Fire Pits from propane tank ends

**TopShotCustoms** · 01-31-2014, 09:05 PM

We make a few of these every month
Jason

**wayne1956** · 01-31-2014, 10:55 PM

Wow, very very nice. Much better than the one I bought from Lowes

**twmart** · 01-31-2014, 11:09 PM

Those are awesome...

**lousypirate** · 01-31-2014, 11:14 PM

how thick is the wall of the tanks?

**jord0690** · 02-01-2014, 12:03 AM

Are those designes all cut by hand? Or some kind of CNC machine? Very very cool lookin. Great work

**NHscrapman** · 02-01-2014, 05:53 AM

excellent work!
I really like the grill attachment does it swivel on a pin?

**TopShotCustoms** · 02-02-2014, 02:57 PM

Thanks for the kind works guys! They are mostly 1/4'' and hand cut. Just go with the flow however it turns out it turns out. That particular grill does not swivel but have made some that do.
Jason

**Patriot76** · 02-02-2014, 03:37 PM

Very creative and outstanding work. Do you use a plasma cutter? Would you explain the safety process you use to cut the propane tank originally. Do you remove the valve and fill them with water? Several posts on the forum talk about scrapping propane tanks and many individuals could benefit from your insight. I promise I will not steel your idea, to creative for my blood.

**Yunkman** · 02-02-2014, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Patriot76

Very creative and outstanding work. Do you use a plasma cutter? Would you explain the safety process you use to cut the propane tank originally. Do you remove the valve and fill them with water? Several posts on the forum talk about scrapping propane tanks and many individuals could benefit from your insight. I promise I will not steel your idea, to creative for my blood.

And I'm one who could definitely benefit to know your safety precautions. I'm only interested in meeting the requirements of having the tanks cut in half to send to salvage.

**lousypirate** · 02-02-2014, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Yunkman

Originally Posted by Patriot76

Very creative and outstanding work. Do you use a plasma cutter? Would you explain the safety process you use to cut the propane tank originally. Do you remove the valve and fill them with water? Several posts on the forum talk about scrapping propane tanks and many individuals could benefit from your insight. I promise I will not steel your idea, to creative for my blood.

And I'm one who could definitely benefit to know your safety precautions. I'm only interested in meeting the requirements of having the tanks cut in half to send to salvage.

Vent any pressure, purge with helium or argon, iirc.

**Mechanic688** · 02-02-2014, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by lousypirate

Vent any pressure, purge with helium or argon, iirc.

Adapt the inlet of the tank to the exhaust pipe of your vehicle and flood it with exhaust, nothing there to burn and it'll push out any oxygen .

**happyisthealero** · 02-02-2014, 06:15 PM

where do you find these? and what did you use to cut plasma or torch?

If its torch your skilled!!

**TopShotCustoms** · 02-02-2014, 06:36 PM

I have a deal with ameri gas and heritage propane to take all tanks regardless of condition that are out of Hydrostatic date. they come to me off gassed and sometimes devalved. so they are empty when we get them. if there is not a valve in a tank you can safely cut into a tank meaning if you can see into the tank with a flashlight it is safe. the oil residue left behind is combustible but has a very high point of ignition. The oil is not flammable. it will catch on fire but rarely will sustain a flame. We have cut probably 200 tanks without water but THEY DO NOT HAVE VALVES ON THEM. We never buy tanks from an individual don't need that headache. lol... the off gassing of propane is better left to those with the proper equipment and training.

We use a plasma cutter to cut the pits and smokers
Jason

**Yunkman** · 02-02-2014, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by TopShotCustoms

........... if there is not a valve in a tank you can safely cut into a tank meaning if you can see into the tank with a flashlight it is safe. the oil residue left behind is combustible but has a very high point of ignition. Jason

I've read other recommendations on YouTube and it seems the water method would be so messy and time consuming and maybe not even as safe as using the exhaust like Mechanic said. I've done just that with a newly drained diesel barrel and have soldered a gas tank that way. There is some concern with the oxygen in the acety. mix being dangerous. I'm aware that the smaller engines produce a higher grade of carbon monoxide.....such as a lawnmower engine. But you, Jason, say you don't use either method; just have the valve removed and cut away. That's good to know...thanks.

**TopShotCustoms** · 02-02-2014, 08:21 PM

Propane boils at -42 deg F , it is impossible for propane to be in a tank with a valve off and removed

... No propane No worries , plus using the water method for me would not be conducive to making any money, dang water bill would be crazy !!!! lol

**Yunkman** · 02-02-2014, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by TopShotCustoms

Propane boils at -42 deg F , it is impossible for propane to be in a tank with a valve off and removed

... No propane No worries , plus using the water method for me would not be conducive to making any money, dang water bill would be crazy !!!! lol

I'm trying to wrap my head around the prospects that..........okay, with the valve off and tank upright, and any temp over -42F, the propane would already have boiled into a gas and escaped. Let's see........propane is heavier than air and would still be in the bottom of the tank (but that would be in a liquid form) and with the valve open or gone, it would have already turned into a gas and escaped. I think I got it (correct me if not). Is that how it works? I'm just a musician and understand a Cm aug 5th chord on the piano. Propane is another matter.

**TopShotCustoms** · 02-02-2014, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Yunkman

I'm trying to wrap my head around the prospects that..........okay, with the valve off and tank upright, and any temp over -42F, the propane would already have boiled into a gas and escaped. Let's see........propane is heavier than air and would still be in the bottom of the tank (but that would be in a liquid form) and with the valve open or gone, it would have already turned into a gas and escaped. I think I got it (correct me if not). Is that how it works? I'm just a musician and understand a Cm aug 5th chord on the piano. Propane is another matter.

You are correct, it is impossible for propane to be in the tank if it is open to the atmosphere it will off gas it's self. Just to be clear with anyone else that is reading this. COMPLETE VALVE ASSEMBLY REMOVED!!! NOT JUST OPENING THE VALVE. I will post some pics tomorrow when I get some daylight. also our tanks may sit around for a few weeks, so they have plenty of time to self purge. We have cut them hours after being off gassed with no issues. I would never recommend someone off gassing their own tank. If anyone is unsure about doing this DON"T!!! lol This is our experience with tanks your mileage may vary

**Yunkman** · 02-02-2014, 09:41 PM

I have pinched a 100lb propane tank to the ground with my skidsteer which acted as a vice and then removed the valve with a pipewrench. That worked like a charm as those valves are put on with some serious threadlock. Seemed like a better method than using a punch and hammer like this feller on Youtube.

**TopShotCustoms** · 02-02-2014, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by Yunkman

I have pinched a 100lb propane tank to the ground with my skidsteer which acted as a vice and then removed the valve with a pipewrench. That worked like a charm as those valves are put on with some serious threadlock. Seemed like a better method than using a punch and hammer like this feller on Youtube.

WOW!!! I have done some pretty sketchy things but..........

**sawmilleng** · 02-03-2014, 12:29 AM

Everyone here has proposed bits and pieces of the complete process to SAFELY purge a tank. Unfortunately, without a gas tester there is no way to know you are 100% sure of no reaction when you start putting fire into the propane vessel.

I researched this topic a few years ago when I had to convert a 12,000 gallon propane tank into a compressed air tank. I needed to cut the tank open to have a 24" manway welded in, an 8" air port, and some low point water drains. It was empty, but had a few lbs of pressure on it from a bit of propane when we received it. I had to find a method to guarantee that when the welder put the torch to it we wouldn't be finding him a ride home from the moon.

If you are interested in reading a thread about it and all the details on an engineering forum, it's here.

The long and short of it is you have to purge the tank to get the residual propane gases and any other bad stuff out. As TopShot points out, he receives tanks that have had their valves removed for an unspecified time- and has lucked out that they have been opened long enough to have naturally vented/purged all the gases. Since propane is a product, it has specifications and rarely has much in the way of oils in it. They are a different animal to deal with when purging tanks. (Our tank was dry as a bone when we opened it.)

Purging is a process where you put a gas, like nitrogen, into the tank, via a tube, into the furthest corner from the vent opening. You want the flow to be carrying the propane residual OUT of the tank.

There's been lots of talk about purging with all sorts of gases...I don't know who wants to use helium, its bloody expensive. Nitrogen makes up 70-odd % of our atmosphere and is cheap.

So you need to put a gas sniffer on the purge discharge when you want to test to see if you are good to go. It should read 0 hydrocarbons when you are good to go. Nothing.

With our 12K gallon tank, we first did a purge using nitrogen. Used enough bottles to fully purge the tank, 20 or so. Hardly changed anything. Scratched our heads, and stuck a compressed air hose in it over a weekend. Two days later, did another test. MUCH better. Did more compressed air and finally we sniffed zero. Purged once more with nitrogen and checked on the morning of the cutting. Still zero. Home free.

With tanks containing oil or diesel, there is a phenomena called "bounce" where the tank may be purged clean but the residual hydrocarbons on the surface of the metal start recontaminating the air if the tank sits for any time. I do not know how this is properly dealt with.

So cutting a tank containing flammable fuels is something like dealing with refrigeration...you can do it without the fine knowledge and special tools, and 99 times out of 100 you won't get caught. Get the learning, the right tools, and do the job safely.

Jon.

Fire Pits from propane tank ends

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Display