material and thickness for surge tank

[vn304turbo]

So got a new mig the other day and decided I dont like the surge tank I ordered so I want to make my own ; )

Don't have the right gear to weld aluminum yet so its either mild steel or stainless and im thinking mild steel ; ) as I wont have to change out my wire spool lol.

What do you all think about 3 mil thick mild steel as a surge tank? Would the inside just rust out or should I be looking to coat it in something? I think chassis black will do for the outside I like the stealth look

[HQ355]

It depends how long you are going to be using said tank ? What are your welding skills ? If you are ok with a welder about the 1mm thickness will be fine as it isn't under pressure, where abouts are you, I can give you a hand if you want as I'm a fabricator, cheers

[vn304turbo]

Im in Canberra mate, thats a very generous off tho thankyou mate : ) I was looking at some 3mm mild but was unsure if it was suitable. Spose ill go ahead and order it now. Im no pro welder and havnt done alot for a while but had a crack over the weekend and im confident and competent its all come back pretty quick. I also considered an under water pressure test in an old 44gal drum. If it passes at 30psi (air) then ill call it done.

I just wanted something for under the car that suits a commy. Cant seem to find what I want on ebay as most of them are upright style ones mean for in a boot or on some sort of pedestal under the car and just didnt like what I saw or the one I ordered so I flogged it off on the cheap about 10 minutes ago lol

[HQ355]

Yeah bit far to help as I'm in melbourne, if your running a return line back to your fuel tank it won't be pressurized, what size are you going to make it out of ? If round pipe go to a place that does truck exhaust and you can get pipe in a lot of increments up to 6" and about 1mm thick and cheap if you ask for off cut. To test it fill with water then if you have pin holes it's not flammable to re weld. If you need any advice let me know, happy to help out !

[vn304turbo]

Awesome thats actually not a bad idea, I have set myself a little bit more of a challenge tho and ordered 2 380x300x3mm sheets of steel and the first one I make will be square or rectangular atleast. Not sure on final dimensions yet as ill need to crawl under the car and take some measurements. But ill be aiming to end up with an internal volume of 2L or more.

I will most definitely be running a return line as it will be driven on the street as much as track days (or skid pan days)

[vlad01]

hey HQ? how good are you at TIG work?

[Dazza92VP]

For my uncles over lander we used an old Harley oil tank had enough fitting holes and also mounting points as well as being horizontal instead if vertical

[HQ355]

I'm good on mild steel and stainless,
Havnt done much alluminium, my HQ needs a bit of alluminium work soon though so that should get the practice up

[Jayme]

yeah im still not convinced at the long term suitability of mild steel for putting fuel in... youd want something coating the inside of it at least... long term, if it rusts itll probably block up your filters often.

[vn304turbo]

Yea thats what I was worried about. Not too sure what I should coat it in either.

What did gmh use for fuel tanks? Both material and coating?