theamcguy
Well-known member
I got stuck with mini pair of oxygen and acetylene tanks that are past their recertification dates. What do you do with them?
Old Welding Tanks
- Thread starter theamcguy
- Start date
like2wheel
Well-known member
Pretty sure my LWS exchanges all tanks without checking dates, but puts a small re-cert charge on every tank fill invoice to cover any that might need hydro testing.
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I made a wind gong (wind chime) from one.
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
Wait, you've got a 250 tank you want to get rid of?....where in VT?....I'll be there!
fourjeepin
Well-known member
I tried this with a small AL cylinder. It sounded terrible and went to the metal recycler.
nadogail
Well-known member
IMHO, take them to your local gas supplier. One gas supply dealer set their unusable tanks in concrete and used them as bollards.
I think it's a G sized cylinder. I had some pictures in the "what did you do in your garage" thread. It's also a steel cylinder.
23ford
Well-known member
Have them recertified and filled and use them
the acetylene is probably either a B, or MC tank . the suppliers **** up the cost of recert.(at least around here) the same for the oxy tank.
it has value
it has value
ZRX61
Well-known member
Taking the fittings off the top, cut the bottom off & you now have a mortar tube 
With the bigger tanks you can launch bowling balls using black powder...
With the bigger tanks you can launch bowling balls using black powder...
Robby321
Well-known member
My supplier just gives me filled ones, and old go to the refill pile. Did the same when they outlawed Propane tanks with overfill protection. Just dropped them off and got new filled ones at Wallymart. Idiots never looked.
Wait, you've got a 250 tank you want to get rid of?....where in VT?....I'll be there!
Southwest.
I need to call airgas and see if I can trade it for a 125 of C25. Things been in a shed since 1985 I think, and I bought the foreclosure in 2016, so no ownership history in it.
like2wheel
Well-known member
txvwnut
Well-known member
Mine does look.
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
If you cant get rid of it, and looking to sell/get rid of it, I'll take it!
Need a tank for Argon for my spool gun and my Airgas will exchange for me.
RoscoTom
Well-known member
My pal has a 100lb propane tank with the bottom cut out, makes a dandy bell.
It hangs from a rack 1220 ft from his deck.
You can walk out and hit it with a hammer, or shoot from the deck.
A Garand makes a nice, big "bong".
Anyone can hit it with a Garand.
I've pinged it 4 out 10 with my Ruger 10/22.
It hangs from a rack 1220 ft from his deck.
You can walk out and hit it with a hammer, or shoot from the deck.
A Garand makes a nice, big "bong".
Anyone can hit it with a Garand.
I've pinged it 4 out 10 with my Ruger 10/22.
rlitman
Well-known member
The ownership history is spelled out by the tank stampings and neck ring. Your gas supplier will be very familiar with this.
Back to the OP. My gas supplier charges a re-certification surcharge for exchanging high pressure tanks with expired certs. I asked about what happens to tanks that fail and he said that if the exterior is in good enough condition for him to take it back, it pretty much always passes the hydro test.
As the the acetylene, he said he doesn't even care about the dates on that at all. Apparently all acetylene cylinders are tested by the filler, so any testing costs are folded into the fill price.
strutaeng
Well-known member
Yes. I recently took a Ar/Co2 to my LWS and it was out of date. The lady said there's a small fee to get them recertified. At the end, she refunded me the fee when I got a refilled tank, but it wasn't much. Less than $20 if I recall.
Was like $80 total for cylinder and 1 lb of MIG wire and some contact tips. 125 CF size I think.
LifeLongWNYer
Well-known member
I have a buddy who removed the valves on a couple, welded a pipe on the bottom of the tanks, then buried the pipe in the ground, leaving the tank appearing to just sit on the ground surface, as bollards outside his shop. Everyone is so scared of tipping them over that they stay plenty clear.
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jjust swap them at a refrigeration appliance parts house, as far as recertifly, that just aother gimmick to charge money, they just going pump air into it to see if they leak. Its not like they blow up under pressure, they just leak
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
Get them rehydro'd and recertified. My Acetylene pony tank is pre-ww2 era, and it's sill just fine, thank you - I wish it was a laarger tank, but it does everything I ask it to... and it's a cool but of history with it's "42" recert date stamp.
Or give it to a refiller who will sell you a new one because it's "old" and then sell it to someone who values the stuff made when we expeced it to last 250 years... or will cut it up, deal with the asbestos filler, and sell you one of theirs which cost them $30 for $300...
Your choice.
Or give it to a refiller who will sell you a new one because it's "old" and then sell it to someone who values the stuff made when we expeced it to last 250 years... or will cut it up, deal with the asbestos filler, and sell you one of theirs which cost them $30 for $300...
Your choice.
As the former owner of a welding supply company, who signed checks for a LOT of $$, buying cylinders, much of this discussion made me cringe. Acetylene cylinders, from MC to the bigger 420’s and every high pressure cylinder, is expensive. When re-certified, they’re safe and perform a very useful function. I would implore that you don’t make a gong out of a perfectly good cylinder. That’s like making a coffee table from a standard bore 427 Chevy block. If I have to explain that, you won’t understand.
The bollards, at the supplier, likely have arc strikes or spots of unacceptable corrosion. I’ve disagreed with the bollard concept, because it sends the wrong message to the uninformed.
The quote above, forced me to respond. The suggestion that 'they just leak' is absolutely false. More than a few lives have been lost by catastrophic failure of cylinder filling. I vividly recall a dock worker who tried to shut off the valve of an OX20 that he heard leaking, on the fill rack. The cylinder failed as he turned the valve. I could tell you the company, location and date, but it isn’t germane. It was fatal. No, they don’t ‘just leak'.
Another detail; no pressure vessel is ever proof pressure tested with air. Hydrostatic testing of DOT 3AA cylinders requires water pressure test to 5/3 marked pressure, closely monitoring expansion, both elastic and permanent. Sometimes the cylinders fail during the requalification process. Sounds like a shotgun firing, right behind you. Ask me how I know..
Bill
like2wheel
Well-known member
Thanks for posting.
I always appreciate hearing the truth from experts.
I always appreciate hearing the truth from experts.
Yes a great post.
Too often potentially dangerous things get discounted because the said danger seldom happens. as things get more mainstream with the general public, it probably even gets discounted moreso .
High pressure gas vessels are potentially dangerous & should be treated as such, but it's easy to think , ahh, they're safe or they wouldn't be allowed.
Too often potentially dangerous things get discounted because the said danger seldom happens. as things get more mainstream with the general public, it probably even gets discounted moreso .
High pressure gas vessels are potentially dangerous & should be treated as such, but it's easy to think , ahh, they're safe or they wouldn't be allowed.
andyvh1959
Well-known member
Taking the fittings off the top, cut the bottom off & you now have a mortar tube
With the bigger tanks you can launch bowling balls using black powder...
Why do I smile and chuckle when I read "launch bowling balls using black powder"? I just find it especially humorous, right up there with anvil shooting:
Pumpkin chucking also brings stupid grins.
But then I also laughed heartily when they blew up the concrete truck on Mythbusters;
TractorJeff
Well-known member
My pal has a 100lb propane tank with the bottom cut out, makes a dandy bell.
It hangs from a rack 1220 ft from his deck.
You can walk out and hit it with a hammer, or shoot from the deck.
A Garand makes a nice, big "bong".
Anyone can hit it with a Garand.
I've pinged it 4 out 10 with my Ruger 10/22.
400 yards with a 22 is nice shooting!
ZRX61
Well-known member
I should have added "Start with maybe 1/2lb & work up from there".. Not 4lb to start like we did. No idea where the hell that bowling ball ended up, but it did clear the adjacent ridge line by a considerable height
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I built a bowling ball mortar 20+ years ago. It would launch a 16# ball out of sight with a 1/4# of black powder. The holes in the ball made it howl like a dog all the way back down. Best hang time we ever got was 21 seconds, launch-to-landing. You learned a lot about people in 21 seconds. I've seen nerdy guys stand there cool as a cucumber and watch the ball land 50' away, and Type-A macho men cry and scream like a 8 year old schoolgirl the whole time the ball is in the air, running around in circles...I used to tell them to sit on the mortar because it was probably the most statistically safe place a round, the odds of it going back in the same hole were probably nil.
Built mine of of a 20" long piece of 8-5/8" ID DOM 1/2 wall tubing. and a 3" thick x 12" diameter baseplate. It was a lot of fun, gave it to a friends 25 year old kid when I got tired of it.
LifeLongWNYer
Well-known member
I am interested in more details of the bowling ball mortar. ( for a friend, of course )
I have another cool story about the use of a gas cylinder. I recently saw a gypsy welders' truck here, that had a smaller cylinder mounted sideways on the back of his truck. He had cut a hole, about 1/3 of the diameter of the cylinder, and welded hinges, so the section opened like a door. Inside was a BBQ grill. Just perfect for cooking a hamburg, or two, after a hard day on a pipeline job. It was very cool, and well done, I regret not taking a picture of it.
Truck had Texas plates on it, I remember when I was working there seeing a lot of very cool welders' trucks.
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I have another cool story about the use of a gas cylinder. I recently saw a gypsy welders' truck here, that had a smaller cylinder mounted sideways on the back of his truck. He had cut a hole, about 1/3 of the diameter of the cylinder, and welded hinges, so the section opened like a door. Inside was a BBQ grill. Just perfect for cooking a hamburg, or two, after a hard day on a pipeline job. It was very cool, and well done, I regret not taking a picture of it.
Truck had Texas plates on it, I remember when I was working there seeing a lot of very cool welders' trucks.
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John in OH
Well-known member
Why would you not consider doing this ^^^^????? I've had numerous larger size tanks recertified for a reasonable charge.
John in OH
Well-known member
+1 Words of wisdom and experience! Take heed!!
RVDan
Well-known member
As was said. If you don’t want them they have value, sell them to somebody who does want them.
andyvh1959
Well-known member
Back on topic. Is it reasonable to use old oxy/acet tanks as expanded volume for an air compressor? I have an old tank my dad had converted with a valve and gauge so it can be filled from an air compressor. I have charged it to 100 psi off my 6.5hp compressor and then used it on around my home as a remote compressed air supply on my property. I just strap the tank onto a hand truck to move it around as needed.
Back off topic. Some videos of anvil flying are hilarious, especially with the volume up so you can hear the anvil nearing the launch whipping through the air making a funny resonant sound until it "whumps" into the ground.
Back off topic. Some videos of anvil flying are hilarious, especially with the volume up so you can hear the anvil nearing the launch whipping through the air making a funny resonant sound until it "whumps" into the ground.
rlitman
Well-known member
Acetylene cylinders have a "solid" filler, and would be terrible for this. I suppose you could use an old oxygen cylinder as an air tank, but why would you? Even expired, it's worth more as an expired cylinder than an air tank costs.