Pork & Beans Gas Tank

[maurtis]

I finished my V8 juice tank last week, drained it by drilling the holes for the sight gauge. Of course, that meant not being able to drink the juice since I figured the little steel bits from the drilling might chafe a bit coming back out...

(the copper coils in the middle are merely decorative)

I have my fuel petcock coming off the right side, bottom:

 

[culvercityclassic]

I just drilled the opposite end of the can for the petcock, mounted the tank higher than the carb and thats it. Just a note: the metal is thin and you may have issues with the weight of the petcock so you may want to add support in that area.

 

[NewOrleansFlyer]

Maurtis, how about a pic of the pressure relief "system". That looks so cool, is it just a compression nut and collar??

 

[maurtis]

I was concerned about the weight of the petcock as well, and since I JB Welded everything instead of solder, I just added a lot of JB Weld to the surrounding area to help spread the load.

NOFly, yup that is just a garden hose fitting with a compression collar from Home Depot. The 1/4" copper tubing was from an ice maker kit and fit perfectly. The vent line exits to the rear of the tank, just under the rack. It does not actually tie into the middle coils, just looks like it

 

[culvercityclassic]

You did a nice job on the tank, so the JB is holding up?

 

[maurtis]

You did a nice job on the tank, so the JB is holding up?

Thanks! So far so good, no cracks or leaks, but it has only been about a week. *After* I built the tank, I then read that the ethanol in our gas can soften the JB Weld, so we will see how she holds up. There are no ethanol free gas stations nearby, so I might have to go hunt down some near the lake... The holes that I made for the fittings were made a little small on purpose so I could thread the fittings in, so there is not a lot of actual gas/JB contact.

I am going to treat myself to a nice torch for my birthday, so the next tank will be soldered.

 

[tigmaster]

Maurtis,a good way to save the contents of the can would be to use a sharp,1/4" ice pick in the area Your going to drill for the fittings first as both to locate Your hole saws 1/4" bit and to drain the liquid,but wont contaminate the juice with drill swarf....And another tip,on thin sheet metal You can use a 1/4" dowel pin inplace of the drillbit to guide the holesaw and not drift from the spot Your drilling....Also if Your drill press has reverse,a holesaw will cut thin metal better in reverse...Less aggressive that way!...It can catch and rip,not cut on the curved surface...I now do this on thinwall tube in My tubing notcher...After a snag broke My holesaw arbor!....Tigmaster....

 

[silverbear]

I haven't made one of these in a while, but when I did I used an awl or ice pick and punched two holes. The one above was for where the filler would go, the one below for where the petcock would go. Drain out the juice and drink it. I used either a cone drill bit (harbor freight has them) or a cone shaped grinding bit to open up the filler hole to size.
SB

 

[curtisfox]

Maurtis,a good way to save the contents of the can would be to use a sharp,1/4" ice pick in the area Your going to drill for the fittings first as both to locate Your hole saws 1/4" bit and to drain the liquid,but wont contaminate the juice with drill swarf....And another tip,on thin sheet metal You can use a 1/4" dowel pin inplace of the drillbit to guide the holesaw and not drift from the spot Your drilling....Also if Your drill press has reverse,a holesaw will cut thin metal better in reverse...Less aggressive that way!...It can catch and rip,not cut on the curved surface...I now do this on thinwall tube in My tubing notcher...After a snag broke My holesaw arbor!....Tigmaster....

Hadn't though of a hole saw in reverse,good idea. I know they put a skill saw blade in backwords to cut thin sheet metal. I will keep that in mind.........Curt

 

[Rockenstein]

These tin can tanks are the bomb

The one that I made out of an apple juice can and covered with leather from and old couch a couple years back is still doing it's thing on the back of my rat rod. Only complaint was the time I had my bike at the lake park we go to, went for a ride and misjudged the range taking in the scenery .. had to pedal it and push it for about 12km worth of hilly country road to get back! Missed out on a good shore lunch that day so I was told lol

 

[silverbear]

These tin can tanks are the bomb

The one that I made out of an apple juice can and covered with leather from and old couch a couple years back is still doing it's thing on the back of my rat rod. Only complaint was the time I had my bike at the lake park we go to, went for a ride and misjudged the range taking in the scenery .. had to pedal it and push it for about 12km worth of hilly country road to get back! Missed out on a good shore lunch that day so I was told lol

Just a word here to give recognition to Sir Rockenstein for being the first to come up with the juice can gas tank idea. It was a good one. I wonder how many of these I've made now? Thank you for sharing with all of us.
SB

 

[NewOrleansFlyer]

I'm trying to get some solder to seal up the little crease I made in the top of the can (with a can opener). The solder doesn't want to fill the hole?? When I heat up the can, the solder heats up, but then either pools up on the outside of the slit, or falls into the hole sending the liquid solder down to the bottom of the can. I'm obsessing a bit and should just use another can, but I consider this can an experiment anyway. Any thoughts....wrong solder?? Wrong flux?? From this thread, it looks like solder will stick to stainless steel (whatever the outside of the can is made of). Any thoughts....
I did use a couple of fat boy propane tanks epoxied and bondo'd together. Tank looks nice, except I think I'm gonna take the old fittings off each end to give it a finished look.

 

[silverbear]

First clean up the area to be soldered with steel wool. It is a steel can with a thin layer of tin bonded to it by means of electroplating. Not stainless steel. Be sure the flux and the solder you;re using are compatible. If the solder has no lead in it (usually a combination of lead and tin) then it has to have a flux made for that kind of solder. If you're using silver solder it requires it's own kind of flux.

If the hole is of any size beyond tiny the solder will flow into it and down into the can. It is possible to bridge a smallish gap with solder barely molten, but if it is truly liquefied (hot!)then it will behave as any liquid and seek out the lowest level through gravitational pull. I've wasted a good bit of solder trying the impossible. Another can is perhaps cheaper than the propane and solder. Also take care that you're not using too much heat. When soldering the bung or petcock heat the thicker metal directly and not the can itself. The can heats up a lot quicker than copper or brass fittings. It also helps to tin the fittings first (apply a thin coating of solder to the fitting before soldering it to the can). It makes the solder bond better. When you're done wash the soldered areas with water and baking soda solution as that will neutralize the acid in the flux... else it will eat into the can and cause it to rust much faster than it would otherwise.

Keep at it and it will get easier.
SB

 

[NewOrleansFlyer]

Good tips all...thanks. I'll post some pics of the propane tank when I get home...but I'm definitely moving in the direction of the juice cans.....I love the look!

 

[2door]

Tomorrow I'll post my latest use of a food can for bike parts. You'll have to wait for the photos.

Tom

 

[rustycase]

I use a cut off tall boy to pour the fuel in my motorized bicycle, so I know I don't need a very big tank.
This might work great!
Tnx for the good thread...
rc

 

[insomniacshotrods]

Wow! Great looking tanks everyone. Great idea as well. Always nice to see all the different ways to make a tank. Thanks for sharing.

 

[maurtis]

Today I noticed a particularly strong gas odor emanating from my bike and sure enough, my tank was leaking gas. The JB Weld holding the petcock on to the bottom of the tank had cracked. I am using the SBP petcock which is quite a bit heavier than the stock unit, so I think the vibration over time just got to it.

So back to the stock tank for now. The next tank will be soldered! I will definitely miss having the sight gauge for the fuel.

 

[motorhedfred]

Today I noticed a particularly strong gas odor emanating from my bike

On a bike with a "Pork & Beans" gas tank.....am I the only one that sees the ironic humor of this ?

MHF

 

[silverbear]

On a bike with a "Pork & Beans" gas tank.....am I the only one that sees the ironic humor of this ?

MHF

Ha!!!!!!!!
SB