The last metal fuel tank I made see @ 1:10: was aluminum with a polycarb inspection window sealed with either Viton or Nitrile (I forget which). This page quotes both of those products as 'EXCELLENT' for the job. Chemical Resistant Orings O-rings www.marcorubber.com ..but as far as I'm concerned the one I used was useless . After about 1 season it started dissolving and became a gummy mess around the view-port. Any bright ideas in the wide field of 'experienced' mechanics lurking here?
Why would you use anything but an o-ring designed for fuel and oil? Buna N or NBR.
BTW both materials you mentioned are excellent in both fuel and oil, I think someone passed off natural rubber as nitrile.
It's to seal the view-port measuring about 7"x3" (tank long since scrapped). I bought the sheets on Amazon, I have no way to test if they are real nitrile or viton. That was a LOT of work and I wanna be sure before trying again.
Inj pump manufacturers changed the composition of the orings/rubber in their gasket kits to NITRILE a long time ago..
From the Cat Safe Source book.
Bio diesel formulas can be harmful to some nitrile formulas. Most fuel haulers and fuel truck manufacturers are installing viton gaskets, today. Plus, it holds up to unleaded. But,… Viton starts leaking, like clockwork, at -30F. So, I use nitrile for everything. I run into situations where epdm gets accidentally installed. It gets mushy, just like you mentioned.
most of us can handle that -30 thing. You're all alone up there in the frizzen Norte.
One reoccurring theme I witness is with purchasing departments and parts houses sourcing sprinkler system Victaulic style clamps & gaskets for fuel use. I think the reason is the overwhelming majority of clamps are purchased for water service. A local upfitter completely plumbed a four compartment , 4500 gallon tank swap with sprinkler (EPDM) clamps. Then, I had the opportunity to travel to Sitka and replace every gasket.
It’s a lonely,,strange land. Like what Robert Service once wrote; There are strange things done in the midnight sun,….. Speaking of men who toil for gold. The ice on Norton Sound broke up on the 28th. Listen, I’m packing it up and bringing it out West. Yeah, cowboy style. The Dank Tank Tour, Clownworld Twenty-Fo is headed to Nome. Gonna stack some bank in the tank. And I’m bringing nitrile gaskets with me..
Here is a sprinkler clamp on a fuel hauler I spotted in the wild, just the other day. The EPDM rubber was oozing out and it was greasy, before cleaning it up for disassembly.
Welds don't look any better than their choice of gaskets.
Does look kinda boogery.
Straight out of the factory in Athens, TN
I have “a guy” that does my aluminum tube welding, when I have to do repairs. Absolute artist. Grew up in Kazistan of all places. Immigrated legally with his family about 30 years ago. Paris Island, Worked in NY, the whole bit. Found himself in Alaska. Twelve kiddos. Super hard worker. R-stamp dude, too. But, he’s moving south, soon. I need to acquire a tig and take some time next winter to learn how to do 6061 and 6063 schedule 20 in 2” 3” & 4”.
I fell off this thread (I guess I did not log in on the first email notice and then never got another one). What I used WAS according to all available sources nitrile . The gasket I made didn't dissolve but it did get 'juicy' and I lost all confidence in it, might try cork instead next time. Here (eastern Quebec) we do get -30 but very rarely, most of winter's cold days are -15c to -20c
Good welders don't know how to grind and bad welders (like me) are very good with grinders
Fixed that for you……
Same difference, no? You get to be good, like me, with a grinder as a results of endless practice. Someone once said "it is in the othewise futile pursuit of perfection that we achieve excellence". A good welder never needs to pursue perfection with a grinder. My local blacksmith is such, he and his son do welds that put my grinding to shame.
Not in a million years, but keep on dreaming.
huh? I lost you there, keep on dreaming about what?
I can tig pop cans together put a piece of thin stainless or steel in front of me and forget it. This was this evenings project I'm out of practice.
Grinder and paint Make you look like the welder you ain't
That’s what Chan says at the 3:00 minute mark.
Hadn't seen that documentary yet.
Matt Boyd has a full length animated movie coming out soon. That’s why the series stopped. So, he would have time to create the movie.
I learned all I know about welding in the air-force in '62 or '63 in a single lecture and never practiced it since really. I shows too, ever her the expression 'cowpiss'? But I did hear this about how to test a welder before giving him a diploma, an idea for such videos: Have him start an overhead bead on something, wait 30 seconds, then hit the metal bench beside him with a ten pound sledge hammer, then check the bead.
When I was getting certified in stick my instructor said I was good with the grinder,guess that was a bad thing.
Used to be the norm to grind welds to make them look the best. Then it seems people/inspectors caught on that a properly done weld doesn't need to be touched up with a grinder. Welds left as is show the skill of the welder. Look at Tig welds on aluminum radiators to get an idea of what good welds look like. Most welds on equipment look really good. The welds on the tanker Coaldust posted look worse than the Asian fake welds were they do a bunch of overlapping tacks. About the only that technique is used is on body work.
Alrighty, here is a prettier one. Schedule 20 6061 with 5356 wire.
Sorry about the u-tube link at the beginning not importing, I don't do enough of this so every time I touch their settings I screw something up. I'll fix the link maybe tonite. I'm swamped but I definitely intend to do my Cat-426 fuel tank this way too next summer. There are too many advantages including peace of mind bundled with clean and illuminated fuel tank insides where you can see the full story before starting the engine. For instance you can 'see' any ice crystals piling up right at the intake end of the upside down standpipe where they take a sharp turn to go in (and colliding leading to accretion). I actually cought this once by pure chance but it would immediately have been visible with this system. Just saying, about the proper nitrile that I will want to use. Wonder if a cork seal would do? They used to have those on oil-pans back in the day.
Cork/buna works great. This sump gasket I just replaced on a 11,000 gallon tanker is cork & bunaA rubber. Just like the old days. We never stopped using it. It requires a re-torque after 24 hours.
I can't find anything for BunaA, is that like as opposed to BunaN which is a nitrile rubber?
Sorry. That was me fat-fingering my phone. You are correct.
Much better but not the best tie in at the end.