I have been into about a dozen of the cast aluminum tanks, I was very fortunate to run into the easy to do ones first. Later on I rand into tanks
with warped or corroded flange surfaces, broken studs and shut off
valve. All problems were resolved and tanks resealed.
Did I know what I was doing when I started…nope…had to figure things
out as I went along. Sometimes you do need a welder to add back a little metal to repair a crack or fill in a drilled out stud hole or gas valve hole
I have the advantage of a lot of odds and end collected over the years;
The motto in my shop is “What would McGyver do?” Junk I picked
up decades back sometimes is just the right thing to solve a problem…
sometimes the first solution proves unworkable, but, in the attempt
the solution that will work becomes clear.
How long will the reseal hold up over time? I don’t know, probably long
enough to outlast me. I think it will depend upon my workmanship more
than material used, I have had to redo a tank that failed to seal the first
time ,but, that was due to an error on my part.
Currently I am working on a cast aluminum tank from a 1941 Sea King
single made by Kiekhaefer. I have it cleaned up and tank flange surfaces sanded flat and smooth. Sometime in past its had a seam
leak repair attempt…drilled 2 holes thru tank halves from top to bottom
Threaded rods were used to pull tank halves together in an effort to
stem the leak. A different way to do things, but, if it solved the seam leak it also made for 4 new ways for tank to leak.
Louis
