Finally Ditching the Oxy-Acetylene Tank Rental

[radios1]

I had an odd problem with a supplier, I had bought a K size, 250 cu ft. oxygen cylinder from lake welding supply it was a UN/ISO cylinder, and my local company refused to fill it, saying, if it don't have the DOT 3 stamp, it can't travel on the roads, and I even showed them a printout of the DOT regulations stating it IS valid, and arguably better than DOT 3 tanks.. they said anyone can print that up!.. this all was after I told lake welding supply, which called up their main office!.. I did manage to buy a DOT 3 K size oxygen, and a WTL 390 cu ft. Acetylene DOT 8 tank for $60 each, and both are customer owned, sold by the air force as surplus.. Airgas where I am supposedly will fill them.. even the UN/ISO tanks.. editraxair is the one that fills the Acetylene tanks.. it's dangerous.. Airgas exchanges those for a filled tank from Praxair.. Be careful not to buy a tank with a company name stamped on the top, it's a leased tank, and they would want them back!.. the manufacturers name will be stamped on the tank, that's different.. I forgot to mention, an Acetylene tank that's too small will cause Acetone to enter your regulators and hoses... not good!.. you can only draw 1/7 of the cylinder volume per minute..

 

[BukitCase]

"an Acetylene tank that's too small will cause Acetone to enter your regulators and hoses... not good!.. you can only draw 1/7 of the cylinder volume per minute"

Good that you brought this up - but actually, there's newer info -

Fuel your safety knowledge - The Fabricator

That's the reason I keep the LARGEST available Acetylene - it's just big enough to run the SMALLEST rosebud tip Victor had at the time WITHOUT "early withdrawal" :laughing: (And there's NO WAY I wanna mess with manifolding multiple acetylene tanks, much LESS having an acetylene generator at home )

I "did the math" on tank rentals back in 1978 when we bought the place we're in now (I'm not always that careful ) - and bought my tanks - same LWS is still there, I've still never paid anything but purchase on any MORE tanks (and refill costs of course) - in 40 years I probably saved at LEAST $8k over renting (sure wish I knew where it went )

Finally got around to putting a twin-hose reel on my set a few months ago (talk about bein' a "slow learner" )


"Convincing" the curl cylinder on the Case was the first time in quite a while I'd even cracked the O/A tanks, but it's good to know they're sittin' there for FREE unless I actually USE 'em - it's too bad not everyone has that option... Steve

 

[radios1]

"an Acetylene tank that's too small will cause Acetone to enter your regulators and hoses... not good!.. you can only draw 1/7 of the cylinder volume per minute"

Good that you brought this up - but actually, there's newer info -

Fuel your safety knowledge - The Fabricator

That's the reason I keep the LARGEST available Acetylene - it's just big enough to run the SMALLEST rosebud tip Victor had at the time WITHOUT "early withdrawal" :laughing: (And there's NO WAY I wanna mess with manifolding multiple acetylene tanks, much LESS having an acetylene generator at home )

I "did the math" on tank rentals back in 1978 when we bought the place we're in now (I'm not always that careful ) - and bought my tanks - same LWS is still there, I've still never paid anything but purchase on any MORE tanks (and refill costs of course) - in 40 years I probably saved at LEAST $8k over renting (sure wish I knew where it went )

Finally got around to putting a twin-hose reel on my set a few months ago (talk about bein' a "slow learner" )
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"Convincing" the curl cylinder on the Case was the first time in quite a while I'd even cracked the O/A tanks, but it's good to know they're sittin' there for FREE unless I actually USE 'em - it's too bad not everyone has that option... Steve

I see you are using nylon straps to hold your cylinders in place, should the Acetylene cylinder heat up, it will melt those, and you'd have 2 cylinders possibly falling out of the cart, and having the valves knocked off.. not safe.. you should back that up with a metal chain so that can't happen.. "things" happen..

 

[Fuddy1952]

That's how I hold mine on also. Can the tank heat up that much? I didn't know...

I see you are using nylon straps to hold your cylinders in place, should the Acetylene cylinder heat up, it will melt those, and you'd have 2 cylinders possibly falling out of the cart, and having the valves knocked off.. not safe.. you should back that up with a metal chain so that can't happen.. "things" happen..

 

[radios1]

That's how I hold mine on also. Can the tank heat up that much? I didn't know...

Acetylene can be very nasty.. if it's dropped, it can explode, if it's subjected to the shock of a backfire, it can explode, in most cases, it gets very hot before it does that, and the recommended action is flooding it with water for a half hour to cool it down.. if you Google "Acetylene explosion" you'll see that it's not too uncommon for that to happen, even whole plants have been destroyed by not being careful enough.. an Acetylene tank is pressurized to 250 PSI.. well past the unstable pressure above 15 PSI.. it's the fill material that for the most part, keeps an explosion from happening, but too much of the gas exploding at once in the tank can cause a full tank explosion..

 

[BukitCase]

"I see you are using nylon straps to hold your cylinders in place"

Take a closer look - the chain is there (in ADDITION to the steel bottle clamp that cart came with), the straps are just 'cause I HATE things that rattle -

Also, the MAIN thing that keeps Acetylene from exploding at over 15psi is the Acetone - the "glorified porous concrete" fill in the tank is there to help slow acetone from escaping the tank - as I understand it, tanks are completely drained (including acetone) then a calculated amount of acetone added, THEN they're filled to pressure. You never know whether somebody followed the rules (or even knew about them) so that's the ONLY way of ensuring that a tank has enough acetone to keep it safe...

I agree about the backfires; it's kinda hard to see, but if you zoom in on that pic (click the + sign) that torch (and all my others) have check valves on 'em. Plus, that location is under the modular roof I built, and NEVER sees the sun...

Without the acetone, that same tank would get filled ONCE before the resulting explosion would make the news... Steve

 

[Fuddy1952]

Thanks. It's a wonder any of us survive stuff we do. I was telling someone about the garage here, all the cars inside and the largest propane furnace installed. That someone turned out was a retired fireman who said imagine all those cars, tanks full of gas, the fumes and running a furnace.
Just now I was fabricating something so I had to split copper pipe lengthwise so I used a table saw. Working great, copper shrapnel flying around...all I needed was a piece to hit my heart.

 

[radios1]

here's a place in Florida that will sell you any cylinders you want, at a very good price.. High Pressure Industrial Cylinders, Low Pressure Acetylene Cylinders, Low Pressure Propane Cylinders - Linden Welding & Safety Supply - Ohio

 

[Stimw]

I took MY medium tank of 75/25 in to get refilled and the counter guy could not find a full medium tank so he ask me how about if I give you a large one?
I ask will I still own it?
He showed me the "customer owned" ring on top!
I think he even gave me the gas at the medium price.
I have always owned my own tanks.
Another tip- if I come across an empty rental tank that was "borrowed/lost" I will return it and tell them where I found it.
If it is my supplier I have had them give me my fill for free.
Not my supplier I ask if there is any reward for returning and have been given $25. or store credit for supplies.

 

[Al 2]

Many reasons to get rid of your acetylene tanks and just use you BBQ propane tank. Very simple and it works. Just need to buy a proper tip. You can braze with it but I'm not sure about about welding with a steel rod. Some may not agree but search around. No end to the discussions
Al.