milsurpcollector
04-11-2010, 10:53 PM
My parkerizing setup:
I started out with 1 tank I bought on ebay for $90 but I needed another for the pre treatment Shooters solutions sells.
I found a stainless steel cabinet that hospitals use to keep food warm and cut up the doors to make the tank.
I don’t have a sheet metal brake so I bolted the sheet metal between 2 pieces of bar stock and bent them over with a hammer.
I used my father in laws mig welder with gas to weld up the 2 homemade tanks I made, the first time I ever used a mig welder.
The welds looked terrible and the tanks leaked badly. I tried to use gas with some stainless steel filler rod which didn’t work muck better.
Now the Parkerizing tanks are only for liquid that gets to 190 F so I figured I would try some JB weld on the outside corners which worked perfectly.
I would not subject the JB weld to direct flame but other than that they are still working.
The Pipe burners:
The pipe burners that Brownells sells are fairly expensive and really from the pictures look pretty simple.
The burners are just 1” iron pipe that I brazed shut on 1 end. ( didn’t want to buy caps)
I drilled pairs of holes in a V down the pipe where it sits under the tank maybe a #18 drill for these.
The other end is a 3” to 1” reducer with a cap. The cap has holes drilled in it so air can mix with the propane. (They are not adjustable)
In the middle of the cap I drilled a 3/8” hole for the propane. The piece of 3/8 pipe was plugged and brazed then drilled using a small drill like a #50 or something like that.
The rest of the setup is just various pieces of pipe joined together with pipe dope for use on gas.
I use propane for fuel and I read somewhere that a gas grill regulator did not flow enough, so I used a regulator from a turkey fryer which I bought to smelt lead for bullets.
To maximize the use of heat from the burners I put the pipes fairly close to the bottom of the stainless tanks.
I also use some scrap to cover the burners from the sides so the draft does not blow it out.
I can get the setup up to temp in about 15 minutes.
Once I get done using the pre-park solution I turn off that burner which is why the valve is there.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2927.jpg
JB welded stainless tank
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2926.jpg
Side view of pipe.
Frame for tanks is simply angle irion and steel fence posts
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2926.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2921.jpg
I started out with 1 tank I bought on ebay for $90 but I needed another for the pre treatment Shooters solutions sells.
I found a stainless steel cabinet that hospitals use to keep food warm and cut up the doors to make the tank.
I don’t have a sheet metal brake so I bolted the sheet metal between 2 pieces of bar stock and bent them over with a hammer.
I used my father in laws mig welder with gas to weld up the 2 homemade tanks I made, the first time I ever used a mig welder.
The welds looked terrible and the tanks leaked badly. I tried to use gas with some stainless steel filler rod which didn’t work muck better.
Now the Parkerizing tanks are only for liquid that gets to 190 F so I figured I would try some JB weld on the outside corners which worked perfectly.
I would not subject the JB weld to direct flame but other than that they are still working.
The Pipe burners:
The pipe burners that Brownells sells are fairly expensive and really from the pictures look pretty simple.
The burners are just 1” iron pipe that I brazed shut on 1 end. ( didn’t want to buy caps)
I drilled pairs of holes in a V down the pipe where it sits under the tank maybe a #18 drill for these.
The other end is a 3” to 1” reducer with a cap. The cap has holes drilled in it so air can mix with the propane. (They are not adjustable)
In the middle of the cap I drilled a 3/8” hole for the propane. The piece of 3/8 pipe was plugged and brazed then drilled using a small drill like a #50 or something like that.
The rest of the setup is just various pieces of pipe joined together with pipe dope for use on gas.
I use propane for fuel and I read somewhere that a gas grill regulator did not flow enough, so I used a regulator from a turkey fryer which I bought to smelt lead for bullets.
To maximize the use of heat from the burners I put the pipes fairly close to the bottom of the stainless tanks.
I also use some scrap to cover the burners from the sides so the draft does not blow it out.
I can get the setup up to temp in about 15 minutes.
Once I get done using the pre-park solution I turn off that burner which is why the valve is there.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2927.jpg
JB welded stainless tank
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2926.jpg
Side view of pipe.
Frame for tanks is simply angle irion and steel fence posts
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2926.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/milsurpcollector/Model%2070/100_2921.jpg