Securing the gas tank

[Alex]

I need some ideas. I've seen 3 alternatives

- Just weld on tabs on the back/sides and bolt it down (seems to be some concern with cracking welds overtime?)

- Do the above, but pad it with 1/8'' foam under the weld-on tabs to allow it some expansion room

- Don't bolt it down but build a prison wall for it (i.e., tabs that are bolted to the frame that but up against it and keep it from moving around) .... not to certain about this idea because I'd want something that's carrying fuel to be bolted somewhere so it can't try to walk away

Are there any other ideas out there?

 

[Fred W Ballinger]

Fule tank are best secured by means of thin steel straps over the body of the tank, with rubber between the straps and the tank. Tank can sit inside some angle brackets/frame to stop it moving back and forth, and the straps kep it down into position.

Cheers

Fred W B

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Alex, you should be able to fit yours in a cup holder so it will be secure enough ....



steel straps would be the simplest in your case as Fred recommends...yours being non stock etc...

 

[Ruth]

What is the "From the Factory" provision or intent for this?

 

[Alex]

Alex, you should be able to fit yours in a cup holder so it will be secure enough ....

steel straps would be the simplest in your case as Fred recommends...yours being non stock etc...

Decided to make a new one similar to Howards ..... my fuel capacity has creeped up a little bit now, muahahaha.

There were a few issues with the micro tank - chiefly I was concerned about the size of the sump (small, and in the corner as opposed to centered) and no ideal place for a proper vent line. Now my sump is 2L big (lol lol) and dead centered in the rear (well, as centered as it can be with the baffling I had done and the constraints of the floor cross pieces)

So I'm back to securing him again. Straps would probably work, but I'd have no idea where to begin to secure them or anything.

I'm thinking maybe a combination of foam and tabs? Weld 2 tabs on the rear (one at each end), one on the passenger side, 1/8'' silicone padding under them and bolt down, and then on the sides 2 tabs sticking up to trap it just incase all 3 tabs ever broke?

 

[Howard Jones]

One on the main reasons I did mine like I did (tabs on rubber welded to the corners and bolted to the chassis) was so that I could remove it from the car from the top. I.E. remove seats, seat bulkhead, hoses, sender cable, and then hold down nuts. Then lift out tank through cabin and door. This can be done without reaching down underneath the tank or some other contortion. The bolts heads that are in the side pods are held and will not turn.

Again remember to build it so it can be taken apart without dismantling the whole car or reaching some unreachable bolt head.

 

[Alex]

One on the main reasons I did mine like I did (tabs on rubber welded to the corners and bolted to the chassis) was so that I could remove it from the car from the top. I.E. remove seats, seat bulkhead, hoses, sender cable, and then hold down nuts. Then lift out tank through cabin and door. This can be done without reaching down underneath the tank or some other contortion. The bolts heads that are in the side pods are held and will not turn.

Again remember to build it so it can be taken apart without dismantling the whole car or reaching some unreachable bolt head.

That's exactly how I'm building my own - disassemble in 5minutes or less

 

[Alex]

I decided to go with rubber under tabs just to get a bit of the best of both worlds.

What size/type of rubber would you guys use? Say 1/8'' neoprene? Different thickness? Different material?

 

[Jack]

1/8" neoprene is fine Alex, or hypalon. Your tank is so small that it's not going to move. Make sure you add a ground wire from the tank to the chassis, as you are effectively isolating it electrically. Don't need any static discharge..

 

[Ricardo Montalvo]

I thought the tank included with the SLC is 26 gallons? What is your capacity now?

 

[Damian]

Alex made some "small" modifications to his tank.

 

[Alex]

1/8" neoprene is fine Alex, or hypalon. Your tank is so small that it's not going to move. Make sure you add a ground wire from the tank to the chassis, as you are effectively isolating it electrically. Don't need any static discharge..

Update on it in a few, but I've gone up in size a bit. From 7gal to about 12gal...w000000t :shocked:

I thought the tank included with the SLC is 26 gallons? What is your capacity now?

I ~think~ the stock capacity is around 15gal once you factor in the vent (since you don't want to run the vent down and under the rear crossmember and create a fuel trap, so you want your vent fitting to initially be below the rear beam) ... if you run your vent upwards in the cockpit area I'd imagine capacity is around 17-18 then?

 

[Mike]

I say go with the strap on...

method of attachment.

 

[Alex]

Stupid question time as I mull this issue over for the superiority tank

Let's say you used straps. Okay, so you wrap your straps around the tank. Now what? He sits on 2 crossbeams and it isn't possible to raise him up (lifting upwards would cause him to interfere with the rear firewall angle), so what would your straps attach to? The only strap design I'm familiar with is the mustang design - it just sits belowt he trunk and the straps support it

On the other hand, let's say you go with your rubber underneath the mounting tabs theory - when you tighten down the bolts wont it cause the rubber to really compress, which, overtime, will compress more and more and cause the bolt to become looser (because the rubber is getting thinner and thinner overtime due to the compression)

 

[Jack]

Overthinking Alex,
I would go for the tabs, locktite the bolts. Your 1/8" neoprene won't compress much.

 

[Mike]

What does it really matter how he chooses to attach it, as by the time THIS car is drivable, we'll all be driving the flying cars!:laugh:


Sorry, but just had to as this whole, "build the custom gas tank for service in Iraq" thing is just too funny. You don't happen to have a degree in mechanical engineering, do you?

Just for discussions sake, why did you need to deviate from "stock"?

And if there was a valid reason, why not just have ATL build you something? I mean by the time you get done with all this "stuff" you are doing, you certainly could have had a "better" fuel cell built by a fuel cell company.

Just my opinion, of course, and I do get the "sometimes the journey is more important than the destination" thing, so if that's the reason, then OK, I get where you are coming from and hope you learned alot.

 

[Seymour Snerd]

On the other hand, let's say you go with your rubber underneath the mounting tabs theory - when you tighten down the bolts wont it cause the rubber to really compress, which, overtime, will compress more and more and cause the bolt to become looser (because the rubber is getting thinner and thinner overtime due to the compression)

The usual way to flexibly mount something like that is with a rubber bushing (i.e. crossection = "H" on it's side, with a hole throught the center) and either a sleeve through the center for the bolt to tighten against, or a shoulder bolt.

Consider, for example, the "Versa-Mount" shown at the bottom of this page in the McMaster catalog:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#vibration-isolators/=a9v2bb

 

[Alex]

What does it really matter how he chooses to attach it, as by the time THIS car is drivable, we'll all be driving the flying cars!:laugh:


Sorry, but just had to as this whole, "build the custom gas tank for service in Iraq" thing is just too funny. You don't happen to have a degree in mechanical engineering, do you?

Just for discussions sake, why did you need to deviate from "stock"?

And if there was a valid reason, why not just have ATL build you something? I mean by the time you get done with all this "stuff" you are doing, you certainly could have had a "better" fuel cell built by a fuel cell company.

Just my opinion, of course, and I do get the "sometimes the journey is more important than the destination" thing, so if that's the reason, then OK, I get where you are coming from and hope you learned alot.

My degree is in stats and actuarial science ... let me analyze your analysis of my over-analyzation

There were several things I wanted to change in the tank, and it was a lot easier and cleaner to make a new one from scratch than modify the stock one.

Btw, I doubt i'd get a better one from ATL or fuel safe or similar - I don't want a fuel cell (if by cell you mean having a bladder you have to replace every few years) and I needed to see it inside the car several times to make a few tweaks here and there .... not going to ship a tank back and forth multiple times to get exactly what I'd need, too much $$$$$

 

[Eric]

On the other hand, let's say you go with your rubber underneath the mounting tabs theory - when you tighten down the bolts wont it cause the rubber to really compress, which, overtime, will compress more and more and cause the bolt to become looser (because the rubber is getting thinner and thinner overtime due to the compression)

Alex

You could ask the same thing about a "standard" gas tank installation, such as on a muscle car, but you never hear of it being an issue there. I agree with Jack, you're overthinking things.

Eric

 

[Mike]

...let me analyze your analysis of my over-analyzation

Interesting how the term "anal" is in every one of those words!:laugh:

I am a Mechanical Engineer...and get sheot for it all the time!

Cell bladders rarely go bad with continual use. It's when they sit for long periods that they go bad.

Just giving you a hard time, that's all, as it appears to me you have just gone WAY too far in building a gas tank. Not that it doesn't look great, just WAY over the top. That's all.