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That There’s An Are Vee

Discussion in 'Quitters' Club' started by ITLKSEZ, Sep 14, 2020.

  1. Aug 30, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    6,656
    Here’s video of a pretty spot along the trail.

     
    Walt Couch and Ol Fogie like this.
  2. Sep 24, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    6,656
    We have had our limit with the TV/DVD/Apple TV only working when hooked up to power or running the generator (which is a bit overkill just to watch a movie).

    I tore into this thing this morning…

    [​IMG]

    …and ran an old 12-2 extension cord through the walls and false bottoms of the cabinets to inconspicuously connect 12v power from the last accessory fuse port in the converter box…

    [​IMG]

    …up to a 200w inverter in the cabinet. What a major pain in the butt.

    Now the entertainment stuff will work whenever. :bananatool:

    [​IMG]
     
    fhoehle, Danefraz, jeepstar and 8 others like this.
  3. Sep 24, 2021
    Jw60

    Jw60 Sitting up n buckled down. 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Sedalia MO.
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    Apr 8, 2008
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    4,716
    We got a 12v tv/dvd with a power brick for the wall. I've been meaning to run the 12v cord to the 12v supply for the antenna above it... it's been a year now. Plan is to have the USB powered roku with wifi off the phone but it is nice to just say it doesn't work and read a book.
     
    Lockman and ITLKSEZ like this.
  4. Jan 18, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    During last year’s trip to Moab, the AC compressor locked up solid as we were crossing the UT/CO border. Luckily I heard it immediately and shut it off before it damaged the belt. I’ve been putting this off because I knew how bad the job was going to suck.

    I ordered a new compressor, condenser, accumulator, orifice tube, a gauge set, vacuum pump, and some flush solvent from rockauto. $533.

    When I unboxed the condenser and saw the quality, I decided to take the time to flush the old one. The new one was absolute junk that I feared would collapse under a vacuum draw. That’s either getting returned or maybe I’ll try to sell it locally. It was only $80, so returning it might not be worth my trouble.

    Getting to the compressor and accumulator on this thing was a chore. I wanted to have a word with whomever designed the layout of this engine compartment. :steamed:

    I cut the compressor open to see the carnage, and I wasn’t disappointed. Smeared aluminum and broken pieces everywhere.

    [​IMG]

    I fished out the orifice tube, and that thing was a mess!

    [​IMG]

    When refilling the system with oil, all the instructions tell you to measure the amount of oil that drains out, then replace that amount in the new component with fresh oil. Well, it’s no secret why the pump failed; there was no oil in the system anywhere.

    [​IMG]

    But there was PLENTY of aluminum shavings.

    [​IMG]

    Flushing every line looked like this 20x each. It took a full day to flush everything. The fluid went in the condenser clear and came out looking like dark gray metallic paint. I strained the solvent through coffee filters and reused it until there was none left.

    By Saturday I had it sealed up to draw a vacuum, and it was still holding steady Sunday morning. I had it all back together, recharged and blowing cold air by Sunday afternoon. Hopefully I did it all correctly and the AC outlasts our ownership.
     
    47v6, fhoehle, bigjohn and 6 others like this.
  5. Jan 18, 2022
    SFaulken

    SFaulken Active Member

    Bellevue, WA
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    May 24, 2011
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    1,178
    Ahhh, the good old dry black death in the orifice tube trick. That one is always fun.
     
    Ol Fogie, ITLKSEZ and Lockman like this.
  6. Apr 11, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
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    6,656
    One of our complaints with this house-on-wheels has been with the generator. The fuel draws from the main tank, and the tube only has access to the top half of the tank (to prevent you from using too much of the main engine’s fuel while camping). So when you get tired of driving and just want to crash in a parking lot below half tank, the generator won’t run. Annoying.

    So I set out to build a 10 gallon tank specifically for the generator. As an added bonus, I can run ethanol-free gas in the generator.

    I started with a sheet of 16g I picked out of the remnants rack at the local steel place…

    [​IMG]

    And some lengths of thin wall 2x2 tubing I grabbed from the scrap yard, and welded in some caps with concealed nuts. These will sit above the frame with the tank hanging from them…

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And I went to the local u-pull-it yard for some fuel filler neck hardware. Trying to figure out downspout ideas with leftover header parts from the Hippo…

    [​IMG]

    Tank assembly…

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Leak test didn’t go too well…
    10 leaks in total, but I guess that’s not too bad, considering there’s ~12 1/2 feet of weld on this.

    [​IMG]

    The new filler neck will go in front of the DS rear wheel opening, exactly equal to where the main filler is behind the opening for a symmetrical look.

    [​IMG]

    I stared at this for a long time before actually making the cut.

    The opening is above the grade of the floor, so the filler neck will pass through under the sink. I’ll make a box to close it in and seal it off to prevent any vapors from coming in.

    [​IMG]

    That’s where I’m up to; I ran out of mig gas. :banghead:
     
    Danefraz, jzeber, 73 cj5 and 5 others like this.
  7. Apr 11, 2022
    WYOMIKE

    WYOMIKE Oct 1971 pic

    Parkman, Wyoming
    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2003
    Messages:
    685
    Just thought I would pass on a few comment from my experience of making a gas tank.

    Back in the 70's my wife and I went to Alaska for our honeymoon. Back then the road was 1500 miles of gravel one way and very few gas stations along the way. So I did like you are doing and made a spare gas tank to set in the back of my Jeep. Learned a thing or two about making tanks like you are doing. One gas will find leaks where water can not. So just because a quick check using water shows no leak, there still may be some spots that gas can leak out of. In our shop we have even seen cases of testing things with air and looking for bubbles did not show a leak, but light hydrocarbons seemed to be able to find a place to seep out of . So do a lot of leak tests to make sure it is leak proof. After I built the tank I don't remember for sure what I used to put into the tank, but I added something and then rolled, rattled and everything I could so what I put in the tank would loosen any weld slag, rust, etc. and allow me to flush out the garbage and make sure it did not have any small particles that could get to my carb. And the final thing I did was pour a couple gallons of paint thinner in the tank for a final flush. On the way up to Alaska I kept getting little pieces of slag or something in the check valves of my fuel pump and would have to take the pump off and clean it. Finally found a gas station that had a fuel filter and put that in the line and that solved the problem. Your gen set probably has a carp filter, but there pretty small and it does not take much to plug them so to be safe I would add another inline filter to be safe.
    Just my 2 cents worth.

    Mkie

    Picture of wife waiting for me to fix the pump about the third time and not too happy about it.

    upload_2022-4-11_11-0-16.png
     
    Danefraz, Ol Fogie, Jw60 and 5 others like this.
  8. Apr 11, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    Thanks @WYOMIKE
    That’s no way to spend a honeymoon! But think of the stories you guys have to share! :D

    I totally know what you mean about gas finding it’s way through where air didn’t. This is my 4th(?) gas tank build for myself, plus I used to work at a place that built huge service trucks for massive mining equipment. My department was building the tanks for the liquids. I picked up a lot of tips and tricks there.

    2:15 in the video, the white oil tanks were what I was building mostly.
     
  9. Apr 11, 2022
    duffer

    duffer Rodent Power

    Bozeman, MT
    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2009
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    4,457
    I just used tank sealer in the last tank (24.5 gal) I built for the 3B. That was after pressure testing for leaks because I did not want the same problem you experienced and wanted to minimize rust problems down the road. I welded the lid on last and had cleaned up all the interior welds to that point. So far, so good after about 15 years.
     
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  10. Apr 11, 2022
    Zoomer

    Zoomer eJeeper (walking)

    Minnesota
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    Sep 22, 2002
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    Nice work. Would it have been easier to just pull from fuel line going to the engine with some sort of valve, maybe something like what is used for dual tanks, just the opposite?
     
  11. Apr 11, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    Yup.
    But when have I ever done anything the easy way… :crazy: :D

    Honestly, the non-ethanol aspect is huge for me and worth it on its own.
     
    ojgrsoi, Danefraz, WYOMIKE and 3 others like this.
  12. Apr 11, 2022
    Zoomer

    Zoomer eJeeper (walking)

    Minnesota
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    Sep 22, 2002
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    Yeah, I agree, I hate ethonal for anything that sits. I've seen green gunk grow in fuel bowls. Before we put our RV into storage for the winter I unplugged the fuel pump, ran it dry and pulled the fuel bowl to dump anything remaining. Hope it's ok when we fire it up this spring.
     
    ITLKSEZ likes this.
  13. Apr 16, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    These are the ones that get’ya!
    This was 10psi after 10 minutes.

    [​IMG]

    This was the culprit after I ground it out:

    [​IMG]

    These leaks always happen on cold starts. With MIG welding, there’s always 1/8” - 1/4” in the beginning of the weld where there’s not enough heat for the puddle to penetrate the base metal, so the weld just sits on top. Not helpful when you’re trying to get a fluid seal. The trick is to start your weld in beyond where you want to start, then drag back into the beginning once it’s hot, then go back over and blend the cold blob into the hot puddle. Welding on the corner of thin gauge steel complicates the issue.

    Finally sealed up!! (after umpteen pressure tests)

    [​IMG]

    Meanwhile, I finalized the filler neck by adding 2 1/2” of length.

    [​IMG]

    I made a CAD template for the doghouse around the filler:

    [​IMG]

    And turned it into steel…

    [​IMG]

    Fits well! This will just get stuck fast with seam sealer.

    [​IMG]

    Paint day was yesterday…

    [​IMG]

    I packed everything with Great Stuff

    [​IMG]

    The filler didn’t have a gas cap when I pulled it from a ford transit van in the yard. I found a Volvo gas cap from the Varg’s engine donor was a perfect fit!

    Everything is sealed with seam sealer to keep spills and vapors out of the cabin.

    [​IMG]

    I should have this all together by tomorrow. The paint is still tacky, and the insulation needs some time.
     
  14. Apr 16, 2022
    Twin2

    Twin2 not him 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Virginia Beach, VA
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    [​IMG]

    CAD is priceless :rofl:
     
  15. Apr 18, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    Finally done. But now I’m scared to put gas in it. It’s Schrödinger’s gas tank; It doesn’t leak as long as I don’t put gas in it.

    The tank is supported by two 1.5” square tubes that rest on the frame and are held in place by plates that used existing frame holes.

    [​IMG]

    It only hangs about an inch below the frame. It looks close to the driveshaft, but there’s about 4” of clearance.

    [​IMG]

    Doghouse is permanent, complete with dirty fingerprints. I used cheap tractor paint I’d bought a few years ago that seems to stay eternally tacky. Garbage.

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Apr 18, 2022
    Lockman

    Lockman OK.....Now I Get It . 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Silver Hill,...
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    Who you Kidd'n?..... You ain't Scared of nut'n :rofl:

    We used to test any type of tanks with Higher air pressure . The Welds & Skins should hold a Good amount of PsI , plus it's a lot cleaner than fixing a leak found with gasoline. However.... I ain't no Rocket Scientist , Just Say'n.....
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2022
  17. Apr 18, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    The largest two faces of this tank are 20” x 15”.
    That’s 300 square inches of surface.
    At 10psi, that’s 3000 pounds of force pushing outwards on 16g steel. That’s enough for me, thanks.
     
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  18. Apr 18, 2022
    45es

    45es Active Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Naches, WA
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    That 10psi is alot more pressure than I would ever consider putting into that box. A potential bomb. Years ago while working for Lockheed Ship Building, we had to test the water tight compartments. The test pressure was 2psi which doesn't sound like much until you do the math as you did for the tank. Imagine an 8'x10' bulkhead with a 2psi test pressure applied. The bulkhead had to resist over 23 thousand pounds of pressure during the test.
     
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  19. Apr 19, 2022
    Lockman

    Lockman OK.....Now I Get It . 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Silver Hill,...
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    That's confusing to Me , Ed ? Is not pounds per square inch. exactly that ? Thanks for any education on this ...... I'm certainly not a Physics or Math expert :confused::oops:
     
  20. Apr 19, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    96 x 120 x 2 = 23,040
     
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