Caved In Tank??

[PARKER MAPLE]

Ok Some Im Down Helping My Grandfarther Clean His Tanks This Weekend And The Lastone And The Furthest Oneway Away, Has Been Caved In. I Dragged It Out Of The Surgar Lot Back To The House, Weve Been Scratching Our Heads On How We Are Going To Get This Huge Dent Out. You See Its A 1100 Gall Round Tank And If You Can Picture This, The Dent Is Right In The Top And It Goes Almost Have To The Bottom. Any Ideas? Thanks
M.r.

[Grade "A"]

Can you get inside it and jack the dent out.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Thats what im thinking, but im wondering if that will crack it??

[Russell Lampron]

The jack idea is the one that I would go with. Put a good base under the jack to distribute the weight over a wider area. The tank isn't usable now so it is worth a try.

[maple maniac65]

Can you pressurize it with air. Or half fill it with water and then air on top. Years ago I forgot to open the top vent valves on a SS tank when applying liquid feretilizer. I sucked it in about 2 inches on the back corner. When opening the valve it popped itself back out. Just a thought.

[PARKER MAPLE]

hey guys what do you think if i tipped it up on its side and filled it half way with water, or would i do more damage to it< yes theres nothing wrong with the tank. its an 1100 gal tank, thats actually preety new.

[The Birdman]

Is the tank metal or plastic if plastic just fill it with water set in the sun may pop right out. metal you might fill it with water let it freeze it should push it out.

[3rdgen.maple]

Is this tank a round bottom tank with an open top or a round sealed tank like a Zero tank?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Im thinking a combination of all the ideas fill with about 2 feet of water and let freeze then lay a timber inside for jacking on and use a floor jack to slowly jack up the dent. The ice will keep the bottom from denting and will give a big foot print. As you jack up the dent dont go all the way just slowly raise it and brace with 2x4s and move down a few feet and do it again and slowly work the dent out. I would go 4" at a time and use alot of blocking. One of the problems is as you jack the sides will want to streach and pull in so go slow and Brace Brace brace. Hammering will cause it to fight back so push it out.

[lpakiz]

How about trying ONLY water pressure from your garden hose first? Real simple to hook up and SAFE!! You have approx 40-60 psi available. Remember if you have air under pressure, it can rupture with catastrophic results. With solid water, any rupture will stop immediatly when the (non-compressable) water pressure is relieved, hence, no explosion..

[PARKER MAPLE]

Is this tank a round bottom tank with an open top or a round sealed tank like a Zero tank?

THIS IS A ROUND SEALED TANK. 1100 GAL ZERO. THE FILL OPENING ISNT REALLY BIG ENOUGH FOR SOMEONE TOO GET INSIDE IT, SO WITH WHATEVER I DO I HAVE TO DO IT FROM OUTSIDE THE TANK.

[Grade "A"]

If it is stainless I don't think you will be able to push the dent out with air pressure. Also the only problem with putting in water and letting it freeze is that you can't control were the ice expands, it may push out something you don't want pushed out. What about welding something on the outside so you could pull the dent out.

[michelle32]

Your in andover what state.

[3rdgen.maple]

I have the same thoughts as GradeA. I think I would weld some brackets on the outside and ever slowly pull the dent out. Not sure but maybe start on the outside of the dent and not the middle. Pull a little move around the perimeter and do the same and slowly work to the middle. Any way you look at it it sounds like alot of work. You could also drill some holes in it(insert ugly face here). Get a dent puller and screw it in the holes and go crazy. Then put a spot of weld on the holes to seal it back up.

[Jim Brown]

Or you could do like we did when we collapsed a 135 gallon stainless tank with vacuumn.(cry alot to start with)then suck it up and take to the scrap yard and get .39 cent.a pound for it.

Jim

[Fred Henderson]

That Zero tank when it was used for milk was a vacuum tank , if the cover and gasket are still with it slowly put some air in it.

[PARKER MAPLE]

Your in andover what state.

ANDOVER VT

[PARKER MAPLE]

Ok Guys Let Me Clairify, Its A 1100 Gal Poly Round Tank, Not Stainless Steel(i Wish). So Im Trying The Jack Trick And Blocking But Its Making White Looking Stress Marks In It, Im Affraid It Might Crack, Im Wondering If I Took A Space Heater Put It Inside, Too Warm It Up And Then Jacked Up On It. What Do You Think. Tommorow Is Another Day. Ive Been Trying To Start And Get My Grand Farthers Old Sugarlot Up And Working For Him, Its A Mess. Broken Lines, Bad Tees And Underbrush. My Works Done For Today.
Thanks For All The Good Info
Maple Rookie

[michelle32]

I would think heat would help some. You've got to try it's 650.00 for a new one. The heater will have to be electric. Theres not enough air for gas or propane. When you try jacking it out cover as much area as you can. May help with the stress.

[3rdgen.maple]

Well darn why did you not say that in the begining.:) Give it a good ole kick .

[Fred Henderson]

Do it like a hot air ballon. Turn it up side down and suspend it above the heater and let the hot gases expand it.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Reminds me of the time my wife said the car wont start. Do you have gas? YES did you leave the lights on ? NO What does it do when you turn the Key.NOTHING.......................Well what the hell does it do...........I dont know I cant find the keys:o :mad: :cry: :mad:

I have a 1100 gallon poly tank that had a tree sitting on its top for the last 5 years and its caved in and there is no inside access hole.

OK its like a plastic car bumper if you hit a post and it pops/dents and it sits for very long it will be permenant BUT if you pop it out there is a good chance that it will return to original shape. Plastic has memory and after time it will not take kindly to being pushed out. SO only heat the crease not the rounded areas you will need to heat with a heat gun if possible

[PARKER MAPLE]

Ok Just Got Off The Phone With My Gramps. Hes Wondering What To Do With Tank. After Chewing It Over Awhile, He Came Up With Putting The Eletric Heater Inside In And Covering It With A Canvis Tarp. To Help Hold The Heat In. When Good And Warm We Will Try To Push And Pull It Out. Hope It Works We Are Going To Give It A Try In The A.m.. Thanks Haynes For The Humor. Its Well Needed Trust Me. Its Been A Long Day
Maple Rookie

[halfast tapper]

Don't use heat. Take an air hose from a good compressor put through the top and take a rag or towwel and close of the rest of the opening. You will have to use some pressure as the air fills the tank. This may take a few minutes depending on your compressor, that is a lot of volume of air , but not that much pressure. It will only take about 30 psi to pop that dent out. I just did the same thing this past spring for a buddy of mine. His tank had been run into buy a snowplow. It dented it right at the crease and caved the whole top in too. Took about 5 minutes and it popped it right back to normal with no effort. Can't even tell it happened. Hope this helps.

[Teuchtar]

I'd suggest not using air to fill the tank. Its compressible, and if a seam lets go before the bulge pops out, you may injure yourself.
Its more common to use water for pressurizing tanks. Water is not compressible (to any practical extent), and won't explode if a seam opens up.
You still need to be sure you've bled all the air out of the tank before the pump puts any pressure on it.
We do this in the power plant industry for boilers, steam piping, valves etc. Nobody would ever put pressurized gas/air into any volume without a hydrotest.
My 2-cents-- Best of luck.

[PARKER MAPLE]

So To Some This All Up, We Got The Dent Out Believe It Or Not, What We Did Was. There Is A 2in Ball Valve On The Bottom Of The Tank, So I Took My Shop Vac And Reversed The Hose To A Blower, With In A Couple Of Minutes The Caved In Dent Was Out. With No Injuries Or Harm To The Tank. Just Like Brand New. Thanks For All The Suggestions, This Is An Awesome Site Just To Get The Wheels In Your Head Turning About A Problem Or A Question One Might Have About Anything Maple. Greatly Appricieated.
Maple Rookie

[Fred Henderson]

Glad it worked out for you.