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NotTaR of small Gasoline Engines and Rotary Lawn Mowers : Metal gas tank repair                   
 Copyright © 1994-2007, Samuel M. Goldwasser. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted if both of the following conditions are satisfied: 1. This notice is included in its entirety at the beginning. 2. There is no charge except to cover the costs of copying. I may be contacted via the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ (www.repairfaq.org) Email Links Page.

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Metal gas tank repair

Yes, you have to remove the gasoline first! And, make sure all traces of vapors are gone - if it smells like gas, it may very well explode!

(From: Greg Fretwell (JRFC31A@prodigy.com).)

The best way is to braze it, but before you get your torch out take a bottle of ammonia to the car wash and have them steam the tank out, pour in some ammonia and rinse. Repeat a few times. Ammonia will remove the residual gasoline and make it safe to weld on. This is the procedure required by the welding shop that fixed my tank. They needed to see the receipt from the car wash before I could even bring the tank on the property.

(From: Doug Younker (dougy@ruraltel.net).)

I have gotten lucky and have been able to solder repair leaks in small engine tanks using my 140 watt soldering gun after leaving the tank to preheat in the sun all afternoon while I was at work. You have to be patient to do so...