What's wrong using...

NCMau · Dec 19, 2010

Just a thought. What wrong using a a glass lined water tank for an hydraulic reservoir? I have a 10 gl. tank that would suit my purpose.

zzvyb6 · Dec 19, 2010

Thermal shock can take the reserve out of the word reservoir. Many reservoirs have baffles in them so that the oil doesn't slosh around in it.

CurlyDave · Dec 20, 2010

The glass lining on most water tanks is cracked and broken during manufacture, which is the reason for a sacrificial anode in hot water tanks.

You do not want shards of broken glass in your hydraulic system. Get a metal tank without the glass lining.

NCMau · Dec 20, 2010

Point taken. I go to plan B.

kennyd · Dec 20, 2010

How would you weld a bung to a glass lined tank?

Ductape · Dec 20, 2010

kennyd said:
How would you weld a bung to a glass lined tank?

Glass rod ????

David Devuono · Dec 20, 2010

I know water tanks are supposed to be glass lined but I have to wonder, whats more nasty, glass in you hydraulics or glass in your cup of tea? I would go with the water tank, weld on a NPT bung large enough to use a suction filter, this should prevent the glass from getting into the system if there really is glass rattling around in there. You will probably have lots of rust to clean out. You could have four holes in your tank for water, electric heater and pressure relief. You will need an outlet positioned near the bottom and an inlet about 2/3rds up. Without a baffle, I would mount the inlet perpendicular and as far away from the outlet as possible. Also you could consider an old air tank? I used this one to make a gas tank yesterday for my tracked dumper project.

David Devuono · Dec 20, 2010

Will it be on a stationary or mobile application>

Toyboy · Dec 21, 2010

As I understand it, glass lined is not glass as in a window, but porcelain coated like on the older cookware.

LD1 · Dec 21, 2010

So........what is the project and what is it going on???

Aside from what others have said, I would also worry about impact. Loke in a logsplitter and dropping a peice of wood on it and cracking/breaking the glass inside.

And if it already has fittings on it to use, what about mounting it. Are you possibly going to need to weld on it for that???

And if you are untertaking a project, I will assume you can weld. So why not just make one. You only need 1.33 cu ft OR 2304 cu in to be at 10 gallons. A 14" cube would put you a little over 10 gallons. and enough 16ga steel to do that would be cheap.

NCMau · Dec 21, 2010

David Devuono said:
I know water tanks are supposed to be glass lined but I have to wonder, whats more nasty, glass in you hydraulics or glass in your cup of tea? I would go with the water tank, weld on a NPT bung large enough to use a suction filter, this should prevent the glass from getting into the system if there really is glass rattling around in there. You will probably have lots of rust to clean out. You could have four holes in your tank for water, electric heater and pressure relief. You will need an outlet positioned near the bottom and an inlet about 2/3rds up. Without a baffle, I would mount the inlet perpendicular and as far away from the outlet as possible. Also you could consider an old air tank? I used this one to make a gas tank yesterday for my tracked dumper project.

If I weld on this glass-lined tank, wouldn't the glass shatter?. As fas as I know there are no loose glass particles in the tank. The application is for a tractor. I am not firm on this idea, but it is an option.
I like to find a tank to fit behind the seat, maybe 30-36" long with adequate sides to make a 12-13 gal. capacity. I can weld some but I am not comfortable with 12 gauge material and a leak proof project. I guess I can always go to a welding shop.

LD1 · Dec 21, 2010

NCMau said:
If I weld on this glass-lined tank, wouldn't the glass shatter?. As fas as I know there are no loose glass particles in the tank. The application is for a tractor. I am not firm on this idea, but it is an option.
I like to find a tank to fit behind the seat, maybe 30-36" long with adequate sides to make a 12-13 gal. capacity. I can weld some but I am not comfortable with 12 gauge material and a leak proof project. I guess I can always go to a welding shop.

Another option for you would be to look for a used ar compressor tank or air tank.

I picked up a craftsman 30 gallo tank with the air comressor motor (pump was shot) for 50 bucks. Lucky for me, I had another air compresso with a good mump ad motor but a rust hole in the tank. But I suppose If I needed I could have use the tank for a hydraulic resivoir.

J_J · Dec 21, 2010

A good designed on a hyd tank should be tall, to let the particulates settle out, and have baffles, to keep the sloshing down and not disturb the stuff on the bottom. Drain at bottom. Size of the tank should be about 1 to 2 times the gal of pumps capacity. Convenient in and out ports. A temp gage would be good to monitor the temp. A good hyd filler cap to help keep the moisture out.

If you weld on a glass lined tank, you will probably separate the fused on glass, crack it or break pieces off inside the tank. .

NCMau · Dec 21, 2010

LD1 said:
Another option for you would be to look for a used ar compressor tank or air tank.

I picked up a craftsman 30 gallo tank with the air comressor motor (pump was shot) for 50 bucks. Lucky for me, I had another air compresso with a good mump ad motor but a rust hole in the tank. But I suppose If I needed I could have use the tank for a hydraulic resivoir.

I hear you LD1. My plan B would be to use 2 available cylindrical air tanks. Each tank measures 24"x8" (approx. 12-13 gal. total capacity). I am planning to put one on top of the other. Since they will be located behind the tractor seat, I don't want to use anything too deep. I plan to join the two tanks with a 2" pipe in the middle (top and bottom)
Just wonder if a 2" pipe would provide the necessary flow.

David Devuono · Dec 21, 2010

I think I paid only about $90 bucks for my 10 gallon on sale, you should be able to find one not too expensive. Surplus Center had them for 120 bucks. When I was a kid I was facinated with watching the air bubbles in the shampoo bottle float up to the top. The taller the container, the longer it took the bubble to get to the top. So does that mean if you have debris in your system a tall tank is needed and if you have air in your system a shallow tank is needed? I just finished mating a ten gallon and five gallon tank together to get a larger capacity, complete with two air vents etc. One of my concerns is having the system fill the top tank faster then it can flow to the bottom and blow out the vent? Anyway two tanks add some complexity so don't go there if you can avoid it. I had two tanks and a 15 gallon was double the cost of a 5 and 10 gallon together.

RPW · Dec 22, 2010

You can purchase a hydraulic tank from TSC for less than $60. It already has the necessary bungs mounted plus the filler neck to add/check fluid. It also has the mounting tabs so all in all no real fabrication required. BTW I had to replace the hydraulic tank on my smaller tractor as it used the loader arms as the tank (boxed steel) and it developed leaks. Also hydraulic fluid will get HOT so you really want a tank to act as a cooling chamber instead of being insulated. IMO hot water tanks are a poor choice for hydraulic applications.

Good luck.

NCMau · Dec 22, 2010

David Devuono said:
I think I paid only about $90 bucks for my 10 gallon on sale, you should be able to find one not too expensive. Surplus Center had them for 120 bucks. When I was a kid I was facinated with watching the air bubbles in the shampoo bottle float up to the top. The taller the container, the longer it took the bubble to get to the top. So does that mean if you have debris in your system a tall tank is needed and if you have air in your system a shallow tank is needed? I just finished mating a ten gallon and five gallon tank together to get a larger capacity, complete with two air vents etc. One of my concerns is having the system fill the top tank faster then it can flow to the bottom and blow out the vent? Anyway two tanks add some complexity so don't go there if you can avoid it. I had two tanks and a 15 gallon was double the cost of a 5 and 10 gallon together.

That's good to know. I am not all that crazy about adding complexity. I am trying to keep things simple. I need to have a tank a certain size (elongated, not a cube) and Surplus Center got a perfect size. I just didn't look there before. Thanks for the input.