Sideways canister tank in frame?

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maurtis

New Member
Dec 14, 2011
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Kyle, TX
Thinking about tanks for my upcoming build, I will be using a Huffy Cranbrook I picked up for $25 on CL. I want to do something for the gas tank other than the stock peanut.

While I would LOVE a moped style tank like the one Imperial Cycles sells, $135 is way more than I would like to sink right now. I am going to see if I can find anything comparable in the local slavage yards, but my hopes are low.

Since I do not weld, but have a neighbor that I can bug for some small welding tasks, I was thinking of going with a canister style gas tank in the frame, mounted "sideways". It looks like a cylinder of 3.5" OD will fit pretty well.

A rough mock up, from the side:



I was thinking 3.5" OD, 9" long. Since the bottom frame rails are 3" apart, that leaves a 3" overhang on each side. I *think* that will not look too bad, and I plan on cutting some aluminum or tin sheet to "fill" in the rest of the open area. That would give me about 0.25 gallons of gas. Not much, but enough to get me to the store and back and just cruise around town, which was my goal.

As far as constructing it, from Googling, it looks like a 3.5" OD, 3" ID steel pipe is pretty common, and the "drive on" end caps are pretty cheap. I figured I could get the drive on end caps, and solder them with a torch and solder from Home Depot. (Why solder for the end caps? I am not sure how well my neighbor welds, so figure soldering them myself would mean less grinding for cleanup, lol)

Then get the vented filler cap and bung from BungKing and either get my neighbor to weld it on, or use JB Weld. Or, would solder work for attaching the bung to the cylinder? I figured since the cylinder is a curve, that solder would not be able to fill the gap.

The same with a bung for the petcock, either get my neighbor to weld it up, JB or solder.

How does that look to y'all? I was considering going with a pork and beans style tank behind the seat, but with the layback seat post I am looking to use, I do not think it would look right to me.

Will it look goofy? I really have a hard time picturing it... I might just have to mock one up out of PVC tonight...
 
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biknut

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2010
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Dallas
I don't think that's going to look very good. Maybe on the handle bars, or on a rear rack, if you can't do behind the seat. Also for me a 1/4 gl tank is a little too small.

I've tried some different tanks, but finely decided the stock tank works best all things considered.

Here's some of my different tries.





 

maurtis

New Member
Dec 14, 2011
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Kyle, TX
After making a PVC/duct tape prototype in the garage I have definitely talked myself out of it. I did not like it at all.





I then thought maybe mounting two of them lengthwise along the frame? Better, but still not quite pleased...







So, time to start hitting up the local salvage yards to see if they have any suitable moped tanks. In the meantime, I will just move on with the rest of the build and use the stock tank until I either come up with something else, or just pony up the $135 for the Imperial Cycles tank, lol.

I really do like the behind-the-seat keg tanks, but I am planning on running with one of Kip Harley's awesome laid-back seat posts, so not much room for junk in the trunk.

Thanks for the input fellas!
 

crawler

New Member
Aug 5, 2011
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Wichita, KS
Just another thought, before I did my howitzer shell one, I was going to get some 4" or so exhaust tubing, cut it to length, and flatten one end like a tube of toothpaste to fit that style frame... If it was done right, I think it would look pretty good.
 

maurtis

New Member
Dec 14, 2011
707
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Kyle, TX
that side by side one isnt a half bad one looks like you may be onto something their it got the gears in my head spinning
I am thinking with rounded end caps the look might flow better. I think we have some craft styrofoam balls in the closet, might have to add those to the mock up and see...
 

maurtis

New Member
Dec 14, 2011
707
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Kyle, TX
Don't get your mind too set on Imperial Cycles. They seem to be out of business, or at least are very hard to get ahold of.

You can probably find that tank on eBay looking for moped parts.
I have been watching eBay for the last couple weeks, and there have been a few tanks that would work well, a Sachs tank auction ended a few days ago, but they usually end up going for $90+. Then you still have to clean/boil/seal etc. Mopedarmy might be a good place to look, though.

From what I heard, Imperial still has a couple boardtracker tanks left but are just hard to get hold of. I will ping them on Facebook and see if they have any left and are willing to take pity on a budget-minded builder, lol.
 

familyguy

New Member
Jan 7, 2012
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lincoln, ca
hey aleman, im a certified welder, problem is my welder is at work, i dont have a tig, just a nice wire feed gas shielded mig...if u have somethin small ( fit in my medium size lunch box) we can talk
 

diceman2004

New Member
Aug 26, 2009
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Kitchener , Ontario
even with the side by side setup , do yourself a big favour and give it a good ( peddaling ) test ride .

Cuz wacking your knees of metal is one of those things that make you go OUCH !
 

maurtis

New Member
Dec 14, 2011
707
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Kyle, TX
As is I can adjust my leg position to not hit them, but they are definitely in the way. With a layback seatpost and shortening the length of the tanks a bit, there may be just enough clearance.

I found a moped tank on the mopedarmy forums that may work, so hopefully it will be shipped soon so I can see. Otherwise, I think I will start planning this build "for real".

I made some rounded endcaps from styrofoam balls and definitely like the look better. They make the tanks longer, so the main tanks would end up being shorter on the real build. It looks like you can get weld-on domed endcaps in this size for about $5 each online.