Oxygen tank

[mrblue]

I got a few oxygen tanks, the small kind maybe a foot tall. I was wondering if i cut it in half that it could be used to melt my wheel weights in them. Let me know your thoughts thanks

[Duckiller]

How are you going to cut the tank(s) ? Once cut the tank you can determine if the metal is thick enough to smelt your wheel weights. My main concern would be purging and cutting the tank(s) safely.

[ku4hx]

Actually I prefer an ammo can to an O² bottle.

[bangerjim]

Why not just buy a cheap pan a WalFart? Works well on a turker fryer. Many guys here use that method.

[mrblue]

I was gonna let the air leak out with a valve. Don't know the size, but i fugured if they can handle that much pressure a little heat wont hurt. I was gonna use a chop saw once i got the top valve off. and hey it's free, vs having to buy stuff.

[duckndawg]

i cut a 20lb propane tank to use as my smelting pot. make DAMN sure it is purged take the valve out and fill with water

[bangerjim]

cutting tanks like that is VERY risky!!!!!

O2 + metal filings + a spark = well......not fun!

As stated, if you absolutely insist on doing this take the valve out and fill the tank with water.

bangerjim

[clintsfolly]

The tanks are worth more then the pot you will make!! I have a small cast iron pot will trade for the small tank. Where in MI are you ? Clint

[Mr Peabody]

My first pot was the bottom of a tank like that. You use way too much heat getting the pot up and running. Use a thinner pot; mine is a cast iron pot I got at a thrift store.

[Bloodman14]

I would actually like to have one of those small tanks for my garage; would you consider selling me one?

[trk]

Larger in diameter and shallower in depth is good. (more surface area and less vertical distance for crud to float up (with stirring) and get captured by the flux.)

[Mal Paso]

Thick metal is SLOW with a chop saw and will eat heat.

Find a welding shop, get some money for the tanks, and get a stainless pot.

[RP]

some tanks are aluminum I would not use them for smelting but if they have O2 in them you can shoot them at a long range and they will explode in a large fire ball. Well that's what I heard long range shot only never did find any of the tank.

[gimling]

you can do it but there is a pimp cast iron pot at your local harbor freight around $20 holds 100pounds or so at a time.

[dbosman]

If the tanks are within their hydro test date range, sell them!
Any welding shop, AirGas, or brazer would purchase them for a lot more than a cast iron dutch oven would cost.
The date the test is valid til is stamped on the cylinder. Even out of date, they are worth more than a dutch oven.

[Mohillbilly]

I'd just go to Salvation Army or Goodwill and buy A $2.00 pan or pot.

[mrblue]

My guess is yes, they are within the hydro date. I have several and didn't know what to do with them, Was just gonna scrap them

[Lead Fred]

Been using a O2 tank bottom for over a decade now to melt WW in.
Used a 6in bolt, nut and a broom stick as a handle

[Foto Joe]

Modern O2 tanks should be aluminum. Even SCUBA tanks that hold more pressure than O2 tanks are aluminum unless you come across an old one.

As far as cutting it is concerned, O2 DOES NOT BURN!! It acts as an oxidizer which allows other flammable substances to burn more readily. This is why NO petroleum products may be used around O2 tanks or valves, spontaneous combustion of the petroleum product can occur, not the O2. A hack saw or chop saw would be fine, a torch not so much as it is using acetylene as a fuel. If you want to try an experiment, attempt to light the O2 from an oxy/acetylene torch without the acetylene turned on.

[jonp]

If you know of a small propane dealer or someone that fills tanks they often have 100lb tanks beyond the good date stamped on them. These make great pots but make sure to take the advice posted and remove the valve and fill with water before cutting.

[JIMinPHX]

cutting tanks like that is VERY risky!!!!!

O2 + metal filings + a spark = well......not fun!

As stated, if you absolutely insist on doing this take the valve out and fill the tank with water.

bangerjim

Do you have any reference info on this phenomenon? I am familiar with the need to purge fuel tanks before cutting them, but I am not aware that the same need exists when cutting a depressurized O2 tank.

When I cut propane tanks, I fill them with water & then leave a hose running in through the hole where the valve was removed, as I cut with a thin abrasive wheel on a 4" angle grinder.

If I'm careful, I can get an entire tank done with a single $3 abrasive wheel. The hardest part of doing a good job is getting a straight line marked on the tank so that you have a good reference to follow.

[JIMinPHX]

some tanks are aluminum I would not use them for smelting but if they have O2 in them you can shoot them at a long range and they will explode in a large fire ball. Well that's what I heard long range shot only never did find any of the tank.


Fireball from an O2 tank? Please fact check that if you can.

[JIMinPHX]

The date the test is valid til is stamped on the cylinder.

Maybe my memory is getting foggy, but I thought that they got stamped with the date that the test was done & then depending on the type of tank it was, the hydro test was good for a certain number of years after that date. I think that scuba tanks are good for 5 years. I think that some alloys of steel for some types of gas are good for 10 years & I seem to remember that super thick steel "K" bottles are either good for life or a really long time like 25 years. It's been a while since I looked into that stuff.

[jonp]

Fireball from an O2 tank? Please fact check that if you can.
O2 Is extremely flammable. It requires a hazardous material placard, flammable when being hauled either in cylinders or in a straight tank. I guess it could explode if shot with a firearm and a spark happens. Testing this is not something I care to do, however

[jonp]

Maybe my memory is getting foggy, but I thought that they got stamped with the date that the test was done & then depending on the type of tank it was, the hydro test was good for a certain number of years after that date. I think that scuba tanks are good for 5 years. I think that some alloys of steel for some types of gas are good for 10 years & I seem to remember that super thick steel "K" bottles are either good for life or a really long time like 25 years. It's been a while since I looked into that stuff.
Gas tanks are good for 12yrs from the date stamped on them when manufactured and then need to be re certified before being filled and then re-checked every 5 years. I have some 100lb propane tanks at my hunting camp that are 50yrs old and they are still good and in use.
I used to drag the 100lb tanks on a sled about 3miles up a snowmobile trail in the winter to my camp but the older I got the harder it got so started switching to 80lb tanks. You can get them retested at a propane company and it doesn't take long.

[Foto Joe]

O2 Is extremely flammable. It requires a hazardous material placard, flammable when being hauled either in cylinders or in a straight tank. I guess it could explode if shot with a firearm and a spark happens. Testing this is not something I care to do, however

Okay, since this thread has drifted way off the mark let me clarify something about haz-mat which is what I do for a living. Just because federal law requires a haz-mat placard DOES NOT mean that the product being transported is "flammable" i.e. nitrogen or CO2 which also must be placarded when transported under pressure. Oxygen will NOT self-sustain when exposed to a flame such as a carbon based component like wood or petroleum it will simply allow that medium to burn much faster.

[btroj]

Oxygen needs those warning because it is, imagine this, an OXIDIZER!

An oxygen tank isn't gonna explode if shot other than the fact you have high pressure gas escaping in a violent manner. Compressed air, CO2, or any other compressed gas would do the same thing.

Now a tank of O2 would make an interesting target if placed near a fire. That fire would really flare up.

[detox]

Q: What does propane smell like?
A: By nature, propane is clear and contains no scent at all. For safety purposes propane companies add a substance know as methanol to the propane fuel. Methanol has a strong rotten egg, or skunk-like scent, which allows the consumer to smell it in the case of a leak. If you smell something similar near your appliances and your tank it is possible that you are low in fuel. Methanol is heavier than propane and sinks to the bottom of the tank so when the tank is low on fuel the methanol smell will become more noticeable.

[btroj]

Ummm, it isn't methanol. Methanol is wood alcohol. Methanol doesn't have an odor.

You are speaking of a compound generally referred to as a mercaptan.

Mercaptan a contain sulfur. Sulfur compounds are often very strong in odor. Methanol does not have any sulfur and has no real odor.

[dragon813gt]

I can just imagine a methanol and propane mixture. The fire that would create would be spectacular. Well the part that you could see would be ;)

[crabo]

If I'm careful, I can get an entire tank done with a single $3 abrasive wheel. The hardest part of doing a good job is getting a straight line marked on the tank so that you have a good reference to follow.

Tie a piece of twine tightly around it, stick some tape in a couple of spots to hold it, and use a sharpie to follow the string line around the tank.

Or put a piece of dowel in the twine and twist it up real tight and you wouldn't need the tape to hold while you sharpie it.

[country gent]

To get a straight mark for cutting a tank or large tube wrap a piece of belting around it. A wide belt will wrap square and true with a little care. A large hose clamp will also lock down square and true.
If the tank is being tourch cut keep an air hose blowing in it this will keep fumes from building up in side. Wash several times with dish soap and water rinse well and keep a flow of air going.I seen a 55 gal drum "POP" once dont ever need to see or hear of it again. Kid was making a new burn barrel out of it started cutting the top out with a tourch. It had been rinsed out but the solvent in it wasnt water souluable so a small amount remained. I have always considered cutting a tank lengthwise just below center for a trough shaped lead pot for smelting. Something around 20-24" long and half dia of tank. WOuld be ha good depth no corners and would stir and laddle easily, with a larger capacity.

[JIMinPHX]

Tie a piece of twine tightly around it, stick some tape in a couple of spots to hold it, and use a sharpie to follow the string line around the tank.

Or put a piece of dowel in the twine and twist it up real tight and you wouldn't need the tape to hold while you sharpie it.

That would be a great idea, if I were going to cut it on the flat part of the cylinder. I'll need to remember that trick.

Unfortunately, I usually cut on the curved surface, so that I get a pot that is less likely to squash in under stress. I have a hard time getting a good mark on that curved shoulder.

[JIMinPHX]

I seen a 55 gal drum "POP" once dont ever need to see or hear of it again. Kid was making a new burn barrel out of it started cutting the top out with a tourch.

They make a tool called a drum de-header for situations like that. The thing looks like a big can opener with a handle about 2 feet long.