One of the few things left on my stove wishlist was a Phoebus. A 625 arrived this morning: I gave it a once over before trying to fire it up - little more than oiling the pump leather and replacing pips. I was unable to pressurise the tank. A dunk test followed and quickly led to: (peeling paint removed to expose the hole) The stove was sold as “in good condition” (without pictures of the base, but nothing to suggest a problem), so I’m surprised to find this. My first instinct, given that this runs on petrol / benzine is that it’s a write off. Assuming there are no other faults, am I being too pessimistic? -R
A closer look show spots of internal rusting: And around the sides: I’d forgotten how much I dislike steel tanks. -R
First I would use a pointed tool to see how much rust there is around that hole. At the same time remove the paint and check for other rust. If it looks like that is the only hole it can be patched by soldering a plug into it, or a plate over it. Before doing that, though, completely de-rust the tank with citric acid or Evaporust to check for other rot. If it looks rotted with rust, find another tank or build a frankie. Cheers Tony
What a shame. I have soldered and sealed quite a few tanks with good results. So far. HEY I have a parts 625 in my basement!! I'll pump it up tomorrow and make sure it's sound. Sending PM
It looks like my subscription has expired. Will fix that. Does anybody know if there is a thread lock compound used between burner and tank? I’ve been trying to separate them without success. Ten days of penetrating oil and a little heat have made no difference. -R
Looking at the @Majicwrench ’s photos it appears to me that the tank is slightly different to the one I have - the join with the burner appears to be female (threads on the inside) whereas what I have appears to be male (threads on the outside). Are there different versions? -R
Thanks, I was about to sit down over coffee and trawl the gallery after the school run. Looking through the gallery now I don’t think it’s a complete match for the one you’ve shown above. The pump handle differs and the burner extends out towards the control handle much further. There are a few other stoves in the gallery that match, like: Phoebus 625 and Phoebus 625 It looks more perhaps like a generational change - older 625s have a male burner fitting and more recent ones female? Either way, it looks like the kind offer of a tank from @Majicwrench is not going to solve my problem. -R
WoW did not know that, can we see a picture of the nato tank only? Please Does that mean it has 2 kinds of burner for the 625 ? How about the 725, do we have the same situation? Nice discovery!!!!!!
@Majicwrench - thanks for the offer. Lets see if I can patch up the tank rather than make this a “Trigger’s Broom” :-) @JP2 - there are some pictures at the top of the thread. A closer shot of the burner / pump is below. If there are any other pictures you want let me know. -R
IF YOUR TANK IS SCRAP, I cannot see how long is the tread on your tanks bus MAYBE , if it is long enough and same tread than the one @Majicwrench sent to you, it could work.(JOINT) Anyway, if you can screw the @Majicwrench one on your tanks , you'll have a joint and you're maybe good to go. Plus it is easy to know. Moreover I know that you know treads are difficult to Mach bout it could be easy this time. Ok I am done, I just give an idea . Have fun
Burner removed. The trick was to do it immediately after applying some heat. This is what I then shook out of the tank: It’s sitting submerged in a citric acid bath for a few days. I’ll take a closer look when I get back from Newark. -R
A quick dip in the electrolysis tank and most of the paint came off with minimal effort: There is no other obvious hole, but I will take a closer look inside the tank tomorrow. Am I right thinking the tank is hard soldered / brazed? If so, do I need to hard or soft solder the repair? Would something like a brass pin or tack be suitable to plug the gap? -R
I am no expert in plugging holes....the one tank I did this to I used a wood screw, then cut the head off and soldered over it. Hopefully more experienced folks will speak up.
If it's repairable, soft solder will be sufficient. I agree with @Majicwrench: using a "plug" is good in this situation. make sure you get to the edge of the rust in the existing hole. Cheers Tony
A careful going over this morning turned up two more, smaller holes, both close to the first: Looking at the inside of the tank with an ‘endoscope’ shows areas of pitting, but nothing that strikes me as particularly bad. The tank has gone back in the an evaporust bath to see what else turns up. What are people’s thoughts on continuing or condemning this tank? -R
…wondering if a patch rather than (or in addition to) three plugs might be the way to go, and whether hard soldering, or perhaps a MIG welder might be better than soft soldering… -R
