Plasma Cutter Project,, WhAtSyOuRgUeSs ??

[CADplans]

OK, the gift wrapping, and unwrapping is over,, and I ate too much,, AND the weather is beautiful this week!!
I figure it is time to start a project,,

I haven't done much with the plasma cutter I bought this past summer,, so this project will be plasma cutter intensive,,
The oil tank I was given is an indoor tank, that was used outdoors,, so, the bottom of the tank resembles a screen door.
That does not hurt the project,,

The plus side of the bottom being rusted away,, there is nothing combustible inside of the tank!!
That all drained, or evaporated a decade ago,,

So,, what is your guess as to what I am going to try to make out of this 275 gallon fuel oil tank ??

Hint as to what it is,, I have never seen one this large before, and I watch a LOT of YouTube videos!!

To start, an end was "precisely plasma cut"

maybe, I should say, "plasma cut,, good enough"

What do you think I am trying to concoct??

Make your guess,,, please,,

 

[RBA50]

A musical drum. Don't remember the correct name, but have seen them made from propane tanks.

 

[workinonit]

No idea but those cuts are sure gnarly. Im no plasma cutter expert but something is not set right. Mine makes those cuts look like they were done with a razor blade.

 

[CADplans]

No idea but those cuts are sure gnarly. Im no plasma cutter expert but something is not set right. Mine makes those cuts look like they were done with a razor blade.

After tapping the tank with a hammer a few times, there was almost a gallon of accumulated rust inside the tank.

I think the oxide layer inside the tank was stopping the cutter from cutting properly,,
It was sorta like the steel was laying on a board, the cut could not get all the way through the steel,, easily.

That tank had sat open for probably a decade or more, before I got it.

That is my guess as to why it looks so gnarly,,

 

[workinonit]

Got it.

 

[CADplans]

Bang, BANG, BANG,, the drum is getting some sheetmetal adjustment ??

 

[Fxfymn413]

My guess..an elf trap.

 

[CADplans]

My guess..an elf trap.

If I thought there was an elf on my property,, I would be whipping up a trap,,
What would the trap be called?? "Hav-AN-Elf" ,, ``,,~~ ?? ~~ ``

 

[CADplans]

Everyone keeps telling me that I am always trying to put square plugs, in round holes,,
well, in this case, I took a square (rectangular) tank, and made it into a round shape..

Boy, won't they be surprised!

This is why you MUST have at least TWO tractors!!

Plasma cutter time for the OTHER end,,,

It appears that two of the cuts went past the mark,, OH NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CADplans]

When I started, the tank side was 43" tall, and 27" wide.
After releasing the chains, there was some spring back, but, the dimensions ended up at 40" high, and 33" wide. That 33" is good enough.

These tabs are bent in to form a heat shield, reflecting the heat back in, rather than directly getting to the drum.

In the very back, you can see the amount of rust that has fallen off the tank, and was trapped in the tank. I think it ended up filling half of a 5 gallon bucket.

My other option was to cut the end out, and throw it away, this way, the end still serves a purpose,, helping to retain heat.

The oil drum looked so "Majestic" I figured it needed a "CROWN"!!

 

[LittleBill21]

mash cooker?

 

[CADplans]

OK, Part "B" of this project started out as a 55 gallon barrel, with one end removed.
The barrel was sitting outside, filled with water. As the barrel froze, the ice expanded, and "domed" the closed end.

I cut a hole in the dome that is the size of a 5 gallon bucket lid.

Notice the color of the barrel is light rust color, and yellow.

 

[CADplans]

Here is a pic of the oil tank, with the Part"B" 55 gallon drum on top,

It is now ready to burn the half dozen LARGE stumps I have in one field.
These are big stumps, the trees were over 30" at 5 feet high,
The stumps are 50 to 60 inches across at ground level.

This is a fun way to get rid of stumps in the winter, and it gets rid of EVERY bit of brush, and branches that falls off of my other trees.
Yard cleanup, and some exercise, at the same time! Win-WIN! WOOT!!

 

[CADplans]

I filled the oil tank with brush, and branches, logs up to 6 inches in diameter,
It took WAY more than I expected, I had to make a second trip to the brush pile for more wood.

A quart of old motor oil was added, a HF propane "Weed Burner" was aimed under the oil tank,
the fire was blazing in about 3 minutes,,

Flames are shooting out of the hole in the 55 gallon drum dome, at least 3 feet high.

This stump burner has been burning over 8 hours today, I went back and added more wood one time.
I had a ladder next to a trailer, to be able to get high enough to drop wood into the top of the barrel.
The top of the barrel is right at 8 feet high, I get pretty good draft,, the draft sucks in air at the bottom, incinerating the stump.

Notice how black the intense heat has turned the rust on the 55 gallon barrel,
the light rust color and yellow paint was GONE about 2 minutes after the flames started to exit the "chimney".

 

[Smokeydog]

I filled the oil tank with brush, and branches, logs up to 6 inches in diameter,
It took WAY more than I expected, I had to make a second trip to the brush pile for more wood.

A quart of old motor oil was added, a HF propane "Weed Burner" was aimed under the oil tank,
the fire was blazing in about 3 minutes,,

Flames are shooting out of the hole in the 55 gallon drum dome, at least 3 feet high.

This stump burner has been burning over 8 hours today, I went back and added more wood one time.
I had a ladder next to a trailer, to be able to get high enough to drop wood into the top of the barrel.
The top of the barrel is right at 8 feet high, I get pretty good draft,, the draft sucks in air at the bottom, incinerating the stump.

Notice how black the intense heat has turned the rust on the 55 gallon barrel,
the light rust color and yellow paint was GONE about 2 minutes after the flames started to exit the "chimney".

I built a similar stump burner from an old oil tank. Cut a hinged door on the side to refuel. Loops on top to move with FEL. Felt safer burning for days. The chimney really helps.

 

[CADplans]

I built a similar stump burner from an old oil tank. Cut a hinged door on the side to refuel. Loops on top to move with FEL. Felt safer burning for days. The chimney really helps.

I will add a door, and move loops,, I mostly want to try it,,
Adding more fuel from a step ladder is a little tricky,,,

I had never burned stumps with anything bigger than a 55 gallon drum.

 

[Smokeydog]

Often soak the stump in used oil while covered with burner. Adding wood till full and staging extra by for several 12 hour burns. After several burns the stump can smolder for days. Once used an old atv tire…burned hot! Most of stumps as big or bigger diameter than the tank. Tank lasted about two years and about twenty stumps. Cut your door high as the tank slowly rust/crumbles at the ground. Be aware fire can follow roots beyond the tank. My rock imbedded ground and stump size would be expensive to grind.

Stumps cut close to ground take forever to rot. Very hard to dig out with backhoe. Cut higher and covered with leaves and dirt will rot quicker.

 

[CADplans]

I usually burn stumps during nicer weather,,
but, it was almost 70 degrees, so, I had to burn the stumps,,
The burning went on perfectly as long as it was warm,, the burned stump smoldered over night, and all the next day.

THEN,, it turned cold,, below 30 degrees,,
no matter how much wood I tossed in the barrel, as soon as the wood was burned, the smoldering stopped.
I guess the smoldering does not like being fed cold air,,,

 

[Raul-02]

Guessing some kind of burn barrel maybe smokeless.

 

[TooCents]

Good to know that the burn solution works. We have had dozens of dead Ash trees from the dreaded Ash Borer in WI. I realize you don't always have the luxury of tipping a tree due to space surrounding it but I have loosened the roots on many dead/dying trees with this bad boy then pushed the tree over "before" cutting. The weight of the tree pulls the stump out with it. After it tips, I cut it in half and have the whole thing on pile in about 30 minutes. 20" to 24" dia. trees no problem and NO leftover stumps!