Welding safely

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johnnyoxford

johnnyoxford

New Member
Posts
200
Location
Bucks
Hi, I am planning on picking up a mig welder in the spring to do some repairs to my defender.

Mostly around the windscreen.

I have done a bit of welding in the past, will have to brush up and have a practise, but have never welded on vehicles before.

Will I have to drain and / or remove the diesel tank to be safe?

I know I need to cover or remove the windscreen to stop it getting damaged (it will have to come out anyway).
 
good lad :D safes you a fortune doing your own welding :D
as for the diesel tank i wouldnt bother if your doing upper bulkhead repairs just keep an eye out for where the spatter and sparks are going
as for the window id remove or your have pipmple marks left if not properly covered
 
iv welded tank outriggers on the 90 with the tank 3/4 full, with a wet sheet over it ;)

but i wouldnt bother removing it for bulkhead repairs at all,

a FULL tank is better than a half empty tank, now that IS dangerous

especialy if its a diesel,

glass will easily damage with the splatter of a welder, so removing will be the best :)
 
90truckcab said:
iv welded out tank outriggers on the 90 with the tank 3/4 full, with a wet sheet over it ;)

but i wouldnt bother removing it for bulkhead repairs at all,


especialy if its a diesel,

glass will easily damage with the splatter of a welder, so removing will be the best :)
Click to expand...

i need to do an out rigger repiar on my petrol tank side on my series to but the tanks a pig to remove i might risk the wet sheet idea :p i can soon empty the tank i suppose il go for a 10 mile drive :D
 
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gcoo8154 said:
i need to do an out rigger repiar on my petrol tank side on my series to but the tanks a pig to remove i might risk the wet sheet idea :p i can soon empty the tank i suppose il go for a 10 mile drive :D
Click to expand...


:rolleyes: yeah, it dunt go far :D

petrols tricky, iv done them before, but i wouldnt do anyone elses !

drain the tank, but then its dangerous :eek: yer prob better off draining the lot then filling it with water , or at least washing it out :doh: its a bitch i kno , but those fumes are a bastid to get rid of, and they flash like **** :D
 
the trick with petrol tanks is to put them next to a running diesel exhaust, the diesel fumes kill of the petrol vapour, this is what they used to do when repairing petrol tanks! just google it.
 
90truckcab said:
:rolleyes: yeah, it dunt go far :D

petrols tricky, iv done them before, but i wouldnt do anyone elses !

drain the tank, but then its dangerous :eek: yer prob better off draining the lot then filling it with water , or at least washing it out :doh: its a bitch i kno , but those fumes are a bastid to get rid of, and they flash like **** :D
Click to expand...

yeah i was thinking of filling it with water several times and leaving it full of water when welding :eek: may work or may still go bang :p
but i have just rememberd that i have a slight fuel leak on the bottom of the tank :confused: so shes best coming of, i will have some fun repairing the tank :D unless anyone knows of a replacement miliatory series 2a (passenger side) under seat fill style tank is:D as iv heard the like rocking horse s**t:doh:
 
dazzx10r said:
the trick with petrol tanks is to put them next to a running diesel exhaust, the diesel fumes kill of the petrol vapour, this is what they used to do when repairing petrol tanks! just google it.
Click to expand...

is it be fook :D learn something new everyday:p
 
Hi when welding on wagons at work I was told to take off live battery terminal, is this comman practice with you.
cheers b0b
 
bobby b said:
Hi when welding on wagons at work I was told to take off live battery terminal, is this comman practice with you.
cheers b0b
Click to expand...


definitly mate, :eek: sorry folks thort that were comon sense,

it will fry yer alternator and some delicate wiring , specialy the bigger arc welders
 
started welding my rear cross-member the other day, and then remembered to take the +ve terminal off the battery (and the alternator, but I'm still not decided on whether that's necessary). It all still worked thank fork!
 
Originally Posted by dazzx10r
the trick with petrol tanks is to put them next to a running diesel exhaust, the diesel fumes kill of the petrol vapour, this is what they used to do when repairing petrol tanks! just google it.
is it be fook :D learn something new everyday:p
gcoo8154 said:
I would NOT rely on this .... BECAUSE

the RISK is petrol vapour AND AIR (oxygen in it) Combined they will explode if sparked. That's what makes the engine run, after all.

In normal circumstances the space above the petrol in a tank is much like a bomb. One small spark could blow the thing to bits and THEN set the petrol on fire.

HEAR THIS!!!!

Diesel exhaust is NOT oxgen free!
Especially if the engine is ticking over there will be a LOT of oxygen still in the exhaust gases.

But Petrol exhaust is NEARLY oxgen-free.

My advice - DO NOT risk using any exhaust gas to make a fuel tank safe.

And by the way, if the filler cap in on, there is no risk of a spark setting fire to a tank of diesel.

CharlesY
Click to expand...
 
I didn't think that you needed to worry about diesel anyway. You can put a match to an open tub of diesel and it wont do anything, in fact it will put the match out. Diesel ignites / burns under compression, or if it has vaporised to such an extent that it will ignite should it come into contact with a flame or a spark. If you're worried (which you really need not be) fill your fuel tank to the brim and keep the filler cap off (or am I wrong in thinking that?). I've never known a garage empty the fuel from a tank, not even petrol, when welding car body parts. That said, how many petrol cars have metal fuel tanks these days.

-Pos
 
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WHEN i was trial riding tanks used to get dented, split ect the trick was to put the exhaust of my vw camper in the tank for about 20 minutes ,the tank got hot,the fumes were neutralised let it cool i could smell no petrol fumes then and only then we could braze or silver solder the tank.i have done this on my own ,the lads ,plus a few friends tanks and never had a problem ,i dont know wether it works with diesels or not mind you.as regards welding disconnect the battery ,alternator when doing any electric welding 2 minute job could save you££££££,diesel vehicles no leaks, no problem, to the best of my knowledge.......dave
 
disconnect the battery otherwise things can fry. the thing to remember with fuel is that it's the vapour that burns and so an empty tank is lethal. fill it with water if you want but surely it's easier to remove the tank than to get water out of the fuel system once you've done the repairs... it sounds like you fuel tank could do with coming off anyway if its got a leak..? otherwise one day you'll be driving past some old boy smoking his pipe and it won't be the cancer that kills either if you - it'll be the burning land rover that your both in/next to...?
 
liquid metal may help fix the leak in the tank temporarily. the fuel tank isn't going to suddenly blow up because you wled on the car! it'll do it if you burn a hole in it though
 
ok well the tank must come of really to repair that way i can kill two birds with one stone :D only the lpg to deal with then ;)
 
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