Steamway Fresh Water Tank

[esquireservicesinc]

I have one that is corroded out. Went to get an estimate to have one made from Stainless, we already have 2 trucks that have a stainless tank on it. Looks like it will cost about $500.....does that sound right? I know the piece of stainless going to cost like $200 for 16 gauge. He has to buy a 4x8 piece of it. If our calculations are right he can make 4 of them out of that one sheet. Obviously I am paying for the sheet of steel, if I get him to make more the price will go down. Anybody know if this sounds like a fair price?

I talked to one of my colleagues who had to replace his on his Steamway Powermatic a little over a year ago and he said it was $325. I know steel has gone up, but $500 seems high.

 

[woodsey]

4 tanks out of one sheet? must be very small tanks. 16 gage seems a bit thin as well but if the tanks are small then it will be ok. Fabrication is the big cost as stainless cost more to cut,weld ect. Woodsey.

 

[esquireservicesinc]

It is a "Holding" tank, where the water goes when you hook up to a water supply, not for freshwater supply. It is small, about 18"x9"x8"High. Mainly used to cool the oil from the kohler engine.

 

[Jay D]

"Water Box", Yes stainless has skyrocketed just like all metal. Cobbcarpet.com may have one premade approx. 2 gallon box. with float. It is not as big as a powermatic box. MY steamway mastermatic waterbox had little pit holes that started leaking and i repaired it with a 2 part putty you get from auto repair shops for radiators. knead it, stick it over the hole, it hardens, repair done. :mrgreen:

 

[esquireservicesinc]

"Water Box", Yes stainless has skyrocketed just like all metal. Cobbcarpet.com may have one premade approx. 2 gallon box. with float. It is not as big as a powermatic box. MY steamway mastermatic waterbox had little pit holes that started leaking and i repaired it with a 2 part putty you get from auto repair shops for radiators. knead it, stick it over the hole, it hardens, repair done. :mrgreen:

This one is in pretty bad shape. I would rather replace it with SS and be done with it for good.

 

[John Watson]

Stainless is great, but very expensive. Why not go with Aluminium, marine alloy and just ask and make sure in your bid proposel that they use the correct alloy wire when welding together. I am not sure of the costs of metals anymore but AL was a lot cheaper than SS. That was my problems with steamway when I had their machines. The welds eat out first, I had 2 105 gal waste tanks that happened to. Infact my water boxes were aluminium back then too.

You still have a few more options like mentioned already.

Buy a ready made box, or check with someone like John's heat exchangers who works with these metals all the time and has in stock SS and even plastics now which will also do away with corrosion at a fraction of the cost from what I hear.

 

[woodsey]

For a box that small $500 is way to much. Best get something off the shelf or just make one out of heavy gage mild steel like 10 gage and marine epoxy coat it inside and out. Cheap and will last much longer than the unit its placed in.Properly welded 10 gage with no coating at all would take a LONG time to rust out. If the weld shop has a plasma sprayer then have them zink spray it and it inside and out and you cannot live long enough to see it rust out. It should cost about twice as much as a well done paint job. A good weld shop should even have enough cheap scrap heavy gage sheet to do a job that small. Woodsey

 

[Dolly Llama]

how much does SW want for a new tank?

might be more cost efficient to go that route.
They're good for 6 years or more
(mine last "at least" that long)

as to the 5 bills they want to build one.
Are you having a "real" fab shop build one or a small weld/repair garage?


reason I ask, the "real" fabs shops should have stock on hand and not have to order way more than you need.


anyway, i had a stainless one made 10 (?) years ago.
Think I paid $130 for it.
I saved a couple bucks by drilling the holes myself and mounting the hardware (clamps)
I took them in a simple drawing with the exact dimensions (so I could utilize the old lid) and they built the box.
be sure you specify stainless welds, or you'll have rust water probs

are they drilling the holes?
making a lid and installing the clamps too?

Have you called any other fab shops?

an inexpensive DIY repair would be the pour on epoxy mixes like the ones used for bar tops and such.
You can pour them up to 1/16" thick in one layer.
They're pretty durable once cured.
8oz of epoxy and 8oz of hardner is about $25 bukz I think.
That would be WAY more than enough to cover the inside.

I'd guess you take the tank the in to a Rhino line or LineX joint and they'd spray the thing pretty cheap too.
That would probably be better/easier than monkeying around with the epoxy


..L.T.A.

 

[BradFenstermaker]

Man that seems high. Contact Robert Hodge on the board. He made a poly tank on his PM.

I hate the design of the lid on my 2001, she leaks when the pressure is straight off the main.

Just run the hose straight to number 7 connection. A friend of mine does it that way. Might check but it should be okay.

http://www.hotheatexchangers.com/

another friend bought a waterbox from link above.

 

[Guest]

Might be worth pricing from company/manufacturer first; maybe you can sell them some extra!!

 

[BradFenstermaker]

Robert's code name here is

R W use the search feature for author.

 

[esquireservicesinc]

how much does SW want for a new tank?
$700 for stainless...2007 price, Jeff Steamway Ohio
might be more cost efficient to go that route.
They're good for 6 years or more
(mine last "at least" that long)
This unit is about 7 years old.
as to the 5 bills they want to build one.
Are you having a "real" fab shop build one or a small weld/repair garage?
Guy I've known a long time...very good welder/fabricator, been doing it for 40 years. Just doesn't work with stainless enough to justify having it laying around, as stainless is the most expensive steel.

reason I ask, the "real" fabs shops should have stock on hand and not have to order way more than you need.


anyway, i had a stainless one made 10 (?) years ago.
Think I paid $130 for it.
I saved a couple bucks by drilling the holes myself and mounting the hardware (clamps)
I took them in a simple drawing with the exact dimensions (so I could utilize the old lid) and they built the box.
be sure you specify stainless welds, or you'll have rust water probs

are they drilling the holes?
making a lid and installing the clamps too?
No lib, but installing all pipe thread nipples, holes, and clamps
Have you called any other fab shops?
Not yet. Spoke to my cousin...they build big stuff, boats, barges, etc....he saw the box today and said it actually seemed like a fair price considering the cost of stainless. Also, the price may be less as he was estimating 10 hours labor to do everything, he only charges $30/hr labor, but I don't think it will take him that long so it may be cheaper.
an inexpensive DIY repair would be the pour on epoxy mixes like the ones used for bar tops and such.
You can pour them up to 1/16" thick in one layer.
They're pretty durable once cured.
8oz of epoxy and 8oz of hardner is about $25 bukz I think.
That would be WAY more than enough to cover the inside.
Rather fix it right, not much of a "bandaid kind of guy.
I'd guess you take the tank the in to a Rhino line or LineX joint and they'd spray the thing pretty cheap too.
That would probably be better/easier than monkeying around with the epoxy


..L.T.A.

I checked with Jeff at Steamway Ohio. The price for a SW replacement back in 2007, Stainless Steel, was like $700. I am only going stainless. 2 of my other trucks have stainless already in them. One of which is about 10 years old and looks like new. My cousin works with steel all the time. I spoke with him today and he said that it is a fair price based on the price of stainless steel today. I am going to have 2 made so I will have all 4 trucks with the stainless box and it will also cut down on my price, because of less waste.

 

[Greenie]

I can't believe you haven't called Les or Dick Jones yet (Judson Co. and Judson Labs), especially Dick, as he could build that with his eyes closed....you know that little company that has been building SS truckmounts for 30 years.

 

[Chads]

I just dont know why people dont put the right materials in these tanks to keep the electrolisis down I mean that is the main reason for this corrosion am I wrong. maybe I need to do the reasearch and save carpet cleaners tons of money and tell them what peice of special alloyu to throw in there fresh water tank to keep the crossion down.

 

[Greenie]

Any "tank" that touches "water" should be SS or plastic, end of story.

 

[Chads]

Greenie tell me this a boat motor that goes in the water has a little piece of metal I think its titanium and the rest of the housing is allumiumn and its there to keep the elctrolisis down and not corode the alumiunm, right, If it didnt have it would corode pretty fast just like any other aluminum in water.

 

[Greenie]

I'm thinking back to my OMC outboard school...I beleive it was a sacrificial zinc anode.

 

[Chads]

It should be on your website to sell I know the steamaction tank I have is pretty much only coroded where the fresh water tank is and I was thinking that a type of anode would have stopped this.

 

[John Watson]

Greenie tell me this a boat motor that goes in the water has a little piece of metal I think its titanium and the rest of the housing is allumiumn and its there to keep the elctrolisis down and not corode the alumiunm, right, If it didnt have it would corode pretty fast just like any other aluminum in water.

Not Titanium but Zink, Electrolisis will attack the zink first before other metals like brass, AL, steel, or SS regardless of their aloys. By changing zinks on a regulr basis you stop the electrolisis from attacking and eating the other metals.

I put Zink anodes on my SteamWay powermatics in 1982.. Just like a rolaid, Oh what a relief it was,

 

[Dolly Llama]

I just dont know why people dont put the right materials in these tanks .

Cost is one consideration, Chad.
The use of all stainless in a TM can put the price out of reach for many dudes

Another reason is for some weight savings on an already heavy TM

What I don't understand is why more manufactures don't use aluminum frames.
from my experience, the frame on the Powermatics is pretty much bullet proof


..L.T.A.

 

[R W]

Chris....I will look for the pictures of my plastic tank conversion. About 8 gallons, screw-on lid, fits neat inplace of the aluminum box. Will send ASAP.


RW

 

[woodsey]

Zink is an anode to mild steel. The best way to use zink is to spray it on with a metalizing plasma sprayer on to steel that has been properly cleaned to accept the zink. Sounds exotic but it is a simple industrial process that is not very expensive.It is the same as galvanizing except it has no heat distortion cost less and has a much better appearance. It will last a LONG TIME. Woodsey

 

[John Watson]

the frame on the Powermatics is pretty much bullet proof


..L.T.A.

Larry, I had a crew that screwed up the frame on the first PowerMatic I worked on, They hit a lifted 4x4 with an extened rear bumper, which just went over our bumper, through the grill and stopped at the motor mounts so to speak.

The 105 gal waste tank was full of hot stinky waste water. The machine wasn't properly bolted in and when they dynomited the brakes and came to that sudden stop against that bumper, they got dushed real good when that big tank lid came off with that big wave of waste water.

The complete frame was tweaked. cost as much to ship the new frame as a complete machine cause of the size.

Oh yeah we had a job later that night and I had the machine moved and running in a new truck, I secured it down with chain binders, our job got done.

 

[jsimon]

The problem with stainless tanks is they "rust out" at the welds, becuase nobody acid washes the welds afterwards. When stainless is welded it brings the carbon to the the surface within the heat zone of the weld, both insidea nd outside the tank. Unless that carbon is acid washed away, to allow chromium oxide to form, you are not better with stainless than with just regular steel.

Alittle somthing I learned in my main job repairing fire trucks

Jeff

 

[Desk Jockey]

What about a plastic tank like the one's used on a Prochem?

 

[Jim Martin]

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/varian ... nt_id=9684

couple of bulk head fittings and your good to go.............

 

[R W]

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/variant.asp?catalog_name=USPlastic&category_name=20727&product_id=26643&variant_id=9684

couple of bulk head fittings and your good to go.............

That's the tank I used in my conversion....the 8 gallon tank. Has 4 brass anchors molded into the bottom. I drilled out the holes for the float entry, and also kept the oil cooler lines at the bottom. Had to re-route the one pressure reg. I still can't find the pictures I took, so I'll take new ones tomorrow.

I found the original SW water tank to leak over the top, and down onto the burner coils, causing rusting of the steel heating coils.

 

[R W]

RW


Well, there's the pics. Thanks, Mikey. Some day I'll figure out how to post photos. As you can see, I used 2 - 45* brass elbows to angle the 1 regulator up and out of the way of the new tank. The coil is a factory installed oil cooler for the Kohler. I just matched the location of the original fittings on the tank and mounted the inlets and outlets and the oil cooler in the same spot as the original aluminum tank. Used lots of blue sealer, as u can see.

RW

 

[Mikey P]

Why dont you guys make a silicon seal for the lid?

 

[R W]

Why dont you guys make a silicon seal for the lid?

The original seals were foam tape, I believe. The problem I ran into were the nasty roads around here. The van would be bouncing all around, and with a full water box, it would find a way to spill over and on to the heater coil jacket. The new plastic tank with the screw on lid contains the water.

RW