Re: Stuff at the Shop
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2026 12:57 pm
Not many posts here lately, much of what I've been working on is non-VW but we did do Rob's propane tank lately, and I wrote an article for the COVVC paper so I'll post it here:
Propane Tank on a Westfalia- Renew or Replace? #185
Rob’s ‘87 Westy propane tank had an issue and wouldn’t fill, so he approached me about what options he had. He had already looked at GoWesty’s website, which has a new replacement tank for $848. I thought we could pull the tank, sandblast it, shoot it, and replace all of the brass stuff at a fraction of what the new tank cost, also keeping the van original. We took a few days and went through it, the process was pretty basic and straight forward- first came draining the tank outdoors (fortunately it was already empty). From there we removed the two low pressure lines that go to the stove. These are copper single flare on brass fittings, and even after 40 years of exposure to road grime they came right loose. Next was removing the tank, and fortunately the bolts weren’t rusty. These bolts are installed from inside the van pointing down, before the cabinets are installed. If there were to be a major problem with the bolts requiring their removal, pulling the cabinet(s) out first might be required. With the van on a lift I had Rob wire wheel the exposed threads to remove any surface rust and road gunk that was on them, and sprayed penetrant on the nuts to help the process. I knew from looking at the setup that if the nut was stuck to the bolt, we were in trouble- I’m certainly shy about heating these with a torch, even if the tank is empty, and holding the head of the bolt would require removal or at least loosening of the interior cabinets above them. We were lucky and after cleaning and oiling, the nuts came off without a problem and the tank came down. We pulled two bolts to remove the heavy “bash guard” that protects the delicate brass from road debris and rocks thrown off the left front tire. We removed all of the brass fittings (fill valve, vent valve, and shutoff/regulator assembly) and installed threaded plugs in their place (two ¾”NPT and one ¼”NPT). We then used my gravity tank sandblaster and cleaned all of the old paint and rust from the tank and bash guard. There was not much rust- certainly no rot and only minor pitting. These little 3 gallon tanks are BEEFY- much heavier than a barbeque propane tank. You can’t easily lift these tanks with one hand like you can with a BBQ tank- they’re a great deal thicker to deal with the harsh environment they live in. From there the tank got two coats of 2K Direct-to-Metal Epoxy Primer/Sealer and let dry overnight. We then roughed up the surface with a Scotchbrite pad before shooting two color coats of acrylic enamel to finish it off. I stock several colors at my shop so we mixed half black and half white to get what I call a 50% gray color. This is what I shot the bottom of both of my buses with quite a few years ago, and it’s held up quite nicely to the road dirt and abuse inflicted upon it. All paint was from TP Tools in Youngstown, who still has reasonable prices- Kirker acrylic enamel is $67 per gallon, and the primer/sealer is $99 per gallon, both plus activators. If you’re familiar with the paint world, this is a steal! Once the tank and bash guard were shot and dried, I chased the pipe threads with a tap (using a vacuum to catch the junk) and used a round wire brush in a drill to put the final polish on the threads. We purchased all new brass for the tank- fill valve, vent valve, shutoff valve and two-stage pressure regulator. Most of it came from the local propane house, but they are also available from GoWesty and other online sources if you search for them. One warning- get a regulator with the same length as the original so no cutting or modification of the two copper lines is needed, the first one we bought was an inch and a half too long and would have required modifying the lines. The second one we got was only a half inch longer and I was able to bend the lines to accommodate it. The brass was installed using Permatex High Tack as a sealer on both the male and female pipe threads to guarantee there was no leakage, and I verified High Tack is approved for propane use. There was a black plastic splash box around the original regulator that we didn’t reuse as the replacement regulator comes with a plastic cover on the diaphragm to protect it. Installation was basically a breeze and I pressure checked the system with shop air and soapy water to verify it was tight before having it filled at the local propane supplier. The supplier states that no scheduled pressure testing is required on these types of tanks, which was a relief. The vent is on the side of the tank, but has a little curly tube on the inside so that it bleeds from the top of the tank so it can be completely filled with liquid. When it’s being filled the operator opens the vent and fills the tank, letting any residual air and propane gas out until liquid flows from the vent letting the guy know it’s full to the brim with liquid. We also installed a second mud flap, about 10x14”, just in front of the tank to protect it from any road debris coming from the left front tire. There’s a spot in the floor where I screwed a piece of perforated angle as a mounting bracket, and the flap was cut from an old truck mudflap I had hanging around. Our total investment in this was about $250 in brass and less than a hundred bucks in paint and materials, much better than buying a new tank! As I said earlier, it also keeps the van original. There are plenty of times where I’ve spent more time and money restoring an old original part than what a new part would cost……
Now that the tank is complete, Rob had it filled and it works great!
I hope to see you at Volksfest, and next month I’ll continue talking about oil temps, see you then!
Propane Tank on a Westfalia- Renew or Replace? #185
Rob’s ‘87 Westy propane tank had an issue and wouldn’t fill, so he approached me about what options he had. He had already looked at GoWesty’s website, which has a new replacement tank for $848. I thought we could pull the tank, sandblast it, shoot it, and replace all of the brass stuff at a fraction of what the new tank cost, also keeping the van original. We took a few days and went through it, the process was pretty basic and straight forward- first came draining the tank outdoors (fortunately it was already empty). From there we removed the two low pressure lines that go to the stove. These are copper single flare on brass fittings, and even after 40 years of exposure to road grime they came right loose. Next was removing the tank, and fortunately the bolts weren’t rusty. These bolts are installed from inside the van pointing down, before the cabinets are installed. If there were to be a major problem with the bolts requiring their removal, pulling the cabinet(s) out first might be required. With the van on a lift I had Rob wire wheel the exposed threads to remove any surface rust and road gunk that was on them, and sprayed penetrant on the nuts to help the process. I knew from looking at the setup that if the nut was stuck to the bolt, we were in trouble- I’m certainly shy about heating these with a torch, even if the tank is empty, and holding the head of the bolt would require removal or at least loosening of the interior cabinets above them. We were lucky and after cleaning and oiling, the nuts came off without a problem and the tank came down. We pulled two bolts to remove the heavy “bash guard” that protects the delicate brass from road debris and rocks thrown off the left front tire. We removed all of the brass fittings (fill valve, vent valve, and shutoff/regulator assembly) and installed threaded plugs in their place (two ¾”NPT and one ¼”NPT). We then used my gravity tank sandblaster and cleaned all of the old paint and rust from the tank and bash guard. There was not much rust- certainly no rot and only minor pitting. These little 3 gallon tanks are BEEFY- much heavier than a barbeque propane tank. You can’t easily lift these tanks with one hand like you can with a BBQ tank- they’re a great deal thicker to deal with the harsh environment they live in. From there the tank got two coats of 2K Direct-to-Metal Epoxy Primer/Sealer and let dry overnight. We then roughed up the surface with a Scotchbrite pad before shooting two color coats of acrylic enamel to finish it off. I stock several colors at my shop so we mixed half black and half white to get what I call a 50% gray color. This is what I shot the bottom of both of my buses with quite a few years ago, and it’s held up quite nicely to the road dirt and abuse inflicted upon it. All paint was from TP Tools in Youngstown, who still has reasonable prices- Kirker acrylic enamel is $67 per gallon, and the primer/sealer is $99 per gallon, both plus activators. If you’re familiar with the paint world, this is a steal! Once the tank and bash guard were shot and dried, I chased the pipe threads with a tap (using a vacuum to catch the junk) and used a round wire brush in a drill to put the final polish on the threads. We purchased all new brass for the tank- fill valve, vent valve, shutoff valve and two-stage pressure regulator. Most of it came from the local propane house, but they are also available from GoWesty and other online sources if you search for them. One warning- get a regulator with the same length as the original so no cutting or modification of the two copper lines is needed, the first one we bought was an inch and a half too long and would have required modifying the lines. The second one we got was only a half inch longer and I was able to bend the lines to accommodate it. The brass was installed using Permatex High Tack as a sealer on both the male and female pipe threads to guarantee there was no leakage, and I verified High Tack is approved for propane use. There was a black plastic splash box around the original regulator that we didn’t reuse as the replacement regulator comes with a plastic cover on the diaphragm to protect it. Installation was basically a breeze and I pressure checked the system with shop air and soapy water to verify it was tight before having it filled at the local propane supplier. The supplier states that no scheduled pressure testing is required on these types of tanks, which was a relief. The vent is on the side of the tank, but has a little curly tube on the inside so that it bleeds from the top of the tank so it can be completely filled with liquid. When it’s being filled the operator opens the vent and fills the tank, letting any residual air and propane gas out until liquid flows from the vent letting the guy know it’s full to the brim with liquid. We also installed a second mud flap, about 10x14”, just in front of the tank to protect it from any road debris coming from the left front tire. There’s a spot in the floor where I screwed a piece of perforated angle as a mounting bracket, and the flap was cut from an old truck mudflap I had hanging around. Our total investment in this was about $250 in brass and less than a hundred bucks in paint and materials, much better than buying a new tank! As I said earlier, it also keeps the van original. There are plenty of times where I’ve spent more time and money restoring an old original part than what a new part would cost……
Now that the tank is complete, Rob had it filled and it works great!
I hope to see you at Volksfest, and next month I’ll continue talking about oil temps, see you then!