Apologies for the basic newbie question - but after using a soak tank, how do you ensure all the water is out of the frame? Does it matter if some is left in the corners?
It feels wrong to leave water inside a steel frame and the typical location of breather holes will mean no clear drain path.
There are two camps when it comes to venting. One camp says let the air and water flow, the other camp say seal it all up. I just know that old Fat Chances used to rust out at the bottom of the ST because there was no way for water to get out of the ST. My position is water will always get in, itās good to have a route for it to get out.
I put big holes in the HT and BB to allow water to flow out and air to exchange. THe BB gets holes where the tubes join AND at the bottom so water can drain out. Then I ensure all other tubes are vented at the non-HT/BB ends. A little water in the corners shouldnāt be a problem if the frame is otherwise well vented. Itās important to use a treatment (Framesaver RIP) before assembly.
Brilliant, thanks.
Iād seen some discussions about vent or seal, but hadnāt joined the dots to soak tanks.
Havenāt fully landed in either camp yet, but having built frames both ways now think Iām leaning towards ventingā¦
Anyway, good to know that the residual water in the corners isnāt a major problem - sounds like Iām overthinking it as usual!!
Some thoughts on getting water out of tubes:
- Gravity - pour it out
- Compressed air - blow it out
- Heat - evaporate it out with a hair dryer, heat gun, or torch.
Strap some of these billys on the side
I use a pair of long plastic pots stacked together and an immersion heating coil. works great as long as you donāt submerge the whole thing with the cable hehe. Boiling water really helps.