I am embarrassed to admit that I paid £70 for an FL6, described as "restored", only to find that the steel tank has numerous tiny pinholes. These are largely (and strangely) on the top of the tank, and weren't visible on first inspection. Other than that, the lamp is complete and in good condition. Can anyone suggest a reliable method of repairing the tank? I have thought about soft-soldering or Araldite to plug the pinholes. Any suggestions would be welcome! Thank you, Phil
Phil If you really want to get that tank working, I would recommend using POR 15. The kit is expensive, but if you follow the instructions precisely, and pressurise the tank during the last application of the sealant, you will get an excellent result. If you or your mates have more than one tank to seal, do them all at the same time as POR 15 is hard to keep once opened. Cheers Tony
Here's a link to the tank repair kit: http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Fuel-Tank-Repair-Kit_p_62.html Cheers Tony
Hello Phil, the link below shows an FL-6 which Stu resurrected, Jeff. http://0flo.com/index.php?posts/17799
Tony, that's helpful, thanks. The POR15 is available over here at reasonable cost. I'm not sure about using an internal sealant, though - it would be difficult if not impossible to prevent the sealant from getting into the dip tube. And it's a once-only process; if I mess it up, there's no going back! Jeff, thanks for the link to Stu's excellent restoration. His tank wasn't perforated in the pressurised section, though. I think I'm going to try soldering the pinholes up first...
I've just spotted this thread: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/2978 It seems that Neil recommends soldering, so I'll go with that to start with.
That thread refers to a repairing a single leak around a tank fixing. You might be better off with POR15 to repair pinholes as you could solder them all up now and later on a few new ones appear. On the other hand if you put enough lead on the tank it should do the job, although it won't be pretty.
I would too to be honest... I've had very mixed results with the sealant. I have a tank to solder myself, but fortunately it's just leaking around the collar that the pump screws into, so an easy fix.
Phil Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to change your decision, but I find that soldering rusty tanks, without putting a brass cover over the area of rustiness, becomes a never ending story. It's great if you've only got one or two stress cracks, but a large area of rustiness can be a big pain in the proverbial - but that could be because my soldering is shite. Anyway, here is my POR fix on a Tilley R1. I still use it regularly in winter out in the shed: http://0flo.com/index.php?posts/31975 Cheers Tony
Quick update: I have now soldered up around twenty pinholes, and whilst it doesn't look too pretty the tank is now airtight. A washer kit and some mantles have arrived and I will be aiming to fire it up later today. I'll post a couple of photos if all goes well. This lamp will see regular use on a heritage steam railway, so a quick rub down and a coat of smooth black Hammerite will have to suffice!
I achieved first light this afternoon! I still have a small air leak from one point around the threaded pump connection, where the brass insert is soldered into the steel tank, but the soldering of the pinholes appears to have been 100% successful, so that's something to celebrate I suppose Phil
Just a thought - would be interested to know if anyone has tried this... Back in the day (~1982?), having a car that needed £400 worth of welding to get through the annual MOT test - I paid £150 for it and it was worth at most £400 in condition....I reckoned if you pay someone to weld it it's a one off loss. If you were to spend that money on some welding kit you can use it again. I bought an Oxy Acetylene kit - & have been paying the cylinder rent ever since. (= a lot!) Anyway, on very rusty sections of car chassis/body having pin holes, a yellow flame with excess acetylene is carbon rich. It chemically reduces oxide back to metal. Loose rust will form into tiny steel balls which drop off but the edges of good metal become clean again. Has anyone tried this then just dropped a spot of filler rod which closes the pinhole? I wish I had a rotten steel tank on which to experiment. Brass or solder nearby is bad. I did this once on a brazed sill - each "glob" of braze exploded in a green fireball. Work at it and the brass burns away ready for some proper steel weld. Burnt solder probably just kills you with lead fumes? On a section of tank away from braze or solder I think pinholes might be filled very effectively like this. Has anyone any experience?
Thank you Jeff. One thing I'd like to do is make up a stand, to replace the one that's missing. Can anyone please post some pictures to show me what it should look like? I could probably bend some 1/2" copper pipe into shape.
Phil, I've seen a stand made how you suggest just recently. I'll see if the maker is interested in sharing.
Thanks Matty. Does the original stand look anything like this? If so, I should be able to make something suitable. Phil
Hello Phil, there is another style of short stand and the link below s hows it. http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/2716
Phil yes. I know it was his first time having a go at pipe bending etc, and it really turned out well. If you have any experience it should be a piece of cake. I cannot for sure say if he used copper or brass pipe but I 'think' it was copper from memory.
Phil, This is the one that was made, though not for an FL6. Anthony made it in 40 minutes at his first go at pipe bending. He used 1/2" copper pipe. On the FL6 stands they have a supporting strut. I suspect if you use copper you will most certainly need that strut.
Phil. Seems to be a common problem with FL6 and SL1 leaking around the pump fitting into the tank. All that pumping etc ,had to repair 4 of mine resolder the brass fitting again , Bob .
Thanks for the kind words, but I have yet to solder (100% successfully) the brass threaded pump connection where it joins the tank. As Bob suggests, that point gets a fair bit of mechanical stress due to the forces applied via the large pump handle. I'm planning to strengthen the entire joint by incorporating some stranded copper wire, wrapping it right round the joint then soldering. Hopefully this will encourage the solder to extend over a slightly broader area and give the joint more mechanical rigidity. I'll let you know what happens, successful or not...
Quick update: today I resoldered the threaded pump connector, and it worked like a charm. Found and soldered two more tiny pinholes, and the tank is now completely airtight. I applied a couple of coats of satin black Hammerite and reassembled everything, then burned it for two hours with no loss of pressure and no need for re-pumping. Still working on the stand, which I hope to finish next week and will post some suitable pictures then.
