Reinforcing a tank stand?
 

I have a stand that came with my tank. And although I have been told that it will support the tank..... it seems to be "wobbly".


Is there anyway to reinforce a tank stand (metal) without taking the system apart?

If anyone has done this and can provide some insight, I would appreciate it.


Patrick

Yeah you just need someone to fabricate some extra support and then drill and bolt them to your stand. Any metal workers out there?

Adding 45 degree braces in all corners would be a start. Without knowing what your dimensions of stand and materials used, a definitive answer is difficult. I am sure there would be some knowledgeable metal workers able to answer.

I am
 

Actually I am a structural steel fitter/fabricator.....


But I guess I am concerned about drilling a stand with weight on it..... could this not potentially cause a stress point where "flex" could occur... and possibly give under the pressure?

If it is safe to drill holes without taking the stand apart.... this I could do in a heart beat.

HSS
 

The stand is made out of 1" HSS (square tubing). 48" long by 19" wide and about 30" tall.

I hope that the 4 foot long has a center brace, with only 1" HSS.
I would not have a problem drilling 1/4 in holes, but how are you going to drill the vertical holes with the tank on top.
Could you weld in place, 1/2 inch tacks at a time? Without disruptiing too much gear below the tank?

No center brace. As for holes... I can drill them horizontally and put small bolts through the front and back to hold the braces as I can access both sides easily.

I do not want to weld in the house. And the problem with small HSS is that you can easily melt the thing to pieces in a heart beat and then you have bigger issues altogether. For that I could enlist my father-in-laws help.... but I do not think it is the best option at this point. He also is a steel fitter/welder of many years. He is the one who told me not to worry about the stand that it will hold.... but its the stability I worry about.

Example... when I use my tank magnet to clean... I can actually feel it sway a little with the strength of the magnet.... thats what has me sweating. I know the steel will hold as it looks to be made very well.... actually looks like it was a manufactured stand as it has nice caps on all ends and everything.

Any thoughts?

Is the stand an open design? If so could you enclose the sides? Peices of plywood inside of the metal frame would help stop the swaying. Or do you like the look of the open design? If so put in a bigger peice of square tubing with the same inside diameter and C cut them to fit around the square tubing that is there and bolt it in.

Pat use 1or1.5"x3/16or1/4" flatbar and make your own stiffeners. Drill some holes in your stand and the flatbar then bolt them with 1/4 in bolts. If you braced the top 4 corners(8 braces) I don't think that stand will go anywhere. Just do one corner at a time if your worried about the stand buckling.

Yea Jason I think that's what I will do. I'll enlist your help brotha and I'll supply the beer!

By the way... those frags look pretty good.... the blue SPS is awesome under my lights! I better frag my zoas for yah soon! Ha ha!

As long as your supplying the beer I'm in! Glad to hear the frags are doing good, I hope those blue ones continue to color up the way they have been. They just might turn out to be the best mystery frag yet.

Holy S**t, Batman !!

You're not going to like this, but if it were me, I'd be getting that tank off there ASAP and welding 45 degree braces on it to stop it from racking like that. 1" is surprisingly strong in compression but if if racks -even a bit, the welds will fatigue and if it fails....<shudder>.

I dunno, you might get away with bolting it but if it were me (and I'm anal, I know) I'd weld it, no question. The consequences of a failure are just too great not to, IMO.

They are one inch welds so i am not worried about them cracking. im just paranoid. one inch of weld holds 1000 Pounds each.

The previous owner used this stand without any problems. Once you install stiffeners the only place that stand will go is through the floor.:lol:

That maybe true, but is it welded all around? Only one 1" of weld will act like a hinge and break if it is subjected to back and forth movement.
Too bad I can't help you from here. I have a 110 Volt mig that is portable, and I would not have a problem welding in the house. (already have in my house)

My father-in-law has one too. Just not really wanting to weld inside the house as well. I guess, as a fitter, I am not doing alot of full-on welding.... so I am not what you would consider a "good" welder..... I would burn through in no time.... I hate pipe work. I leave it filled with holes for the welders ha ha!

It is not moving enough to break the weld I am sure.... it just kinda "shimmies". I don't really know how to descibe.... it's enough to notice the movement. But thinking about structural work... a lot of it is bolted connections.... even bridge work is bolted connections so I am "hoping" I can do the same. My only real concern was the drilling of holes with the weight on top.... wondering if it would buckle.

I really appreciate all the ideas and input.... and I am sure I may have taken you up on the offer if you were closer. Next time you come to Ed let me know.... I'l have some cold beer waiting ha ha!

Jason... we had this talk.... my floor is going nowhere ha ha!!! I hope ha ha!

1" of weld is only as good as the weld it self, if there is so much as a hair line crack to would not take much to rip. I would think about bracing the tank with maybe a temp 4x4 bridge just to hold the weight before drilling the holes in the frame. But who really know what might happen. I always air on the side of caution.:biggrin:

I thought of something else then. If you cut triangles from 1/16 or 1/8 steel, then you could drill through the HSS horizontally and attach the triangles aginst the HSS instead of underneath. At each corner. It would increase the horizontal width of the stand. If you understand this your good. Hard for me to describe with words.