Hi Tom

We dissassembled our tank, plugged the holes and took it to the nearest
sandblaster. They did a great job of making it clean once again, and then
we put a coat of primer + a coat of that nasty xylene "hammer-rite" stuff
(Use a respirator!) Been driving it around on the Oregon Coast all winter
and it's holding up great.

We then took it to a propane place, and they replaced all the valves and
gave it the ok.

Ri & Glen
87 Westy
67 Singlecab

At 08:54 PM 3/23/2002 -0600, you wrote:
>Listees,
>
>thanks for all the recent messages on propane tank usage - very helpful to
>me as a new Westy owner. Because of its disreputable appearance, I have
>decided to pull my tank and 'renew' it - as the Brits say. I have purchased
>the appropriate replacement Marshall 290 and an open-close valve from the
>local RV store. I went to a local propane company and had the tank emptied -
>basically they vented it into the air. They - nor anyone in the business in
>KCMO - had not heard of, nor were they prepared to do, a vacuum out of an
>old tank. So I know I have some small residue of propane in there.
>
>My question - do you have any advice about/procedures for removing a Westy
>tank, stripping off regulator and valves, removing paint/rust, repainting,
>and installing new regulator & open/close valve -  all without blowing
>myself into the next State (I'm about a quarter mile from the confluence of
>the Kaw and the Missouri, so Kansas in this case).
>
>For instance, if a tank is thus unhooked, can I use a wire wheel on it or
>should I stick to sandpaper...chemical strippers?
>
>Many thanks as ever,
>
>Tom in KCMO
>82 Westy