart without filling out an incident report. I'm sure there's a healthier balance somewhere in the middle...

 

[J_F]

Ah, The good old days before health and safety... Now you can’t climb 2 rungs without a harness and rope


The guy died in his bed and the only time he ever got hurt on a ladder was when he was decorating the bedroom... LOL

we do things at home we'd never do on the job

been on my steep pitched roof countless times - no tie off
once fell out of a tree with a running chain saw - trimming for sat dish signal

if I saw any of my guys doing this sort of stupid sh1t they'd be through the gate in 15 minutes

 

[DownUnder]

That was TIG? (Yes according to the sharpie on the tank) :/ The bigger the gob, the better the job.

EDIT:
I needed a pic of a nice TIG weld to restore my faith in the craft. This one has had no cleanup after the 2nd pass. Ari Emmett was the welder.

How about this one.

 

[GreyGhost]

How about this one.
View attachment 45878

Welds are nice. HAZ would be worrying if it was a functional part.

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