Old tanks

[Arc weld]

I think I did see one with a ******** on it from 1944. I've seen a lot of US military cylinders. It's no surprise that Germany would have had a lot of cylinders.

 

[MinnesotaDaveChalmers]

I've seen these discussions before and some cylinders have the markings before Germany adopted it.

As a result, tanks may, or may not, have the mark associated with **** Germany depending on the tank date and country of origin.

In some cultures, the mark was a symbol of good luck.
Anyone have a good knowledge background of history?

(Some info in the pic I attached)

 

[RoMad]

My brother gave me my gauges and hose right before I got married 37 years ago. I got new (used)gauges a couple years ago because it was cheaper than rebuilding my oxygen gauge. I still have the same hoses (and wife).

 

[dragoneggs]

Makes a person wonder why we got so many of them over here in the US!!!

I thought maybe it was because of the post WWI industrialization of Germany, and the WWII war effort, they had used an awful lot of bottled gas. Then afterward, there was a large surplus of bottles, and a lot were brought over here.

Just guessing, though. :confused3:

Maybe Wernher von Braun brought them over as part of Operation Paperclip.

 

[k0ua]

Maybe Wernher von Braun brought them over as part of Operation Paperclip.

What is not clear to me, are all the ******** stampings originating in **** Germany or were they used as the "good luck" symbol that so many thousands of examples were are are still on many buildings and things.

Take a look at this link

Western use of the ******** in the early 20th century - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have only seen a few ******** stamped tanks, and they were all during the **** era 1932-1945, but that don't mean much. There are also supposed to be some "windowpane" overstamps to get rid of the ********, but I don't know if that is just a rumor or what. Of course Linde was and is a prominent German company. I even had an old propane tank with a ******** at one time

 

[Capricious]

My father-in-law passed away about 4 years ago. He had in his garage an oxy/acet. torch set-up that he had not used for probably 10 years prior to his passing. He owned the tanks outright. It is all still sitting there.

How safe is it to have this stuff laying around, considering how long it has been sitting?

The hoses are probably rotten but with new hoses would it be safe to use the rig? Should the regulators be checked? I do not know the brand but the F.I.L was a machinest and only used good tools, so i am sure it was a quality set.

I am sure a refill would require a recertification- would it even be worth it? If it's not worth trying to revive this stuff, how does one dispose of it?

Well, nothing happens quickly at my in-law's house. As of an hour ago, the equipment mentioned in the above post is in my possession.

This is what I hauled home:
A pair of tanks(Oxy/acet) and a little dolly for them.



As I said in the original post, my deceased father-in-law owned these tank outright. My sister in law has talked to people at the place where the tanks were purchased (Cee Kay Supply) and was told there is a record in their computer confirming this purchase.





This is the torch. If it is not in the photo, I did not get it:





I am sure the cutting head and probably some more tips are somewhere in that mess of a garage at my inlaws but I am not going to go looking for them. Already had one "blow-up" today when the wife and I went to pick this stuff up. The mother-in-law was worried about these gas bottles laying in the garage for the past 30 years or so and wanted them gone, the welding supply place that the bottles were purchased from agreed to take them back (for free, and would not pick them up) and that is how I got involved. But there are two sisters in law, both in the mid 50's, there (niether able to support themselves) and one of them is a royal pain to deal with. Thinks I am trying to steal their stuff. They asked me to help get rid of the tanks- I have known about the tanks for 25 years and never said a word about them. So I am not going back to look for missing pieces.

Anyway, while the torch was a really good torch in it's day, it is long out of production, there are no tips available (other than an adapter to use tips from another torch), the regulators are old Craftsmen that probably need work (someone had been using a pipe wrench on the acet. regulator- hard to believe that my father in law would have done that) and the hoses are probably too old to safely use. Probably not worth putting money into the stuff

If I can get ownership of the tanks transferred into my name, so I can refill or exchange them, that is what i would like to do. Will probably have to pay a hydro test fee, which i don't mind doing.

If i can't make arangements to refill/exchange the tanks, then i will use what gas is remaining (don't know at the moment) then sell the tanks for whatever i can get for them on Craigslist, and do something else.

For a torch, I will probably pick up a new one at Chinese Freight.

Will probably see if i can sell the Aviator Jet torch body for a few bucks- I hear that some guys who work with sheet metal like them.

 

[Sysop]

Looks as good as 99% of the stuff I use... Unless Missouri is way different than WV, there is no "ownership" to be transferred. Around here, places like the railroad and mines have serial numbers on their tanks and if stolen, they give the descriptions, including the serial numbers, to the authorities and all the various shops that refill tanks. If you show up with a tank that has been reported stolen, you get in trouble. As long as you can provide proof you obtained them legally, you have no worries.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I bought some tanks off Craigslist that I knew the test date had expired. I took them (2 O2 and 1 Acetylene) to my local welding supply where they charged me a nominal fee (I think $25 per O2 bottle) to test them. Acetylene wasn't needed to be tested.
They recorded the serial numbers, set me up with an account and now I just swap them out when I get an empty. Never get the same bottles back.

 

[big bubba]

i purchased o2 & acetyl tanks in '76 here in NW arkansas. my most recent refills here a few yrs back required testing from my local supplier , so it's all about stamped numbers, dates, & ownership records (here anyway). process takes a while. as far as regulators, well, you're the judge when it comes to safety. like my oxy/acetel instr. used to tell me way back when, just stand out of the line of fire of both gauges when cranking in the pressure in case something goes south , to be on the safe side.

 

[Capricious]

Well, was looking at a Harbor Freight torch set priced @ $149.99, which after a 25% coupon was going to be $112.49 plus sales tax.

Then, while poking around on the internet I came across a welding supply company with a "Harris [not "Harris type"] Iron Worker" set; looked like pretty-much the same sort of set-up, priced at $125.00
including shipping but would have sales tax (same state). So, for about another 15 bucks I figured I would get a "name brand" and I placed an order.

I think it is pretty-much the same set-up one gets if one is buying the set with the little tanks- I'm just not getting the tanks or the tank carrier. Act. regulator is supposed to fit the larger tanks
( CGA 510)

I have received confirmation of shipping, but now I noticed that I can no longer find that set on the web site. I guess I bought the last one. Checking the Harris site shows that the current "Iron Workers" come with more expensive regulators than the set I am buying (I am getting 601 series single-stage). They also come with 20 feet of hose, vs. 8 feet I am getting (but then I was also figuring on buying 50 feet of hose anyway) so I assume the price on the "new" sets will be higher.

Since I have lived without a torch to this point, I don't think it will get used all that often, but will certainly be nice to have on hand for those rare occasions that require it.