Drilling fuel tanks

[Jackko]

??? Need to drill a hole in a stainless steel fuel tank, I have been told a number of different ways. Any ideas on the safest way . The tanks have been used for two stroke fuel.

[peterreb]

Depending what size hole you are drilling,A nice sharp drill bit and plenty of cutting fluid.Don't have your drill speed to fast or it will blunten the bit and work harden the S/S.If the hole is say 1/2" use a pilot hole say about 3/16" but don't have the drill speed to fast and a reasonable amout of pressure drilling. Mate I'm a fitter and turner and done this heaps.No chance of the tank exploding/probably fill with water for insurance.
Cheers Peter

[searaider]

John K ,
I'm also a fitter & would highly recommend that you fill the tank with water , leaving it flushing by overflowing the tank for 10 to 15 minutes . Then drain slightly to leave a minimal air gap under where your drilling .

Hope you have success
Peter
Searaider 2

[blaze]

instead of filling with water, hook a pipe between the exhaust of your car and inlet of the tank, leave car running while drilling with all other outlets open so exhaust gas flows, drill nice and slow with a good even pressure, plenty of cutting oil(not standart oil)
cheers
blaze
ps
if ya blow up, i take no responcabilty for info suplied, now how safe does that make ya feel

[NQCairns]

Look into it further but I have been told a strong bleach solution can do a good job of removing any remaining fumes etc, for sure fill with water and or bleach solution till there is no air left. The couple of times I have done it I had the tank positioned so that when I broke through I drilled into the water (dont get zapped!), probably overkill but made me feel better. ;D

[Jackko]

Thanks guys looks like filling with water seems to be the go, I'll
just make sure the safety switch is working.

[Render]

If you want to be safe, use one of those old fashioned eggbeater or chest-brace type of HAND drill.

It'll take much longer, but there's no danger of electric sparks or friction heat igniting anything.

Fill it with water, as described.

R

[DR]

why not use a good cordless drill, & a cobalt tipped drill. been told they cut stainless really well.

[gofishin]

do you have access to an inert gas - nitrogen, argon, mig shield? know any welders that u can get a bottle off?

purging with such would be my first choice - both before and during drilling, as depending on the tank, it is not always easy to completely drain the water after drilling. is the tank out of the boat?

what are you doing with the hole after u drill it?

i wouldn't connect my car exhaust to it, too many CO, NO nasties plus a few deposits of soot/carbon left in the tank to foul filters etc

just my 2 cents

PS. dodn't take any chances. i have vivid memories of an exploded fuel tank from my dads boat ~ 25yrs ago. an experienced tradie was doing some work on it & thought it would be safe as he'd done this work many a time...BOOM...& one pair of very soiled undies. tank looked nothing like it did b4 we gave it to him! luckily no one was hurt

[scott_b]

Gday JohnK
I agree with gofishin ,mate wash it out with soapy water and hit it with the inert gas. Drilling the hole is the easy bit if you got to weld something in the hole make sure you use the argon or migshield when welding.
wamjam

[ba229]

man i love blazes way of doing things.

Is there any reason that his name is Blaze? (lol nah only joking)

I reckon drill it and there will be no problems even without water etc. tIt takes a hell of a spark to ingite a fuel-air mixture and if it is only a fuel atnk the bang will only be small anyway.

Good luck

[Jackko]

;D ;D ;D


Great.............nothing like a small bang!!!!!!!!!!!!



Thanks for all the info guys.....

[familyman]

I have to do the same thing to an ally tank for a fuel sight glass as i cant afford $200 for a guage and sender setup.I was thinking of the nitro purging through the tank before and during work,going to cut a 50mm hole with a hole saw in a battery drill encased in a plastic bag to stop vapours getting to the sparks from the brushes of the motor.I was thinking of doing it with fuel in the tank but after careful consideration of this thread i might drain it as much as possible .any comments?

[peterreb]

"I have to do the same thing to an ally tank "
Familyman, Ally is alot softer than S/S,when cutting the hole, use Kero as a cutting fluid,this will stop ally blocking the holesaw teeth, use drill on a slow speed with pressure,as mentioned in a previous post purge with the exhaust of a diesol engine.
Before starting,clean out tank with very soapy hot water,then purge while drilling hole.
When finished rinse out with metho,this will dissolve any moisture trapped in tank and any metho residue left over will not effect fuel,a large amount left in the tank will,
metho is ethanol with some additives,Hope this helps.
Peter

[familyman]

All done as per previous post and I am still here ;D ;D ;D
I did not have enough portable tank volume to hold what was in the main tank so there was about 5 litres still in it ???so i purged the fumes with inert gas ,wrapped drill in plastic and kept it on low speed ,all went well except the location of the sight glass as i can only see the bottom of the tank and have no vertical reference.Oh well i'll just get used to judging depth by colour - dark equals lots of fuel ,shiny ally means paddles out :o :o :o

[Al_Macka]

BLASE..... :-X :-X :-X ... PAY DA BUCKS... IF NO TRADE BACK GROUND..... Y FLERT WITH DEATH... CARN`T BELIEVE U TOLD SOMEONE ..... 2 ATTACH A HOSE 2 EXHAUST SYSTEM ARLA BACK YARD SINERIO.... :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

[Al_Macka]

SORRY,,,, JUST READ ALL POST`S.... AGAIN.... DON`T KILL THA GUY THROUGH LACK OF KNOWLEDGE...... ??? ?? ? ... SORRY AGAIN NEVER HEARD THAT MUCH B...S..T ADVICE.....GIVEN B 4....
BOILERMAKER/WELDER CERT`S 2,4,7&8 .... AVIATION CERT`S .. CROM/MOLLY...S/S..ALUMINIUM... BUILDER OF AUSTRILIAN LIGHTWING AIRCRAFT.. BALLINA... [smiley=stop.gif] [smiley=stop.gif]

[Al_Macka]

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[PinHead]

I would have drilled with the tank upside down..to prevent most of the swarf from entering the tank. As for using a holessw...put a small hole at the circumference of the hole..this allows the holesaw to get rid of the swarf via there and the holesaw will not clog..no need for any cutting compund on ally...it is soft.

[NQCairns]

Al you are probably right it is one of those posts we all should stay away from :-X
There is always the 1 in 100 etc senario :o.
Personally I might stick with "consult a paid professional" as my drilling/welding/modifying a tank standard reply from now on [smiley=2thumbsup.gif].
cheers nq

[Al_Macka]

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[blaze]

Hi AL_macka
Sure is easy to come on and critasize the ideas that some of mere mortals give
BUT
if you are such a professional at doing the task, why critasize others
WHY NOT
offer the correct procedure for doing the job
and maybe some that have offered advice are as quallified as you
Not trying to get in a slanging match but I always find it better to offer a solution in preverence to criticism
IMO
cheers
blaze

[Al_Macka]

BLAZE....
Yes i got a bit carried away.....
Your point was well said.. & taken...
Cheer`s.........

[blaze]

Al_Macka
cheers

[ANYFISH]

so has every body still got all their hair and clean jocks
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D