Removing JB Weld?

The oil tank o this particular A-65 has a small leak near the
mounting flange. The owner has repeatedly applied JB Weld in
an effort to stop the leak, but without much sucess.

So we are going to try brazing the thing, but first have to
remove a pound or so of stickum.

Any suggestions on what NOT to do???


Richard

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:33:42 GMT, Richard Lamb
wrote:

Any suggestions on what NOT to do???

Were you planning on running some sort of inert gas through the tank
while brazing?

Speaking of brazing, I wonder if the torch would cause the JB weld to
flake off?

Corky Scott

Richard Lamb wrote in message ...
The oil tank o this particular A-65 has a small leak near the
mounting flange. The owner has repeatedly applied JB Weld in
an effort to stop the leak, but without much sucess.

So we are going to try brazing the thing, but first have to
remove a pound or so of stickum.

Any suggestions on what NOT to do???


Richard

Don't go after it with a Dremel tool without safety glasses. There's
a POUND of the stuff on there? sheesh!

Were you planning on running some sort of inert gas through the tank
while brazing?

I'm told that car exhaust works pretty good for an inert gas. Oil
tankers use their main engines as inert gas generators for the ullage
space above the crude oil level in slack tanks.

Speaking of brazing, I wonder if the torch would cause the JB weld to
flake off?

I'd try putting the whole tank in an oven, and cranking it up in
stages to something on the order of 300 degrees, maybe hotter. Epoxies
soften with heat, plus they have different coefficients of expansion
than filled epoxies. That oughta loosen things up wihout creating a
cloud of toxic smoke.

Then use a brass scraper, and have at it.

===============================================

Have I ever done this? NO. I did get the first idea directly from a
friend who patched car gas tanks. He'd jam the neck of the gas tank
over the exhaust pipe of an idling car, then pop a tennis ball in the
neck as a cork, and start up his torch.

He still walks among us.

I'm told that car exhaust works pretty good for an inert gas. Oil
tankers use their main engines as inert gas generators for the ullage
space above the crude oil level in slack tanks.

it.

===============================================

Have I ever done this? NO. I did get the first idea directly from a
friend who patched car gas tanks. He'd jam the neck of the gas tank
over the exhaust pipe of an idling car, then pop a tennis ball in the
neck as a cork, and start up his torch.

He still walks among us.

He is lucky.... I lost a cousin about 45 years ago in Ardmore,OK. doing just that...
He was a pro. oilfield welder and on a Sunday morning someone brought in a must do now job... So while the family went to church he
started welding on the top of a tank large enough to get on top of it... He used that old trick of exhaust into the tank... Worked
for a while on it and the father-in -law drove up..They went into the kitchen for a little coffee and my cousin left the truck
idling... after a period of time the father-in law left and my cousin went back to work... The father-in -law heard the explosion
as he drove away... As soon as he struck an arc the tank exploded...
The conclusion was a plug or more fouled out while the engine was idling...
I always fill any tank with water....
Don Lewis

Cy reminded me that the flange is _welded_ to the tank and that
brazing it will cause a contamination issue that will prevent
any further welding (if necessary).

The reason I was thinking braze is to help prevent warping the
flange with localized welding temperatures.

Back to scratching my head, but the point is well taken...


Richard

My only experience is with motorcycle tanks and filling with water really
sucks the heat out making it hard to weld to!
John



Don Lewis n FTW wrote:


I'm told that car exhaust works pretty good for an inert gas. Oil
tankers use their main engines as inert gas generators for the ullage
space above the crude oil level in slack tanks.

it.

===============================================

Have I ever done this? NO. I did get the first idea directly from a
friend who patched car gas tanks. He'd jam the neck of the gas tank
over the exhaust pipe of an idling car, then pop a tennis ball in the
neck as a cork, and start up his torch.

He still walks among us.

He is lucky.... I lost a cousin about 45 years ago in Ardmore,OK. doing
just that... He was a pro. oilfield welder and on a Sunday morning someone
brought in a must do now job... So while the family went to church he
started welding on the top of a tank large enough to get on top of it...
He used that old trick of exhaust into the tank... Worked
for a while on it and the father-in -law drove up..They went into the
kitchen for a little coffee and my cousin left the truck
idling... after a period of time the father-in law left and my cousin
went back to work... The father-in -law heard the explosion as he drove
away... As soon as he struck an arc the tank exploded... The conclusion
was a plug or more fouled out while the engine was idling... I always fill
any tank with water.... Don Lewis

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:03:13 GMT, "Don Lewis n FTW"
wrote:


I'm told that car exhaust works pretty good for an inert gas. Oil
tankers use their main engines as inert gas generators for the ullage
space above the crude oil level in slack tanks.

it.

===============================================

Have I ever done this? NO. I did get the first idea directly from a
friend who patched car gas tanks. He'd jam the neck of the gas tank
over the exhaust pipe of an idling car, then pop a tennis ball in the
neck as a cork, and start up his torch.

He still walks among us.

He is lucky.... I lost a cousin about 45 years ago in Ardmore,OK. doing just that...
He was a pro. oilfield welder and on a Sunday morning someone brought in a must do now job... So while the family went to church he
started welding on the top of a tank large enough to get on top of it... He used that old trick of exhaust into the tank... Worked
for a while on it and the father-in -law drove up..They went into the kitchen for a little coffee and my cousin left the truck
idling... after a period of time the father-in law left and my cousin went back to work... The father-in -law heard the explosion
as he drove away... As soon as he struck an arc the tank exploded...
The conclusion was a plug or more fouled out while the engine was idling...
I always fill any tank with water....
Don Lewis

And even water is not necessariy safe. The tank won't blow, but a
friend was thrown across the driveway when a pocket of trapped gas let
go, emptying the tank of water in a rather spectacular manner.

I flush with hot water then discharge CO2 extinguisher into the tank
(or crankcase - works good for in-situ repair of oil pans). Keep
adding CO2 in spurts as you weld.. As CO2 is heavy it helps to have
the repair area down.
A 20 pounder is more than edequate for a ripped pan or a snarly
gastank - and the refill is affordable.

UltraJohn wrote:

My only experience is with motorcycle tanks and filling with water really
sucks the heat out making it hard to weld to!
John

Don Lewis n FTW wrote:


I'm told that car exhaust works pretty good for an inert gas. Oil
tankers use their main engines as inert gas generators for the ullage
space above the crude oil level in slack tanks.

it.

===============================================

Have I ever done this? NO. I did get the first idea directly from a
friend who patched car gas tanks. He'd jam the neck of the gas tank
over the exhaust pipe of an idling car, then pop a tennis ball in the
neck as a cork, and start up his torch.

He still walks among us.

He is lucky.... I lost a cousin about 45 years ago in Ardmore,OK. doing
just that... He was a pro. oilfield welder and on a Sunday morning someone
brought in a must do now job... So while the family went to church he
started welding on the top of a tank large enough to get on top of it...
He used that old trick of exhaust into the tank... Worked
for a while on it and the father-in -law drove up..They went into the
kitchen for a little coffee and my cousin left the truck
idling... after a period of time the father-in law left and my cousin
went back to work... The father-in -law heard the explosion as he drove
away... As soon as he struck an arc the tank exploded... The conclusion
was a plug or more fouled out while the engine was idling... I always fill
any tank with water.... Don Lewis




The "kidney" tank has a very large neck opening.

Might get an oil fire, but no explosion...

Richard

"UltraJohn" wrote in message
ink.net...
My only experience is with motorcycle tanks and filling with water really
sucks the heat out making it hard to weld to!
John

Same here. When I weld bike tanks I pump compressed air through the petcock
hole and work with the gas cap off and the hole pointed in a safe direction.
With a constant air flow fumes can't build up and the worst you're going to
get is a flash out where the air is escaping. I've done this dozens of
times with only a couple flashes like I was expecting not that it doesn't
startle me when it happens.

I don't know how big your tank is but if you can freeze it (-0 F.) then you
should be able to get the J.B. Weld to break out easily.

Tony