Welding Stainless Tanks

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Picked up a small job welding a stainless tank.    The tank is used to mix wood stains.  It needs to be modified because the bottom is convex and the drain hole is in the center.  When being used because of the size of the tank and the convex bottom .  Someone has to physically get in the tank with a cup and drain 2+ gallons from the outer edges. Because the business is working on a limited budget the solution is to plug and move the drain hole from the bottom center to the lowest point i could find along the lower edge of the tank.  SMAW with Hobart 308L-16 stainless 3/32 rod to fill the gaps.  Using a Lincoln A/C 225 arc welder.  Project is more than halfway done.  I'll post picks when finished.Going very smoothLast edited by galencwi; 03-20-2010 at 04:44 PM.“I'm going to do the thing that God put Galen Beasley on this Earth to do:Have Salon quality hair and weld.Nothing like a good cup of coffee and the smell of 6010 burning in the morning. 971-204-3444 cell API ASME Structural NDT and Repair
Reply:whats the wall thickness on the tank?Mechanical Engineer
Reply:Wall thickness .125 or so  as you know stainless is a pain to work with if you dont have all the right tools.      Its up at the shop ill take some pics tommorow and post..“I'm going to do the thing that God put Galen Beasley on this Earth to do:Have Salon quality hair and weld.Nothing like a good cup of coffee and the smell of 6010 burning in the morning. 971-204-3444 cell API ASME Structural NDT and Repair
Reply:sounds like a pretty easy job. How does that hobart 308 rod run? I've had some success with McKay(sp) rods but someone at work grabbed some off brand stuff from the lws and holy hell they suck. pics!Liking the sig. Pretty sure I could build a house with a just a pair of welpers lol.
Reply:How are you going to dry up all the stain and remove the residue? Is it oil stain?To bad you cannot just drill in a small or medium sized, tank through fitting, into the corner of the tank and call it a day. Just use it as a drain for the last two gallons. No big penetration, they would be up and running in 30 minutes.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:You can even use a Greenlee, hydraulic knockout punch to make the second larger finale hole. You need a 3/4" clearing hole to put the punch shaft through to use it. You can make a 7/16" hole and use the smallest punch that will allow the larger punch shaft through the tank. But I have bent the smaller shafts in 1/8" stainless steel.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:What a job it turned out to be because as you know cutting a hole in stainless without a plasma cutter is a pain in the ....  It took me 3 hours getting the hole done.  1.5" sch 40 pipe  my drill bits went up to 1" and took everything I had to hold that huge drill.  After that the fastest thing i could do was us a 4" grinder with a stainless disk and grind the rest out.  didn't look pretty either.before I post ANY pics im filling in the gaps then re welding it.  I'm working with limited tools  my plasma cutter stopped working as i plugged it in.   really pissedBtw the 308L-16 hobart electrode runs great at 60 amps.  I would love to get some other brands to see the diff.    What did u like about the McKay electrodes?Last edited by galencwi; 03-24-2010 at 01:32 PM.“I'm going to do the thing that God put Galen Beasley on this Earth to do:Have Salon quality hair and weld.Nothing like a good cup of coffee and the smell of 6010 burning in the morning. 971-204-3444 cell API ASME Structural NDT and Repair
Reply:Originally Posted by i4sillypwrpics!Liking the sig. Pretty sure I could build a house with a just a pair of welpers lol.
Reply:I like the slag on the mckay rod acts. It runs smooth as butter flat, horx and overhead. It's kind of hooker to run uphill though. Might be user error though :-p
Reply:so by welpers you meaning the welding pliers?2-Lincoln idealarc 250/250, lincoln 225 ac/dc welder, lincweld ac 180c, hobart handler 210, hobart stickmate lx 235/160, Hypertherm Powermax30local 26 I.B.E.W Electrician
Reply:yes welpers= welding pliers...though i dare you to call them that on site or in a shop lol.
Reply:Originally Posted by i4sillypwrI like the slag on the mckay rod acts. It runs smooth as butter flat, horx and overhead. It's kind of hooker to run uphill though. Might be user error though :-p
Reply:whats wrong with welpers? i just bought some in a store thats what the package was called.  in 1993 (As far as i know thats when they first came out.)  i worked at cascade corp we were welding w dual shield .045 on 1"-4" plate and sometimes spray in lighter forklift attachment parts.  the company bought a pair for every welder there to increase production.  they were actually called welpers!  before that most guys had 2-3 pairs of pliers.  pair of dykes, needle nose, a vice grip to hold ur copper. and anything big enough to take the nozzle off.  saved so much time 1 pair can do all and they're spring loaded too.   still use them today.  welpers always in my carhartsLast edited by galencwi; 03-26-2010 at 11:52 AM.“I'm going to do the thing that God put Galen Beasley on this Earth to do:Have Salon quality hair and weld.Nothing like a good cup of coffee and the smell of 6010 burning in the morning. 971-204-3444 cell API ASME Structural NDT and Repair
Reply:Yea I would think so but I had no idea. I am an electrician I am still new to all the welding "terms".2-Lincoln idealarc 250/250, lincoln 225 ac/dc welder, lincweld ac 180c, hobart handler 210, hobart stickmate lx 235/160, Hypertherm Powermax30local 26 I.B.E.W Electrician
Reply:Originally Posted by galencwiwhats wrong with welpers? i just bought some in a store thats what the package was called.  in 1993 (As far as i know thats when they first came out.)  i worked at cascade corp we were welding w dual shield .045 on 1"-4" plate and sometimes spray in lighter forklift attachment parts.  the company bought a pair for every welder there to increase production.  they were actually called welpers!  before that most guys had 2-3 pairs of pliers.  pair of dykes, needle nose, a vice grip to hold ur copper. and anything big enough to take the nozzle off.  saved so much time 1 pair can do all and they're spring loaded too.   still use them today.  welpers always in my carharts