[Jacques Reed]

Hi Hanno,

Thought today would try some magnetism experiments as per attached photos.
It is a lot easier to find out if it works on a workbench than trying to retrieve balls and steel bars out of a fuel tank!

I used a sheet of 1.1mm galvanized steel as a test. A bit thinner steel than a CMP fuel tank.

Unfortunately the results were disappointing:

Using seven 25mm diameter CV joint balls resulted in very little extra holding power than just the magnet alone. That could be caused though by the alloy used to make the balls just as stainless steel is non-magnetic.

I then tried a piece of steel bar 40 mm wide, by 15 mm thick, by 160 mm long. The holding power was significantly increased but I doubt it would be enough to pull a dent out of a tank. I was able to break it free with what I estimate was about 15kg of force.

So it's "back to the drawing board"

One good thing is a PDR technician returned my call and is actually willing to at least have a look at it in the New Year. Many businesses shut down for a few weeks during the December January period here in Australia so I will see what can be done in January. I am thinking if the hot glue method has the holding power it will do the job. Just have to see what his opinion is and what the cost estimate is if he can do it.

Will update this when the technician attends.

Cheers,