My New Parkerizing Tank (with pics)

asphalt599

asphalt599

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I had some stainless sheel sitting around the garage that was bought to make a Parkerizing Tank. I had been waiting to get a TIG welder to put it all together or get a chance to use a friends.
Last week I bought a nice little Miller stick machine that I planned to buy a TIG setup for. To my disapointment because of the computer in it it wont do TIG (huge bummer). Today I said screw it and desided to stick weld it. I have never stick welded stainless before. I can't say that I have ever stick welded anything this thin before either.
It definaltely isn't perfect but actually didn't turn out that bad.

PB220319.jpg

Tank is 32.5" long, 6" wide and 5.75" deep

A couple pics of the bottom
PB220322.jpg


PB220323.jpg

Up close of my weld.

PB220325.jpg


Here is a pic with a dime to show the thickness. I was worried it was going to be too thin to stick weld but managed to go ok. Probably in the area of 1/16" think. not sure what gauge.

PB220326.jpg


What do you guys think. I think the size will be ok for most things, barrels etc. Would have been a bit prettier with TIG but not too bad. A little bit of ugly on the inside too.
 
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Pretty... maybe not. But it's a work piece, not a show piece, so the look doesn't matter so much. What does matter is that it'll hold what you need, and it'll last a while.

Are you going to use it with that room-temperature black oxide stuff? I can't remember the name or brand... Cal-tech or something? My initial assumption is that you're going to use a liquid-based solution, rather than a spray-on or something. If so, the only suggestion I would make is to weld a small nut in one corner of the bottom, then drill a hole right over it and use it as a drain plug. You could probably find a small, brass, 1/2" drain fitting at Home Depot for under $5, and screw that into the nut. You could probably even get some tubing to fit over the barbs at the end, so you could drain it directly into a container without moving the tank. You don't want to have to pick it up every time you want to drain the solution.

Shame you're all the way out in Ontario... I would've offered some parts for you to "test" your new kit on... :D
 
I have a recipy somewhere around here for parkerizing solution that I am going to try. I think it has to be 180 degrees or something like that. Probably do it in the back yard on a coleman stove or on the BBQ. First run may have to wait till spring.....maybe not though.
 
Would have been easier to have it bent up from a single piece and just weld ends on. Then you could have a lip to rest the tank on. You'll need a lid as well.

You can make up a frame to hold it and a pipe burner to heat it. Brownells used to sell all that if you don't feel like drilling all the holes in the pipe.

Or you could just get some ex-restaurant equipment burners and improvise.
 
RRCo. said:
Would have been easier to have it bent up from a single piece and just weld ends on. Then you could have a lip to rest the tank on. You'll need a lid as well.

You can make up a frame to hold it and a pipe burner to heat it. Brownells used to sell all that if you don't feel like drilling all the holes in the pipe.

Or you could just get some ex-restaurant equipment burners and improvise.

.
Click to expand...

Yes... It would have been easier to bend it but the stainless I ran across was not sized to do it that way.
Hadn't really thought about a lid. I have some more stainless left over that I could make one from. Might be able to bend that up on my brake if I feel like digging out the brake.
 
Your tank looks alright, I'd just smooth and polish the interior a bit with a grinder and sandpaper.

One of our members posted a picture of a tank stand he made out of angle iron and 3 or 4 stove burners as a heat source.

I think I saved it somewhere on my hard drive. I'll see if I can't find it to show you how good it looks.

BTW, I'd like to have a 4 tank set-up.

Tank #1 of boiling distilled water to dip the sandblasted/degreased parts in,

Tank #2 of parkerizing solution,

Tank #3 of boiling distilled water to neutralize the solution,

Tank #4 of warm oil (Valvoline) to dunk the parts in for protection from rust (apparently this also turns the parkerized metal green.)
 
Actually, to touch on that pipe burner idea... not sure if you're referring to the same thing, but you could probably buy a new BBQ burner from a supply store (or even Can Tire), or salvage one from an old BBQ... then just mount it underneath and use a gas knob to regulate the temperature.

However you plan on heating it, you should figure out some kind of support frame... if you're going to do it in the backyard, then make sure the bottom of the legs are wide enough apart to prevent tipping if you accidentally hit it. I'm assuming you're going to do it on concrete, so you might even consider wheels or something, so you can push it around rather than picking it up or dragging it on the ground.
 
outside weld's look fine as far as I can tell from the blurry pics :nest:

What you don't want is to leave the dark oxides on the the inside welds, to remove them go to a welding supply store and buy some " Classic Pickling paste" this will remove the oxides and pacify the metal so the Park solution doesn't react with anything. Follow the directions on the bottle for best results.
 
Give me some specs on your miller welder, I have fitted many buzz boxes with a diode bridge / capacitor and some extra small goodies like a choke and what not to smooth things out.
DC scratch start TIG from a buzz box is quite doable and works fine......

Let me know - Decent stick welds - What rod did you use?
Nice work
 
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