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Tried sealing a fuel tank with epoxy instead of swapping it, and it held for 80 miles
Customer's old work truck had a pinhole seeping diesel up top, and he did not want to pay for a new tank, so I scuffed it clean and laid on some two part epoxy putty. It cured hard as a rock, passed a pressure check at 5 psi, and I felt like a genius until he rolled back in 80 miles later with it weeping again right at the edge of the patch. Turns out diesel will find a way through anything eventually, so now I just quote the tank and save everybody the round trip, but has anyone had one of those patches actually last long term?
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thea70419d ago
Ever tried fixing a leak with hope and a tube of putty? Been there, buddy. I patched a guy's lawn mower tank with that same two part stuff and it held for a whole summer, but gas and diesel are two different animals. That diesel creep you're talking about is real, it works its way under the edge of the patch like water finding a crack in a driveway. My longest lasting fix was a quarter sized patch on a metal tank that I drained and let sit for two days before I touched it, and even that started sweating around the 400 mile mark. Epoxy just does not bond to a seeping surface no matter how clean you think you got it.
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