Solder/Brazing Rusty Tank.Can this be done?

ben2go

ben2go

Two Wheel Projectile
I was chatting with a member on a tractor forum.He restores old bikes.I asked him about soldering some small holes in a couple tanks I have.Here is his response.


I hear you on MIG- just gonna blow holes in it.... Regular temp brazing may distort the tank, that has been my experience before I started using Weldcote 6. ( see link)


As to soldering-> It should work just fine . Here is a basic how- to from "Car Craft". http://www.carcraft.com/howto/3065/index.html
What I would not be sure about is the longevity of the repair, but seeing as pipes used to be made from lead itself....why not?


I've wetted over small pinholes holes in standing seam roofs, metal porch floors, ductwork, etc so I would be more than willing to try it out on a tank. Old sheet metal guy showed me how to do it.


Low temp brazig rods are also available from a decent welding shop, more on the order of soldering temperatures and fairly complex alloys. Neat stuff. Explore this site http://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/e...Soldering.aspx a bit, and let me know what you think. This link is for the solders, but they have brazing supplies too, including low temp .
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Has anyone attempted this with a small plumbing type propane or mapp gas torch?I want a permanent repair not a JB Weld patch.
 
Yes, I have repaired pinholes in tanks with silver solder designed for steel. A regular lead/tin solder for plumbing work won't work. I bought of roll of solder with the Berz-O-Matic brand on it at a Home Depot or Lowes. I think it was in the welding section. The solder was called. "Metal Work."

The only threat to longevity of the repair is continued rusting of the tank. It should be completely de-rusted before you do the repair. After the repair, you should do a tank liner.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
The only threat to longevity of the repair is continued rusting of the tank. It should be completely de-rusted before you do the repair. After the repair, you should do a tank liner.
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Thanks.That was my plan,a permanent repair.
 
Or fill the tank up and take your place in line for the Darwin Award!

(*Disclaimer-JK, don't do it!)
 
I weld on gas tanks all the time. You just have to be sure to purge all the vapors out of it.
 
My tanks have been dry since 95.That's when both bikes were put out to pasture by the original owners.

I surely hope no one would weld on tanks with fuel or vapors.Then again it could be a form of population control,and weed out the ummmmm less intelligent. ;D
 
squeak said:
just fill it with water before you weld :)
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Done it that way at least 5-6 times to various tanks from bikes and old cars. Fill it full of water, then take a wire brush on an angle grinder and see how much more metal you can wear off the tank. I did a three wheeler tank once that had just a few holes in the bottom and ended up looking like swiss cheese by the time I gave up on it. I ended up cutting all the bad metal out and brazing in new.

Or take it to a radiator repair shop and see what they can do. Most places are very cheap and will fix if they can or line it will a liner.
 
first you can soft solder mild steel tanks, i've done several, usually when a customer wants to save paint.....you need clean degreased surfaces, remove oxidation/ rust also.. you can not have a large gap so fill with a strip of sheetmetal, flattened wire, steel screen, etc or stretch metal to close gap up if you can ..
add flux and use 60/40 or 50/50 solder from hardware etc., torch set up depends on tank size, you need to get the temp up to aprox 400.. heat area around hole/crack when temp is correct your solder should flow out(do not heat the solder-just the part) , then move heat and solder to fill the remainder of the crack if necassary. ..to reduce paint damage use a wet rag or welders heat sink material .. AND MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS EMPTY AND PURGED GOOD! after you flush and rinse tank out a good trick is to use chips of dry ice until is flows out of top,this displaces oxygen (which supports fire)... what i like for cracks is high temp silver solder (not braze), it is expensive (sometimes used in refridgeration) but really flows out great once you get the hang of using it.. hope this helps some, joe@ vcycle
www.joesvcycle.com
 
joea said:
first you can soft solder mild steel tanks, i've done several, usually when a customer wants to save paint.....you need clean degreased surfaces, remove oxidation/ rust also.. you can not have a large gap so fill with a strip of sheetmetal, flattened wire, steel screen, etc or stretch metal to close gap up if you can ..
add flux and use 60/40 or 50/50 solder from hardware etc., torch set up depends on tank size, you need to get the temp up to aprox 400.. heat area around hole/crack when temp is correct your solder should flow out(do not heat the solder-just the part) , then move heat and solder to fill the remainder of the crack if necassary. ..to reduce paint damage use a wet rag or welders heat sink material .. AND MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS EMPTY AND PURGED GOOD! after you flush and rinse tank out a good trick is to use chips of dry ice until is flows out of top,this displaces oxygen (which supports fire)... what i like for cracks is high temp silver solder (not braze), it is expensive (sometimes used in refridgeration) but really flows out great once you get the hang of using it.. hope this helps some, joe@ vcycle
www.joesvcycle.com
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Would this be strong enough to hold a bottom on a tank?My tank has a recessed gas cap with a drain tube running through the tank out of the bottom.Since it's so rusty,I had considered cutting the bottom out,cleaning out the tank,patching everything I could,then clean the tank again,and seal the tank with a POR-15 kit.
 
donald branscom said:
Never weld on any tank that has had gas in it.
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wow ive watched guys drain the tank and run a axl fuel tank to the carbs, run the bike and plum the exh in to the in to the fuel fill and weld with the tank still wet and on the bike, i weld fuel tanks on trains all the time full of 4000 galons of fuel. You just need to know what to do to be safe. Never is a strong word.
 
no i would not use soft solder to put a tank together.....if the tank is that rusty why not replace it? used tanks often are fairly cheap on ebay....or derust(phosphoric acid /hot water mix) , repair and then seal with casewell...................joe
 
joea said:
no i would not use soft solder to put a tank together.....if the tank is that rusty why not replace it? used tanks often are fairly cheap on ebay....or derust(phosphoric acid /hot water mix) , repair and then seal with casewell...................joe
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Good tanks for bikes like mine run $300 + on ebay.This bike is a budget build.I am weighing all options tho.
 
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