Finishing up sealing my new tank. Degreased with Royal Purple product, used Kreem etcher and sealer so its pretty much done (one more sealer treatment to go). Figure best thing to do now is pressure test it before I get it painted. Any "at home" ways to do this? Afterall, if its just to check for leaks couldnt I just cheat and fill with water and doublecheck the seams? Or does having a shop pressure test involve more than that? Do they pump up the internal pressure on the tank (simulating gas fumes, expansion from heat etc) to see if a weld gives out? I'm shipping the tank out of state for the paint so I'm trying to wrap this up in a week or so. Pre-emptive "thanks for the feedback..."
Just filling it with water isn't going to do it, you need to pressurize the tank. You can build a home made pressure tester but by the time your done it would be cheaper just to bring it to a radiator shop and let them test it for you.
can tell you from expierence after welding countless sumps in gas tanks for drag cars.Fill it with enough water to cover the welds if thier is a leak it will show up.It dosen't need to be pressurized.
I would have pressure tested it BEFORE doing all the chemical sealing... If you do find a leak and have it fixed(welded) you gotta test again after welding to insure integrity and then do all the sealing again...
I do think testing under pressure is the most efficient way, bubbles show immediately, where a VERY small leak can take a day for just one drop to form---a leak is a leak...
Yes Wank, absolutely right, I forgot to say--- not much pressure...
Uh, footpowder, whoda thought, I use soapy water to find the bubbles... OK wank, more explain needed for me, I've never heard of the footpowder trick...!!
Gomez, do yourself a favor, pressure test it. Just remember it's your money and your paint. If my paint got ruined because i was unwilling to spend a few $ to have it tested then i'd deserve whatever i got.
Oh by the way, did you ever see what a plumber does after he's done running all the water lines in a new home? He opens up the main to pressurize the system, mounts a pressure gauge to the system and lets it sit for awhile. Why? To see if there's any leaks!
Thanks guys, even though a local shop (good guys too) said a reputable made tank that has been treated with Kreem etcher and sealer ought to be fine you have convinced me otherwise, just need to find a place now in Vegas, myt evo above mentioned radiator shops, is that the best bet? Do I want to tell them what PSI to run it up to and what would that number be? My prep and paint job is free (brother-in-law runs a high end body shop) but I dont want to send it back with a "Man, you'll never guess what happened" note. Glad you all thru in your opinions, I'd rather do this right the first time so on my next project that involves a tank I'm squared away from the start.
A radiator shop is usually where i go but there's probably other places where you can take it. Sometimes a welding shop that specializes in tank repair or your local bike shop could do it or at least tell you where they get theirs done. Anywhere between 2-4lbs should be sufficient. Considering what it cost to have a rightious paint job done it must be nice to have a family member in the business! Good luck gomez.
Pressure testing a new gas tank 
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