07-02-2023, 07:44 PM
"Fuel tanks should be tinned, so far as I know." I agree but it is very difficult to tin mild steel. I have tried...
Using a copper bit in a roofer's soldering butt to tin one face of sheet steel. However as soon as you start the material starts to warp and flex as it is heating locally. Very difficult to flatten out again in sheet-rolls as the solder is not a perfect thickness. The flux residue also stains the rollers meaning a major cleaning operation.
I even tried painting the surface with a flux/powdered solder mixture spread like grease over the surface and the results are patchy.
I buy tinplate from one of the few remaining suppliers and they can only obtain 0.5mm thick material which is totally inadequate for anything bigger than a gallon can. Thicker material is available but only in huge quantities (half a container) and while I plan to carry on working till I drop I cannot imagine using that much in what time I have left!
The mild steel tanks I have made I lined with POR which seems to be a good product on new, clean metal, so far, so good. Never had a problem with a brass one but the material is pricey.
If only Terne plate was still available...
Using a copper bit in a roofer's soldering butt to tin one face of sheet steel. However as soon as you start the material starts to warp and flex as it is heating locally. Very difficult to flatten out again in sheet-rolls as the solder is not a perfect thickness. The flux residue also stains the rollers meaning a major cleaning operation.
I even tried painting the surface with a flux/powdered solder mixture spread like grease over the surface and the results are patchy.
I buy tinplate from one of the few remaining suppliers and they can only obtain 0.5mm thick material which is totally inadequate for anything bigger than a gallon can. Thicker material is available but only in huge quantities (half a container) and while I plan to carry on working till I drop I cannot imagine using that much in what time I have left!
The mild steel tanks I have made I lined with POR which seems to be a good product on new, clean metal, so far, so good. Never had a problem with a brass one but the material is pricey.
If only Terne plate was still available...