Rusty Propane Tank

[BobW9]

Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, Happy Holidays for those that don't celebrate Christmas

Browsing something brought about a chain of thoughts that lead me to realize I never finished this post on getting a new propane tank.

It took at good 9 weeks to get the new tank, but it finally came on a nice pallet right to my door. I took it to a local RV shop to install, as I didn't want to figure some way to jack up the Concourse, and might have had trouble getting the rusted bolts off, anyway. Besides, I'm much more comfortable working inside the vehicle than on the outside. The new tank is an exact replacement for the old tank, and slipped into the exact spot, even to the bolts (my RV guy put in new bolts with thread-locker sealing to help against future rusting, like you'd expect - but a highly recommended small truck shop, that I used to go to, twice re-used old rusted bolts and nuts!). Just what I was hoping for. Looks beautiful

For anyone that wants an exact replacement like I did, I would recommend the Tarantin people. I think the shipping ended up $75, so it was just about a round $800 to get the new tank, plus installation.

It's hard to be exact about the installation cost - it was 3 hours total, but that labor included removing my black and gray tanks, as I am in the process of getting them replaced, too (the cracks in them that had been glued shut only lasted a couple of years consisting of maybe 6,000 miles on mostly highways, so I decided it wasn't worth it to try that again, especially if I start full-timing it).

Bob

[deppstein]

Picking up an old thread on Rusted Propane Tank—The time has come for me to replace my Manchester 6820 on Turtle (our 2004 Premier). The tank is not leaking yet, but there is one 4 inch section that is definitely rusted deeper than just the surface. I have wire brushed it to see if I could get to good metal, and decided that the rust is significant enough to warrant replacement…17 years old, original valves, and this significant rust have me wanting to error on the side of caution. Thanks to previous posts by many of you, I know where to get my replacement tank, BUT I could use some help in locating a reputable RV service to do the install. I live in the Boston area, so would prefer a New England location—but quality is more important to me than convenience, so anything east of the Mississippi is acceptable.
So who do you use and like? Any and all service recommendations welcome!
Thanks,
David

[deppstein]

I am picking up in a very old thread here about rusted propane tank. Mine finally got to the point where I could no longer ignore it. So I decided to scrape it down with a wire wheel brush to see how bad it really was and then to get a professional opinion, do a leak test, and a pressure test. Results were no leaks, pressure still at 10.7 (11 is standard RV propane pressure), and an ultra sound by the professional tank guy that confirmed I still had decent metal all around. So despite the tank being 22 years old, I decided to refinish it rather than replace it. I was going to at least replace the regulator, but I couldn’t even do that without dropping the protective metal running under the valves—and those bolts were so rusted that I eventually decided that since the pressure was still good, I would leave that alone as well.

The process of refinishing was not particularly difficult..but it was lousy, dirty, messy work done lying on my back under the Rig raised up on my leveling blocks.
For those who might be interested here is a quick summary of the process:
—scrape everywhere you can get to where you see rust using wire wheel attached to hand drill, or with stiff hand brush
—clean with mineral spirits to remove dust
—use Sherwin Williams Macropoxy—a two part 1:1 ratio epoxy specifically designed for this type of coating. The stuff sticks like crazy. I used a stiff nylon brush and worked over three days…getting what I could, letting it dry, then feeling with my hands to find the areas I missed, and repeating that process. Wear full overalls, mask, goggles. It is a tedious, messy job. And you must follow the directions for mixing, sweating, and applying the Macropoly carefully.
But I found the results to be worth it. I feel like the tank now protected from further deterioration..and that, along with confirmation of no leaks, good pressure, and verified structural integrity with the ultra sound test has given me renewed peace of mind. Here are the before and after pics—
Hope folks who might have similar propane tank concerns or issues find this helpful.
David