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LabGuy
11-09-2010, 10:02 PM
For those of you that have converted used compressed gas tanks (propane, Freon, etc.) into meting pots:

What kind of tank did you use?
How deep was the pot when finished?
And how many pounds does it hold?

And of course pictures are always nice.

I have an old propane plumbers set up (1972), that holds around 40 pounds, but I figure no one will fill the tank. So I’m looking into a turkey fryer rig, to have a larger batch size.
Thanks

fryboy
11-09-2010, 11:13 PM
i dont have a foto , i cut mine too tall 12-14" ?, the weld in the middle is ugly and the metal sticks out on the inside in a ring , i notched thru it for a pouring spot and left loops for a big iron bail but never put it on ( want a newer lighter tank ..maybe a freon jug ), it is a older one so it's fairly thick steel and ummm i've never had it full it'll do 80-100#'s easy enough and i dont trust my burners legs much past that lolz , i just made sure it was empty took out the valve , then drew my pattern and drilled 3-4 holes and started slow and steady with a sawzall ( tech tips - cut slow and lube the blade from time to time and keep the foot firmly against the tank )

afrance
11-21-2010, 10:08 AM
I converted a 20lb propane tank into a bottom pour smelter. Pictures are in posts #5 and #10 at http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=56062 . Since then I removed the attached low pressure burner and used a high pressure burner underneath. I wrap the whole tank in fiberglass insulation and secure that with a long wrap of aluminum foil.

I have stuffed 300+ lbs of cold ingots in it when I was testing the strength of the legs and typically render 200 lb WW batches at a time. Biggest problem is having enough ingot molds to rotate through to keep production high. Use the obvious precautions when cutting on a propane tank to prevent injury or accidents (I filled mine with water, drilled and used a sawzall like Fryboy stated).