Can a propane tank be repurposed?

[Calgaryglenn]

I will admit to my total ignorance when it comes to pressurized storage containers and could use some help. I have had no luck trying to find answers to most of my questions on the net.

Here is an idea I have had for years and wondering if it can be safely pulled off. The goal would be to have a pressurized utility sprayer that I can carry around with me for spraying roundup etc. I am tired of pumping my 2-3 gallon sprayer every several minutes. I have a 5-gallon backpack model but once full I have a hard time getting it on/off by myself and it hurts my lower back as I walk around my 6 acres. I like the idea of a smaller, pressurized, hand held 2-3 gallon sprayer. I know they make battery powered units but I like to experiment & was wondering if an empty propane tank be repurposed (refilled with air) to provide the 10 PSI that I need? I do not think the high pressure paint-ball tanks is what I want as they are thousands of PSI and expensive.

I have long wanted to take an empty (small torch sized) 1-pound propane tank and refill it with air via my shop air compressor and try out my idea. I would attach a regulator to knock down the high pressure air down to ~10 PSI.

My 1st & most important question is what PSI can these small 1-pound propane tanks hold safely? The last thing I would want is to set my shop compressor too high & have a catastrophic failure due to too much pressure while refilling it. The next question would be where can I get a low-pressure regulator with a gauge so I can dial in the PSI into my 2-3 gallon sprayer.

 

[Mattmotors]

I had a small fimco. Replaced tank. Broke again. Then the pump went. Reused the trailer and hose, got two 5 gallon buckets and got a cheap pump on amazon. I'm happy.

 

[W8BYA]

I had a small fimco. Replaced tank. Broke again. Then the pump went. Reused the trailer and hose, got two 5 gallon buckets and got a cheap pump on amazon. I'm happy.

Neat. Reminds me of a system I made up about 20 years ago when I had a traditional garden tractor with steering wheel. I pulled a small garden utility trailer behind it and put a 55-gallon drum inside it up towards the front to keep the weight forward. I then dropped a garden hose down the drum and connected the other end to a sure-flo pump. The output of the pump went to a 8' long garden hose where I connected a hand spray nozzle. The kind you have to grip ur hand to pull the trigger on the spray nozzle. If you released hand pressure no water would come out the nozzle. Anyway, connected up the sureflo to the tractor battery, would dump a full package of Miracle Grow into the 55-gal of water and I could ride all over my 6 acres spraying fertilizer or water onto baby fruit trees or flower beds etc. Still got the system.....made it for the cost of the pump alone.

 

[MossRoad]

Neat. Reminds me of a system I made up about 20 years ago when I had a traditional garden tractor with steering wheel. I pulled a small garden utility trailer behind it and put a 55-gallon drum inside it up towards the front to keep the weight forward. I then dropped a garden hose down the drum and connected the other end to a sure-flo pump. The output of the pump went to a 8' long garden hose where I connected a hand spray nozzle. The kind you have to grip ur hand to pull the trigger on the spray nozzle. If you released hand pressure no water would come out the nozzle. Anyway, connected up the sureflo to the tractor battery, would dump a full package of Miracle Grow into the 55-gal of water and I could ride all over my 6 acres spraying fertilizer or water onto baby fruit trees or flower beds etc. Still got the system.....made it for the cost of the pump alone.

Does that guy down in Bluffton with the lawn tractor graveyard sell complete, running tractors?

 

[W8BYA]

Does that guy down in Bluffton with the lawn tractor graveyard sell complete, running tractors?

View attachment 753451

You got me there. Been there a few times but never about that so I would not know. Can be hard to get a hold of and meet up at times from what I rem.

 

[MossRoad]

You got me there. Been there a few times but never about that so I would not know. Can be hard to get a hold of and meet up at times from what I rem.

That’s what I’ve been reading as well. I’d like to get ahold of a round single blade deck from a Snapper or similar type riding mower to convert to a tow-behind leaf pickup unit. It’s a bit of a drive for me, but we’d make a day of it in Ft. Wayne, or take a walk at Chain O Lakes SP.

 

[Raul-02]

I will admit to my total ignorance when it comes to pressurized storage containers and could use some help. I have had no luck trying to find answers to most of my questions on the net.

Here is an idea I have had for years and wondering if it can be safely pulled off. The goal would be to have a pressurized utility sprayer that I can carry around with me for spraying roundup etc. I am tired of pumping my 2-3 gallon sprayer every several minutes. I have a 5-gallon backpack model but once full I have a hard time getting it on/off by myself and it hurts my lower back as I walk around my 6 acres. I like the idea of a smaller, pressurized, hand held 2-3 gallon sprayer. I know they make battery powered units but I like to experiment & was wondering if an empty propane tank be repurposed (refilled with air) to provide the 10 PSI that I need? I do not think the high pressure paint-ball tanks is what I want as they are thousands of PSI and expensive.

I have long wanted to take an empty (small torch sized) 1-pound propane tank and refill it with air via my shop air compressor and try out my idea. I would attach a regulator to knock down the high pressure air down to ~10 PSI.

My 1st & most important question is what PSI can these small 1-pound propane tanks hold safely? The last thing I would want is to set my shop compressor too high & have a catastrophic failure due to too much pressure while refilling it. The next question would be where can I get a low-pressure regulator with a gauge so I can dial in the PSI into my 2-3 gallon sprayer.

yah no problem. HOWEVER the flammable hydrocarbons will have embedded themselves in the first mole layer of the steel inside the tank. And of course, the O2 in the pressurized air would serve as a marvelous accelerant.
So you will have created a very good potential explosive device.
BUT there is a way.
Yank the valve, Fill it with water. Let it set a while, drain it and lay an unlit fire, put the tank in the wood pile for the fire with the port un blocked and light the fire and walk away.
Come back in an hour and feed the fire. You want to burn the paint off the cylinder getting the whole thing damn hot.
The fire will burn off the remnant hydrocarbons. And you can repaint it and use it however you please.

 

[ultrarunner]

Won't the heat weaken the steel?

 

[MossRoad]

Won't the heat weaken the steel?

 

[W8BYA]

So here is an update......the Scotts, 3-gallon battery powered sprayer with it's own little dolly is garbage and is being returned.

The small pump operates off of a small integrated internal 9 V battery. When I filled the tank with water to try it out the pressure was piss-poor and barely shot the spray very far. Anemic would be a good analogy. The 3 adjustable nozzle settings is a great idea and the stream setting allowed the water to hit 10' feet away but the head had an internal leak and had a strong drip 100% of the time. This would be disastrous walking with it across the lawn etc with roundup. The fan spray and cone spray settings were too little volume spraying out.

In short the concept was nice, it was built well but the pump could have been made much stronger and the DC power system changed to a beefier 12 VDC or 18 VDC system.

I am not in the process of trying out my own pump idea....fingers crossed.