I've been in the mining industry for 20 years, I've made many repairs on all types of mining equipment one of em is welding a fuel tank that has had or is full of diesel fuel. I would like to hear about how other welders make this repair.
- Otto Nobedder
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Weldmonger
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Joined:Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
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Location:Near New Orleans
Welcome, JoeJack,
Actually, with deisel fuel, a weld repair with the fuel level above the repair is relatively safe. A full tank is best in this case, as there's no room for oxygen. The alternative is to purge the airspace with either an inert or non-oxidizing gas, like Argon, CO2, or Nitrogen.
Personally, I prefer an empty tank thoroughly purged with (cheap) nitrogen or CO2, because if the repair area is more eroded than the surface suggests, you can blow a hole in it, and have a big flow of fuel past weld metal that's well above the flashpoint of the fuel.
Just my two cents...
Steve S
Actually, with deisel fuel, a weld repair with the fuel level above the repair is relatively safe. A full tank is best in this case, as there's no room for oxygen. The alternative is to purge the airspace with either an inert or non-oxidizing gas, like Argon, CO2, or Nitrogen.
Personally, I prefer an empty tank thoroughly purged with (cheap) nitrogen or CO2, because if the repair area is more eroded than the surface suggests, you can blow a hole in it, and have a big flow of fuel past weld metal that's well above the flashpoint of the fuel.
Just my two cents...
Steve S
- AKweldshop
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Weldmonger
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Joined:Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:30 pm
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Location:Palmer AK
Welcome and good luck.
~John
~John
Just a couple welders and a couple of big hammers and torches.
Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it.
Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it.
Trump/Carson 2016-2024
One place I worked had their own SOP for fuel tanks.
1 drain
2 remove
3. steam clean
4. argon purge
5. weld
6. test for leaks
7. reinstall
Big or small, gas or diesel, it didn't matter. Follow his rules or find another job.
Of course the rules came about because one guy took shortcuts with a motorcycle tank
and blew his hand slap off! They couldn't put it back on either cuz to much of the wrist
was gone. A sight I'll never forget either.
1 drain
2 remove
3. steam clean
4. argon purge
5. weld
6. test for leaks
7. reinstall
Big or small, gas or diesel, it didn't matter. Follow his rules or find another job.
Of course the rules came about because one guy took shortcuts with a motorcycle tank
and blew his hand slap off! They couldn't put it back on either cuz to much of the wrist
was gone. A sight I'll never forget either.