Metal Tank Repair

Tom often gets interesting jobs into the shop. With the University of Wyoming close by the jobs are wide and varied.
One such job came in a couple of weeks ago from the Agriculture Department. They had a pig scalding vat, a large metal tank, that was in need of a new bottom.
A scalding vat is a large tank that is used to remove the hair off of a swine. If you have ever had a ham with the skin on, then it has been in some sort of large container to have its hair removed.
The tank that was brought in was a flat bottom metal tank that was not draining liquid very well. The drain sat to one end of the tank and in the process of welding on the original legs, the bottom warped and was not adequately draining. Over time, this caused rust to build up in the tank as well.
The first step was to remove the old metal tank bottom using a hypertherm powermax 1000 plasma cutter.
Tom used a piece of steel sheet metal, 11 gauge, to rebuild the bottom of the tank. He cut out the needed size and cut about a quarter of an inch wider at the drain end of the steel sheet.
Next, at the center point of the drain end, he used a break to create a fold from the center to the outside corner of the opposite end. This formed a “v” in the steel sheet for better drainage.
The new tank bottom will hold up better under warping conditions.
Tom modified the old legs for a better fit. The old design had an inch and a quarter drain. Tom installed a larger drain at two inches.
A tank like this one will be filled with liquid. The animal carcass will then be scalded. The liquid drained and the tank cleaned and dried for further use.

Tom removes legs on metal tank base.