Propane tank bracket rusted loose

[ShrimpBurrito]

I was just doing a few housekeeping things on my TM, when I happened to notice that the collar on the back end of my horizontal propane tank (which would be the bottom collar on a vertical tank) rusted and cracked apart right where the mounting bracket is welded to the collar. A few other welds attaching the collar to the tank have also rusted/broke loose, such that now the only thing holding the back bracket to the tank is one weld joint about 1/4" - 1/2" wide. The tank definitely has some play back and forth on the mount, so I am a bit concerned about going anywhere with it.

Replacement horizontal tanks are pricey -- about $150 from what I've found. I thought possibly about getting it rewelded, but I'm not sure if that's cost effective. They'd had to pull the valve I'd imagine before they'd weld it, and then the tank would have to be recertified before anyone would refill it.

Any ideas? Has anyone had to replace theirs yet?

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

I ended up sanding down the rust spots with a Dremel where the welds had broken loose (down to bare steel), liberally applied some JB Weld, and clamped the collar together with a zip tie till the glue cured. After about 500 miles, the JB Weld still holds like a champ -- just as good as before, or even better.

Upon looking at the tanks closer, my guess is that the collars on horizontal tanks are not designed for mounting. There's only about 3 weld joints on the entire collar, and I think the whole thing should be welded. It appears that the tank manufacturer attached the collars using the same collar and attachment process used to attach the collar on vertical tanks -- on vertical tanks, the collar just provides a flat surface for the tank to sit, and thus, doesn't need anything substantial.

Dave

[ShrimpBurrito]

Well, the JB Weld didn't hold up on our recent journey down the very bumpy dirt washboarded road that took several pieces apart on our TM. The entire JB Weld section pulled apart, and I had applied it liberally to bare metal. It may hold if traveling mostly on paved roads, so I may try again, or see if I can find something stronger. I used JB Quik Weld, which cures in ~4 minutes, whereas the regular version takes longer. Does anyone know if the Quik Weld is a weaker bond?

Dave

[Bill]

According to the JB Weld web site, the Kwik is about half as strong as the regular.

The site has other interesting nuggets. They do not recommend that you eat JB Weld. And they do not recommend that you use it inside the combustion chamber of your engine. Lawyers, lawyers ...

The stresses on the tank bracket are pretty large. I've forgotten exactly how the tanks screw down on the 2000 models, but if it is possible to put 3 or 4 thicknesses of rubber sheeting (like inner tube rubber) between the tank bracket and the TM cross-frame that it bolts onto, it would probably help.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Thanks, Bill. I guess I should have googled that first....

The website actually has numerical specs on the stuff, which is rather surprising for a product that you often seen sold in little trays next to cash registers at hardware stores. When you say that the Kwik is about as half as strong as the regular, I think the spec you are referring to is the tensile strength.

http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

But in my case, it looks like the weld made a clean break from the tank. The JB Weld itself didn't break apart, it just separated from the tank. To me, that seems more related to the "adhesion" spec also listed on the website, and unfortunately, both the Kwik and regular versions are the same in that regard. But maybe I'm interpreting those terms incorrectly.

Dave

[Bill]

Agreed - I didn't spot the adhesion spec. I suppose you can clean it up and try again, this time using rubber isolation between the carrying frame and the tank, and between tank and the bolt head. Or maybe a couple short but rather tough compression springs?

Bill