Aluminum for waste tank

[bluebird90]

Any thoughts on using aluminum for waste tanks? I have an old fuel tank that will fit perfectly under the bus.

[HolyBus]

I have thoughts of cutting and drilling into a fuel tank of any kind. It doesn't end well. Be sure you fill the tank with water and leave the lid off when doing anything to it. that will help eliminate fumes to heat in a container.

[bluebird90]

Not concerned about cutting and welding, mainly wondering about corrosion resistance. This will be a combo black/ gray tank.

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by bluebird90

Not concerned about cutting and welding, mainly wondering about corrosion resistance. This will be a combo black/ gray tank.

Nothing coming out of a human will rust it. lol

Nat

[EastCoastCB]

Go for it.

[taskswap]

Urea waste from urine decomposes into ammonia. Ammonia reacts with aluminum to produce hydrogen gas and some complex aluminum corrosion compound that I can't do the equations for anymore (but you can easily Google).

The amounts produced here are small and you could go years before it weakens your tank enough to matter. And the hydrogen isn't a worry because there's also methane, so you need to vent it away from ignition sources anyway. But since you asked... it's not "zero" risk. Just a very minor one. You might take a page from boats - even aluminum boats have plastic waste tanks installed. But aluminum is also worth a lot more than plastic so it's an obvious decision there.

If you're worried about it, you could always use a "slosh" coating before you install the tank. There are dozens of options of these, most aren't very expensive, and it could give you a little extra peace of mind...

[nat_ster]

Thank god it's just a black tank, not a urine tank.

All that water and other floating stuff will dilute it well.

Nat

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by HolyBus

I have thoughts of cutting and drilling into a fuel tank of any kind. It doesn't end well. Be sure you fill the tank with water and leave the lid off when doing anything to it. that will help eliminate fumes to heat in a container.

I'm using a 112 gal fuel tank for my combo black/ grey tank, I took it to a radiater repair place,( Old school type that still know how to remove & braze tanks & know what rod out means) & had them boil it out