home made cylinder tank

[ianmanning26]

Turned out pretty well for my first attempt. This one is soldered, the next one will be tig welded so I can figure out which one works best. Holds a little over a half gallon. finishing it up tonight with sanding and cleaning up the seam, there will be no seam by the time i'm done. Let me know what you think guys.

 

[metal man]

not too bad for your first run at it :thumbsup:
you may want to get a cooler torch or lower your flame a little tho . i can see where its discolored the tank where you soldered it . i had the same issue and it was making the joint kinda nasty as it was burring the solder there .

 

[ianmanning26]

Yeah I agree. I'm not a big soldering fan I prefer to weld but I won't have a tig until late this week and I wanted to give it a shot. Have you ever tried welding one of these together, if so what were the results in comparison to soldering? I'm going to make at least a dozen of these for all of my bikes and a few of my buddies, so by the time I get that far I should have a good system for making them and should be able to pump out a couple a day. Its crazy what they charge for old cylinder tanks on ebay.

 

[CharlieFixit]

I don't see a vent in that cap. If I am correct, are you going to run a vent tube?

Nice job

 

[ianmanning26]

Yeah I've got a vent planned for the cap. I decided to go with these pipe fittings s a cap instead of am older tank filler neck because I wanted to see how it would look

 

[Rapidrob]

A petcock would work well also. Good idea on the oil filters.

 

[Toycartony]

Great idea!! Perfect size!! I am sure this will be copied, I know I will. Keep us posted on the finished product.:thumbsup:

 

[Str8axle]

Awesome idea!!!! I will most definitely be copying this!! Nice job!!!:thumbsup:

 

[gbabins1]

If you check out my pics you can see what I used for the cap vent. I used the same type of connectors you used but the filler one had a nipple sticking out and I just flipped it upside down. Then inserted the vent tube.... works great.
Good job ! :thumbsup:

 

[ianmanning26]

thanks for the input I certainly cannot take credit for this idea. I am just following the examples that metal man, delray and yellow hand did. I'm going to tig weld one today and see if it comes out any different, and then I think I may start making these and selling them on . the old vintage ones that you find on ebay are way overpriced and are usually rusted and dented all to hell and missing the cap. I think it's just easier to make 1

 

[gbabins1]

Yep...that's why I stated making my own as well.

 

[dvd0020]

How much to make me one

 

[ianmanning26]

i need to make a couple more before i come up with a price, it will be based on materials used, size, etc.. ill post some more pics and we can come up with something, it will sure be better than paying 60 bucks for a beat up rusty tank on ebay that much i do know. at least this way you can determine your own size, color and so on ya know.

 

[gasman]

I have made two tanks now, both out of old fire extinguishers. Mig welded them then ground them smooth. I learned from experience that if you mount them to the motors re-enforce the mounting locations. the vibrations cracked the weld where I welded the bolts on. I contoured some larger washers to match the tank around the bolts then welded them again. They are solid now. I also used a gas tank sealant for both of the tanks to be sure to fill any possible pinholes in the weld. Gas will leak through the smallest of holes. Keep up the good work.

 

[ianmanning26]

Yeah that's great advice thank you. I actually picked up a small flux wire fed mig today so I think i'm gonna go that route instead of using tig. Will post pics asap. The one I did above is drying now with tank sealer in it but should be all done by tomorrow night.

 

[ianmanning26]

hey gas man how did you go about welding it without burning through? I suppose fir extinguishers are a little thicker than oil filters but I keep having trouble laying down a nice bead with my mig without burning small holes right through it. Going to take another stab at it in the morning but I could use a little help. Thanks. I've tried speeding up the feed and slowing it down but if I speed up to much I get spatter instead of a nice bead. I would like to get this right so I can go ahead and start making more.

 

[Toycartony]

As soon as you said you were going to wire weld it I thought you were going have trouble.
I think the oil filters are going to be too thin. You would have to tac it all the way around no way you are going to lay a bead around it. Tig weld you might be able to.

 

[ianmanning26]

Yeah I literally just figured that out. Went out into the garage and went ahead and started tacking all around it and it actually turned out really well. I'm going to let it sit for a few and go fill in any holes then hot it with the grinder. Fortunately I put that steel band behind the joint inside the two halves, that saved it from being a total loss. This one will go on my bike so it doesn't have to be prefect but I am a stickler for detail so I will get it right. I don't know why I didn't think about just spot welding it all the way around little by little. Oh well I got it right now so that's cool. my tig is broke so I need a new one but I don't have the cash to get one do the mig will have to do for now. Thanks for the input.

 

[gasman]

Yes I just tacked it all the way around then ground to smooth. The fire extinguishers are a good thickness to work with, they leave a little room for error:grind:

 

[ianmanning26]

I got a nice new miller tig today so production should be starting any day now. I need to take a kinda survey to see if there is an actual demand for these things that would justify me starting to make them in large quantities. If anyone out there is interested in having one made please chime in. doesn't have to be made by me I just need to know id there will be any kind of demand for them so I can plan accordingly. Thanks fellas.