Welding a petrol tank

[RSendout]

Is it really as dangerous as the interweb tells me it is?

A friend of mine is restoring a Capri and has discovered two pin holes in the fuel tank. He has run a steam cleaner through it for an hour and it's been sat empty for two weeks.

Can it be welded safely or should I video the event, as I everyone loves a good exploding ginger bloke vid

[erixtar1992]

pour petrol in it and then video it. LOL

if its a tiny hole cant you plug it with some chemical metal/jb weld or something, depending on where the hole is?

[Chriscooke]

I know of people that have welded petrol tanks for kit cars etc. The one I helped remove was left full of water for a while iirc.

[Jem]

Fill it with argon before welding

[-ghost-]

They don't weld them the resto guys use lead but the other way of doing it is epoxy resin/quick steel if its just a small area.

If you do weld it yes please video it




But joking aside be really careful.

[mantachris]

I've 'heard' of people welding petrol tanks whilst connected to car exhausts, I've worked on a small generator tank by filling it with water.
If they're only pin holes www.frost.co.uk do a tank sealing kit which would be easier

[rd_jon]

I work offshore and have a merchant navy background, specifically working on tankers.

You should be able to weld it safely provided you have removed the petrol fumes. Assuming the tank is off the car, the easiest way to do this would be to fill the tank with water and remove all the air and vapours. If the tank is awkwardly shaped, you may need to do this a couple of times with the tank held a different angles to be sure there are no pockets of potentially explosive fumes hidden away.

If you still have concerns that there might be an explosive mixture in there, you can always attach a match to a long stick and see what happens.....

[alanjuggler]

If you still have concerns that there might be an explosive mixture in there, you can always attach a match to a long stick and see what happens.....

I would definitely make sure there's an attempt at lighting any remaining fumes at distance before even starting.

I once started welding my passenger side chassis rail in the S13 - forgetting completely I'd removed the carbon canister and put the breather line into the ... passenger side chassis rail.

an utter panic is how I'd describe my reaction - fortunately my face was covered by my welding mask so no burns and no one could see the horror on my face

[stevie.t]

iv done a few petrol tanks, im doing one at moment, im fitting it with a in tank pump/swirl pot conect a vacuum cleaner hose to your exhaust and put the other end in the tank, leave your car running and this will do the trick, filling with water after wont hurt either

[mrknifey]

I welded the tank on my XR2 after someone drilled through it, as I above I used siapy water on and off for a week until no vapours could be smelt. Was all fine

[RSendout]

Really sorry to disappoint you all but there will be no exploding ginger bloke vid
I did actually video the job, just in case Its just a video of me welding with no issue what so ever

Anyway, my mate is happy and one step closer to having his Capri back on the road