Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:09:47 -0700
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject: Re: Aluminum coolant tanks
In-Reply-To: <CY4PR0801MB37316CC2B1C519D825516CB0A0E39@CY4PR0801MB3731.namprd08.prod.outlook.com>
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Dennis,
Yes, the hand made tanks should all be pressure tested. It’s not the same as a big production line of injection molded tanks where one can pull statistically chosen samples and do QC/QA.
There can be mistakes made when welding, and that’s why test. All the pressure vessels ive been involved with have all been filled with water and pressurized , for a good time, hours. Any pressure drop or any sign of weeping….
I find aluminum welding much easier than steel or stainless. Big arc and puddle so my eyes can see it! And our shop has very good welding machines. That’s a huge help.
But if it comes to an important weld on one of my personal projects I get one of the real welders to do it for me.
We trade machining jobs for welding jobs , or we use beer as currency .
Back to the reservoirs. They are pressure vessels. They are a critical component. Failure can mean disaster. Every possible check should be made on them.
About six years ago I welded up my own version. Even machined a fitting for stant cap. Was more of an exercise than anything else. I didn’t fit it to my van. So I kinda have an idea of time to make one. They aren’t cheap to make. And you know how cost conscious vanagon owners are.
I’ll say it again, just for annoying emphasis, it’s a frigging pressure vessel! Has to be tested!
:-)
Alistair
> On Jul 21, 2021, at 8:09 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Stuff from Dansk surprises me more when it is good. Test those front heater cores before installing. For the tanks keep in mind that these are hand made. I for one have not been that successful with aluminum welding so I understand the challenge. However they should have a better inspection-or test process. As a small shop I hate having to stock multiples of any part due to failures on install.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> From: Bruce Todd <beeceetee@gmail.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2021 10:53 AM
> To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>; vanagon <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
> Subject: Re: Aluminum coolant tanks
>
> Maybe a bad batch? It is weird to have it happen twice. The other weird thing is during the coolant work back in March was that I replaced the two pipes that cross over the transmission - and they had a leak as well - they were from Dansk. Got some bad karma perhaps - or good in that the leaks were apparent before heading off somewhere.
>
> Bruce
>
> On Wed, Jul 21, 2021 at 7:17 AM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com<mailto:d23haynes57@hotmail.com>> wrote:
> I've been using Van-Café tanks for years without issue. I started using the GoWesty tanks due to the sight glass, well for the level sensor and price. I have some in stock. I hope this is an isolated event and not a sign of things to come. Welding aluminum can be a challenge.
>
> Dennis
>
>
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