Water Tank

[fireflem]

Anyone have any thoughts on that to do for a water tank that has been empty for the last 10-12 years and has a lot of rust?

[David]

Cut a hole in it big enough to crawl through. Go inside. Clean it up and give it a coat of paint.

[fireflem]

Cut a hole in it big enough to crawl through. Go inside. Clean it up and give it a coat of paint.

It has plates on the top for access but what is the best kind of paint to use?

[505 MACK]

It has plates on the top for access but what is the best kind of paint to use?

You can sand blast it out and put a pick up truck bed liner paint or ges tank sealer on it. You can also get a replacement plastic tank.

Tinman

[1958 F.W.D.]

Anyone have any thoughts on that to do for a water tank that has been empty for the last 10-12 years and has a lot of rust?

Flem-

I have to wonder what it would gain you if you spent the kind of money and time it would take to properly patch and seal the tank. Having experience with firetrucks, I might be hesitant to use a rhino-liner or gas tank patching material. If this stuff does not properly adhere to the steel of the tank, it could potentially start flaking off in large chunks. These could then lodge in the volutes of the pump impeller, or inside the pump piping and/or valve assemblies.

What are your intentions with the truck? Is it an antique you are using for show/parades/pleasure kind of purposes, or will you be using it for some kind of business? If this is the case, then I would invest the time and money into removing the top of the tank, properly sandblasting the entire interior, making any corrective welds/patches needed (by a professional welder- this is not something to be done by a shadetree welder) and then priming the surface, and paint using a 2-part epoxy paint.

-OR-

Have a new fiberglass or poly tank fabricated and installed. This is expensive, but most of them come with lifetime warranties against leaks. Two manufacturers that come to mind are Custom Fiberglass Products in Orwigsburg, Pa. and United Plastic Fabricators (dont know where their headquarters is located.) We had a CFP tank custom made and installed in our 1978 Hahn, and it was an excellent investment.

If the truck is intended solely for parades/pleasure/etc, then why restore the tank at all? I own and operate a 1958 FWD pumper with a 500 gallon tank that was actually replaced with a new steel tank in 1998, however as I keep in in an un-heated garage, coupled with the fact that there really is no need for me to keep the tank full, I just keep it dry. It also helps save on fuel costs (water @8.3 pounds per gallon, X 500 = lotzza fuel!)

[fireflem]

Flem-

I have to wonder what it would gain you if you spent the kind of money and time it would take to properly patch and seal the tank. Having experience with firetrucks, I might be hesitant to use a rhino-liner or gas tank patching material. If this stuff does not properly adhere to the steel of the tank, it could potentially start flaking off in large chunks. These could then lodge in the volutes of the pump impeller, or inside the pump piping and/or valve assemblies.

What are your intentions with the truck? Is it an antique you are using for show/parades/pleasure kind of purposes, or will you be using it for some kind of business? If this is the case, then I would invest the time and money into removing the top of the tank, properly sandblasting the entire interior, making any corrective welds/patches needed (by a professional welder- this is not something to be done by a shadetree welder) and then priming the surface, and paint using a 2-part epoxy paint.

-OR-

Have a new fiberglass or poly tank fabricated and installed. This is expensive, but most of them come with lifetime warranties against leaks. Two manufacturers that come to mind are Custom Fiberglass Products in Orwigsburg, Pa. and United Plastic Fabricators (dont know where their headquarters is located.) We had a CFP tank custom made and installed in our 1978 Hahn, and it was an excellent investment.

If the truck is intended solely for parades/pleasure/etc, then why restore the tank at all? I own and operate a 1958 FWD pumper with a 500 gallon tank that was actually replaced with a new steel tank in 1998, however as I keep in in an un-heated garage, coupled with the fact that there really is no need for me to keep the tank full, I just keep it dry. It also helps save on fuel costs (water @8.3 pounds per gallon, X 500 = lotzza fuel!)

Hey thanks for the info I think we are going to try the sandblasting and prime and paint. Do not have the money to replace the tank at this time.

FireFlem

[1958 F.W.D.]

Hey thanks for the info I think we are going to try the sandblasting and prime and paint. Do not have the money to replace the tank at this time.

FireFlem

Do yourself a favor, spend the extra money and use a good quality 2-part epoxy paint suitable for use inside steel water tanks.