I need to close up the holes where the tail lights are on my 36 Chevy. There is a floor between the patch and the tank, am I still going to blow myself up? I thought I'd put a fan under the car and tack the patches in. How bout it?
I soak a large rag in water and leave it dripping then wrap around the filler. Must help because I am still here.
If you can smell gas back there, then maybe you oughta just pull the tank out. If not, I probably wouldn't worry about it, unless the filler neck is nearby, then I'd think about pulling the tank our or at least sealing up the filler well (with tape or something) Fan blowing air onto something you're trying to keep from burning? something sounds wrong about that! (as well as the thing about trying to weld near a breeze)
That picture just made my testes shrivel up inside my stomach ... I am VERY paranoid about welding near any gas tank.
I work at a Motorola service center and just yesterday the install guys were talking about making a mistake on an install years ago. They had to mount a radio in the trunk of a city vehicle and accidentally punched a hole in the fuel tank while drilling a hole in the trunk. They said they took it down the street to a repair shop and the guy welded the hole up on the tank while it was still on the car. I realize that it is the fuel vapors that ignite not the fuel fluid but still......
Many Moons ago when I was dumber than I am now I was going to weld a trailer hitch on to a van frame. I was useing a stick welder and when I finished I touched the hot electrode to the tank as I was wiggiling out from under the van. It arced and burnt a small hole in the tank and the the gas was dripping out . How it was that it didn't ignite when it burnt the hole is beyond me. I have since welded on or around tanks but I am very,very careful.
the guy at the local muffler shop did it (too many times)...his face arms and chest are riddled with scars from the skin grafts - yeah, and he still works there - as it were, the gas tank fumes blew the tank!.....wet towels covering much of the gas vapor surfaces - filler/tank - seem to work - i have welded around bike tanks/hotrod tanks with no probs to date - STRONG FUMES are a dead give-away that a potential explosion may be lurking - take out the tank!...jb
That's picture just proves how little some people care about their lives...or the extremely painful way of losing it.
Common sense should win out over paranoia. Empty gas tanks that have a mixture of fumes and oxygen explode. Full tanks don't explode but a hole can feed a fire for a long time. We never would weld exhaust when a car came in with a fuel leak of any kind. That's being prudent not paranoid. Check for leaks and any open vents that may be in the area. It's nothing to sneeze at but millions of people weld panels and other things at the rear of a car with no problems. Just use good judgment and caution. If you get careless then bad things can happen.
I think I'll let caution win over lazy. I've got all winter (3-4 weeks here) and pull the tank. I'm not a pro so a little extra safety can't hurt.
i weld around filler necks and even tanks all the time repairing frame rails, i agree with above....soak rags in water and wrap around the filler neck and even stuff around the gas tank with them it works as it should. watch for heat in the metal as it travels fast. Have fun
If you are that worried about it purge it with argon and you can weld on the tank if you want without worries.
Why take any chances? Remove the tank and do your repairs with no fear! Most accidents are caused by taking shortcuts.
If you don't remove the tank, just make sure the tank is as full as you can get it, less fumes that way like Tommy said. Ever watch a car burn down? I've watched two, and it's a little disappointing, they sure don't have a cool explosion like in the movies...haha
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