I have bail studs on a Kayen AP2 that are loose. My presumption is the studs have a wider part on the inside soldered in before final assembly. To repair them I am proposing to solder them and then lock the nut down. Can I suspend the unit off the nut whilst I solder it? I am trying to avoid heating it and have it drop inside but if there is a wider part to the stud inside that would not happen. Any thoughts please? Iain
Hi Iain Can’t answer the question about what’s inside but, if it was me I would do precisely what you suggested, suspend the tank from the nut ensuring that it’s suspended squarely. Being squarely suspended, if the internal solder softens or liquifies the stud would maybe less inclined to move and finish up off kilter. Cheers Pete @Sedgman
These images are of a Tilley X246A tank, I can't imagine the bail studs on an AP2 will be much different.
Thanks for the earlier responses. Here is a brief update. 1. When the Kayen AP2 bail posts are loose the first option is to heat them carefully and by suspending the fount from the protruding machine screw see if the solder internally will reseal properly. A repressurisation of the fount was then done to determine if that approach worked. In my case once I released the fount from the hanging position the machine screws dropped inside the fount. They were recovered by rattling the fount. 2. Next approach was to try adding more solder to the base of the round heads and then wrapping a small length of thin wire in a loop around the screw. Then reinserting them through the filler hole and manoeuvring them back up the freshly cleaned holes (outside only). Putting a nut on them (to prevent loss again) and then pulling the wire clear. Then reattempting the soldering whilst suspending the fount. This approach failed too, probably because it is impossible to clean up the inner surface to be soldered. 3. Third attempt was to insert a longer machine screw using the thin wire approach described in point 2 above. Then resting the fount on a small wooden block to get the bail attachment screw facing upright. Then locking vise grip plier jaws onto the nut. With one hand you then hold the screw in the correct position and with the other heat the general area indirectly until hot enough for the radiating heat to melt solder. Then swap the heat source in one hand for a stick of self fluxing solder and feed it around the machine screw on the hot surface. Then keep the other hand very still till the solder sets. Then pressure test the fount again. This worked for one of the two attachments screws but the pressure test revealed the other attachment point still leaked; so I repeated this 3rd attempt again for the remaining attachment point and this time it worked. The only downfall is there is not a lot of thread left to lock a small nut on since the solder ingressed into the lower threads. However, I had enough thread for the bail to attach anyway. Hope this helps someone. The newly solderered bail attachment point is shown below.
