Hot water tank tin for bellypan?

[chrisgerman1983]

I am thinking about using tin from hot water tanks to make a bellypan for my van. The reason I am wanting to use it is I can get as much as i want for free. I work next door to a plumbing supply shop so people dump tanks in our yard all day long. seems like a good source of large sheets of free tin. Has anyone used this gauge of metal before? I am planning to use metal electrical conduit to make a frame to support the pan. I would need a lot of material so the cost of coroplast could potentially take a while to pay for itself?

[ecomodded]

Great idea for material, free and recycled,you can do no better.
Chances are the inside of the skin is powder coated like the outside.
I noticed your a fellow Vancouver Islander,rare !

Vancouver Island is home to the luckiest people in Canada !
For those who do not know Vancouver Island has the most mild warmest weather in Canada, Hence why I live there.

[Daox]

Not a bad idea. The only thing is it'll be a lot harder to work with and it'll be heavier. A sheet of coroplast usually isn't that expensive. Most have found that you can get a 4'x8' sheet for less than $30.

[BamZipPow]

If you have the space...you might want to consider using the metal 2x4 studs used in commercial buildings. I made my belly pan that way.
Under belly pan... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

You could try using some Luan board instead of the metal...like I did originally. It's about $10 a sheet and easy to work with. You can eventually make yer template from that or just keep it in place as long as you paint/coat it to keep it from delaminating.

As far as using the metal...you will need to add channels to keep the metal from flexing and give it some added strength. Similar to bead rolling...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FCisi2-k5I

[mcrews]

youll need more mounting points...to cure for vibration that will be created.

My first front belly pan was 'free'. But didint work. Then my second front pan was a solid plasitic material. didnt work (warped from the heat)
My third front belly pan was coroplast. it worked. Reqired much less mopunting points. has lasted 20k+ miles. Takes a beating. Not effected by heat.
There is a reason it is the preffered material.
Sometimes 'free' isnt really free.

and finally, if you metal pan comes flying off.......dont let me be the car behind you.......

[Sven7]

Free is free if you can find some free brackets somewhere and have access to a large metal brake to make the channels. Go for it, and report back! This forum is essentially a big R&D department, promoting what works and testing things we're not sure about.

[Christ]

From my experiences as a scrapper - The tin is a pain to get off. They wrap it, then fill it with foam. The foam adheres to both the tank and the skin, making it very difficult to remove.

The tin is not powdercoated on the inside, it's bare steel with lacquer on it. The tins are often 1mm or so thick, and not easy to form and manipulate without hand tools.

I've used it for patch panels on cars, as well as to make tins for random projects including motorcycles and ATV's.

[aerohead]

I did it once and swore them off.Hard to remove,hard to cut with hand shears,heavy,and it's been rolled,so it has 'memory' and doesn't want to flatten out.

[chrisgerman1983]

YUP VI is the best place on earth... well a close second to Hawaii anyway Some great points mentioned. I will keep the steel 2x4 in mind for sure! I do need to lower the pan or have a round shape to it... haven't decided yet. I would need 3 sheets of coroplast so that would add up. I am not too worried about it coming loose, i would make sure it is on there good. but if I need a lot more weight to keep it from vibrating then I may have to spend the money. Took a look at the tanks today... it is a fiberglass insulation on the two I took apart. The main problem other then getting rid of the roll is that the two cutouts for the heating elements are dead center on the sheet... I suppose I could incorporate venting into the pan? gonna go roll around under the van tomorrow and take some measurements

[mcrews]

good luck!