Eek (again) LPG tank leaks

So, luckily there is not enough gas in it to drive but on inspecting the underside of my van I find I can smell gas round one area of the LPG tank,
I don't think these are weldable!?
Is replacement possible?
Where the hell would I get one?
Does it have to be fitted by a specialist?
Orrrrr, can I put an extra petrol tank there?

Squirt everything with water and fairy liquid mix to work out where its leaking. Might just be a fitting and not the tank itself.

The smell is comming from the bottom nr the strap, I'll post a pic if I've got one

i have circled where the smell of gas is coming from, there cant be much gas in there as not enough to drive the van on it, or maybe thats because there isnt enough pressure in the tank, either way there are no lights on the gauge so it is very low in gas

daisydon wrote:So, luckily there is not enough gas in it to drive but on inspecting the underside of my van I find I can smell gas round one area of the LPG tank,
I don't think these are weldable!?
Is replacement possible?
Where the hell would I get one?
Does it have to be fitted by a specialist?
Orrrrr, can I put an extra petrol tank there?

a) Weldable -- I think petrol tanks are so this should be no different. However, I believe Rich used some non welding solution for leaking petrol tanks, you could try some of that. (he mentioned it in a couple of earlier posts).

b) Replacement possible -- yes.

c) Where from -- lpg specialist.

d) Does it have to be fitted by a specialist -- no but it may save you a lot of hassle over fittings etc if it is.
(If you do it yourself your insurance company may require it to be examined by a specialist to ensure it is up to standard. That costs about £120 I think).

e) Use extra petrol tank? -- petrol tanks are not suitable for lpg.

What dimensions does it have (length, width) and what capacity?

not sure welding souloutin or similar would be suitable as the gas is under a lot of pressure when in the tank, i know thay are supposed to be min of 8mm thick steel and possibly multi layered to
as for the petrol tank option i should have been clearer, i meat to have an extra tank for petrol rather than gas, the petrol tank on these is so small id have to fill up before i even got to cornwall or wales
i think its about 25ltr tank ill measure it later
im not going to use it till ive solved the problem although my petrol pump is sounding a bit rough when i turn on the ignition so hopefully thats not going to give up on me too soon!

Cost is probably about £50 or £60.

http://www.tinleytech.co.uk/acatalog/Tanks_-_single-hole.html

Measure it, work out what fitting points are on it, then swap it over.

You are working with high pressure fittings though so you had better be competent.

Yes you can weld pressure vessels. Only cert'd welders are fit for this task though, and then it will need pressure testing. As yours is rusting no where will weld it up though as it'll be rotten everwhere so where do you start and finish?

Same time. Is it worth fixing it?

In my opinion, worthless as it may be. If I had an old hijet with a broken spring, over heating issues, and probably other faults when you go looking hard I'm not sure I'd bother spending any money on it. I bought the white one 4 months ago with 32k miles in lovely condition, 2 owners from new, and it cost me £670 I think. It's worth keeping on the road for a couple of years, but it won't be long before it's no longer financially viable.

Looks to me as the powdercoating is coming off the tank, these tanks are so strong it would surprise me if it was leeking anywhere apart from one of the fittings, Lpg gas is a lot more heavier than air so any leaks you would smell the lower you go, I had to remove a valve from a tank the week end that was 1/4 full. I just wound one of the valves out slowly keeping the direction of the valve horizontal and the area well clear, it must have gone 30 ft before it came to a stop and the whole area was like a scene out of a horror movie with a fog just 12" off the floor, either buy some gas detection spray (ebay item 321022819432) or as Matt said some fairy and water

d1noh wrote:I had to remove a valve from a tank the week end that was 1/4 full. I just wound one of the valves out slowly keeping the direction of the valve horizontal and the area well clear, it must have gone 30 ft before it came to a stop

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! F*cking mad man!!! Good job you didn't get hurt or cold burnt. I had a little chuckle at the thoughts of you been a tad surprised by this valve and tank parting company rapido style

And I have a hunch to go with d1noh's mentality, tanks last a bloody long time, while fittings and pipe work leak.

All the powder coating on mine is peeling but it doesn't lose any gas. If the tank walls were getting to the point of leaking I'm surprised it didn't explode the last time you filled it up.

na, not this time I wasn't surprised, thats why you keep them horizontal but the first time I did let one go thats another story , and yes LPG cold burns, the grass area around the tank was thick ice, even when filling them up at the gas station when you let the gun go can burn

Well that's all food for thought, I don't think I will be tackling any of it myself but I won't be having anything done in the near future, the LPG isn't vital just a bonus, I'll put the feelers out for anyone that can work on it and go from there I think

And yeah, I got my fingers a couple of times when I first got the van, where I used to fill up didn't have the protector bit and I didn't realise!

you can seal and weld petrol tanks and Matt is right only certified welders touch pressure stuff I would look for a leak elsewhere.

Apparently there is something called gas spray as recommended by d1noh that you can see gas leeks with if you spray it on where you think its leeking.
http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Mon202%20202O%20Gas%20Leak%20Detector%20Spray%205015375002028%20202O

Right, I had a poke around the gas tank today and put some washing up liquid on it... It's deffo the tank, I think maybe my van was unlucky and got a tank with a dodgy powder coating on it, must have had moisture get in ages ago to rust right thro ill try and post the pics of the bubbles tomorrow

So I will be on the look out for a replacement tank, it's not urgent but if one comes up at the right price before the rest of the van gives up I might be tempted

Mine is surprisingly badly rusted to, for just a few bubbles on the surface. I found rust up to 3 or 4 mm deep when I chipped it off.

I was going to take mine off to clean it up properly and it was pretty easy to disconnect the gas. But my plans came undone when it came to unbolting the metal bands holding the tank in place. Due to the curvature of the bands I could not get any of my spanners properly on the inside bolt heads. So I'm going to wait until I have an empty tank and then use powertools to cut off the bolts.

daisydon wrote:not sure welding souloutin or similar would be suitable as the gas is under a lot of pressure when in the tank, i know thay are supposed to be min of 8mm thick steel and possibly multi layered to
as for the petrol tank option i should have been clearer, i meat to have an extra tank for petrol rather than gas, the petrol tank on these is so small id have to fill up before i even got to cornwall or wales
i think its about 25ltr tank ill measure it later
im not going to use it till ive solved the problem although my petrol pump is sounding a bit rough when i turn on the ignition so hopefully thats not going to give up on me too soon!

LPG tanks aren't 8mm thick, LPG is liquid at room temperature at about 3bar, they are thick about 3mm.
Pure propane is liquid at less than 7bar at room temperature.
LPG tanks are suitable for pressure up to 30bar.

Natural gas cylinders are so thick, because N.G. isn't liquid, and it is compressed up to 300bar.

Here in italy we have to replace LPG tank every ten years (natural gas cylinders every four years).

However it is a strange thing, even if the tank got some shocks from stones or similar things coming from the street.

I think probabily it is not a tank but a fittings issue.

ok, dont know where i got the idea they were supposed to be 8mm thick!
i take it they arnt wealdable tho? that would solve a problem if i could get it welded!
heres a pic of the leak

the pipes are conected on the oposite side so its not gas leaking from there and rolling down the tank

Don't try to repair, but change it...

Mines looking much the same as that, not quite at the leaky stage yet though. Should really keep an eye out for a replacement.

It'll be a standardish cylinder size and shape, I bet if you found a good lpg parts supplier they would get one for about (total guess) £80 which would roughly fit to the same fittings and strap location.

Good guess

http://www.autogas-lpg.co.uk/27--cylindrical-tanks

Logi wrote:Good guess

What do I win? What do I win?

HighlyJetted wrote:

Logi wrote:Good guess

What do I win? What do I win?

good guessers never get married so a winner all round

rich the mechanic wrote:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LPG-CONVERSION-KIT-/321042545349?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4abfa07ac5

Cheers for the link, think the tank may be a tad too big but I've just sent a message to ask the size

Hang you on. They say internal. Is there a difference?

8bit-ash wrote:Hang you on. They say internal. Is there a difference?

Hmmm, that's interesting, last time I looked at that link I'm sure they had external cylindrical ones!

I think the hijet ones have rusted through because they've put an internal tank external!