Tilley KL80 tank construction

Discussion in 'Fettling Forum' started by James, Jul 6, 2019.

  1. James

    James Subscriber

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    Hi anyone ever taken apart and resoldered a KL80 tank? Is it just a case of melting the solder seam around the rim and it coming apart? I have one that looks like its been used as a hammer and I thought I might try and do something about it.
     
  2. JEFF JOHNSON

    JEFF JOHNSON United Kingdom Subscriber

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    I have heard that it's possible to remove dents by filling the tank with water and then placing the tank in a deep freeze, but I have not tried it.
     
  3. Jean J

    Jean J Subscriber

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    I’ve had one done for me and a right neat job it was too.
     
  4. Ian Bingham

    Ian Bingham Subscriber

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    I have tried something similar as an experiment. I made a heavy dent in an X246B tank, filled it with water and then pressurised it using a side-arm grease gun. A crude metal cage prevented the bottom from dishing down. The force did largely blow-out the heavy dent, but the process deformed the tank by ballooning it in various directions and places.

    If you cast a support (sand?) all around the tank where it was not dented, with some compressible material adjacent to the dent, it might well work better. But my experiment showed that it was too easy to swell the tank where not intended.

    Not having tried it, I can't be sure but it seems likely to me that a KL80 tank will come apart once it is unsoldered.
     
  5. JEFF JOHNSON

    JEFF JOHNSON United Kingdom Subscriber

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    The build quality of a Tilley ML., tank is better than the build quality of an X-246-B tank, so that may make a difference.
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2019

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