The Tank & the Welder

Occasionally things just do NOT go as planned.  When David (the welder) got the tank to his shop and started cleaning it his close inspection had him make a call to me.  

"I think you need to come and see your tank," he said.

"What's wrong?  What's going on?" I replied.

"I just think you need to make some decisions..." was David's tentative return.

"Oh dear me... I'll be there in about 20 minutes."  I said as I reach for the truck keys and started getting off the boat in the marina.  David's shop is deep in the heart of Guaymas and given the time of day it took me a little over 25 minutes to reach the shop from San Carlos.

The Tank after cleaning attempt

When I got there the tank was on the ground in front of the covered part to get the full effect of the sunlight.  There were pin holes in most of the welded sections and the plate surfaces had fair sized holes in them.  It seems that as David cleaned the tank he found the metal in many of the plate surfaces to be so thin that his cleaning tool started going through the metal.  His investigation showed that if he brushed over some of the areas with his screw driver it would go through without much or any effort.  Looking at the tank I knew what his question was going to be so I asked, "How much to make a new tank?"

Note the screw driver

He told me he had already upped the order for aluminum to do the rebuild and that instead of the NP$4000 it would be NP$8000 to finish the job.  Okay, that's is not the end of the world.  That was telling me that it would not be the anticipated US$312.50 but US$625.00 instead.  In the big picture that is wonderful news.  I mean, to get a tank that will probably out live me for a reasonable price is a good thing, right?  

Now we will see how this plays out because sometimes things don't go as they are planned.