How do you transport your gas bottles for refill?

[woodlandfarms]

I am actually looking for specifics on this question. How and where you strap it? Do you use a frame or some other rig, do you put it in the corner of your bed? Leave the ranks in its dolly?

 

[tcartwri]

This is a tough question, as most ( lets just say all ) private vehicles do not have anything remotely strong enough to properly restrain a cylinder in an upright position.

 

[Shield Arc]

I lay all my bottles down on there sides, except for my acetylene bottle. I stand it up next to the cab, but I also have a lumber rack on the pickup.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I hide them lying down under the cover in the back of my truck. Then I throw in a four by four or something similar so they don't roll around.

A friend of mine had a forklift tank in the back of his truck which for unknown reasons was open. Somehow it got away, rolling a short distance into the lot of a small Ford Dealer and came to rest wedged under the rear axle of a new truck. Re retrieved it and drove off! There are still advantages to living in a rural area.

 

[Reverser]

The acetylene bottle needs to be stood up because if you lay it down acetone liquid will spew out your hose when you go to use it. If I remember correctly, it's acetone in a porous material to keep it stable and has to set upright a while for it to settle back down.

If you have to lay it down, then you need to let it sit upright a while before use. I believe it's at least a few hours. It would be best to ask the people where you buy it what the time period would be.

 

[alia176]

I have a SUV so the head room is not enough to stand up the bottles so I lay them down with the cap screwed on of course! As stated already, you need to wait a while before using the bottles.

 

[George2615]

All our local propane refill stations say all tanks must be transported upright and not enclosed but open to the air. Also they won't let you lay the tanks on their side. If they see it come in thst way they may not refill it. If they do they will tell you it must be upright when it leaves.

Bar-b-q style 20 lb'ers are stood up and strapped to built in tie down hooks in an open to air pickup bed. I also have a 100 lb. (about 4' tall) that I take strapped upright with 4 straps on a 6 x 8 utility trailer.

I think other gas suppliers are the same such as for oxygen / acetylene. That is how they transport them (upright). But they haven't said anything to me when I lay them down as long as the cap is on and they can't roll around.

 

[Reverser]

I set mine up in the back of my pickup at about a 45º angle with wooden blocks and secure it the best I can. So far the gas place has never said anything about it. If I had a headache or ladder rack it would certainly be easier.

 

[lostcreekranch]

All of our 20 lb. propane bottles sit in plastic milk crates, the old real crates, not the cheap crap one they sell at Walmart. The bottles fit snug and can't roll around back of truck. The big acetylene bottles are a PIA as no way to secure them properly in a normal pickup bed. We have a 6' x 10' trailer with drive on ramp that is about 5' tall when raised. I can strap bottle to our two wheel dolly, roll up onto trailer, raise / pin ramp, them strap dolly and bottle to the ramp. Leave bottles to settle for a day or two after transport. So far, no problems but, still a PIA.

 

[Arc weld]

Cylinders shouldn't be transported inside a vehicle but many are. Laying down high pressure cylinders isn't a problem, however there are some safety policies on job sites that don't even allow welding trucks to have the cylinders horizontal. Lots of welding trucks have the oxygen horizontal. The safety police are getting carried away with some requirements. Acetylene should stand upright but if it is laid on its side, needs to stand upright for a several hours. Overnight is best.

 

[k0ua]

Gas BBQ bottle goes in milk crate, and milk crate is bungied to pickup truck bed tie downs. It is very secure. The small acetylene and Oxy bottle's goes in a wooden frame made to grip the small bottles and fits in the square milk crate also for outside truck bed transport. The large argon bottle gets laid down in the car with things stuffed around it so it cannot roll. Cap on of course. Of course there is not reason not to use the argon after being horizontal, only the ACE needs to be kept upright or left overnight at least before use.

 

[k0ua]

This thread has made me think about how I transport the argon, I may think up of a brace in a stake pocket so I can transport it in the bed of the pickup also. If for some reason the valve of that 125 cu. ft bottle failed while in the trunk of a car or in the van we have now, it could suffocate you pretty quick, if you didn't notice it. It is not explosive or toxic and does not support combustion, but it can displace oxygen from the air and put you to sleep. Maybe permanently:shocked:.

 

[mfreund]

Propane, Carbon Dioxide are in a liquid inside the cylinder and should only be transported standing up because the pressure safety is designed to work with the gases not in the liquid of the product. In other words, if you transported it laying down the safety could rupture filling the vehicle with the gases. The danger is passing out with CO2 and fire with propane.

Acetylene is very shock sensitive, hence being dissolved in acetone. Do not lay them down. It could cost your life and the vehicle next to you.

Oxygen, nitrogen and argon(and all the mixes of the previously mentioned) are filled with compressed gasses. Think rocket if the valve were to be ruptured. There is between 2205 and 2400 psi depending on the cylinder and the valve has a hole the size of a pencil lead. If you lay it down be sure you know where it could be headed.

There was once a scrapper going through a demolition site after hours and thought the brass valve was too good a find to pass up. He knocked the valve off with a hammer. The 220 cf O2 cylinder flew about a city block and went through a concrete block wall into a retail store. Needless to say he got caught and was prosecuted for theft, vandalism, destruction of property. He was lucky no one was killed.

Many times I was sitting in traffic and would see people flick cigarette butts onto the open bed of my delivery truck. I would roll down the window and ask if they were really that stupid to think they would survive if the truck were to go up. It would take out the whole city block, under the right circumstances.

 

[muddstopper]

Correct answer is A. straight from the dot cdl test.

Correct
Q.5) When transporting compressed gases, you must...

A. Secure the cylinders in boxes or racks, or brace them down flat (Your Answer)
B. Cover the cylinders with an asbestos material
C. Secure the cylinders together
D. None of the above

 

[Industrial Toys]

There must be a lot of people transporting these cylinders improperly (like me). Funny you rarely hear of all these disasters that are supposed to happen on account of that. Just sayin.

 

[rsallen]

I call my supplier and like magic they appear.

 

[escavader]

here in Maine my welding supplier will not let you put them in an enclosed vehicle i put in the back of truck standing up trapped in a corner by my cargo bar and wrapped with bungees or straps hauling them torches hooked up is a real big no no by dot

 

[7879fordman]

Oxygen and Acetylene bottles I haul laying down strapped down .

And I see the pipe liners with them at a angle mounted to there trucks so I don't believe they have to be standing up to use them .

Sent from my iPhone 5 using TractorByNet

 

[Gary Fowler]

I lay my oxygen cylinders down in my truck bed with the butt end against the cab end of the bed and block them with wooden blocks so that they cant roll around. My acetylene bottle is not more than waist high and I use two ratchet straps to secure it in one corner of the box. My Chevy has a strap attachment point about 4" off the bottom and I have inserts in the top holes in the bed. Attaching straps at these two points makes it very secure. I then drive extra carefully with no fast acceleration or cornering that might shift any of them around.

 

[Soundguy]

I am actually looking for specifics on this question. How and where you strap it? Do you use a frame or some other rig, do you put it in the corner of your bed? Leave the ranks in its dolly?

have an angle iron frame for bed. one bottle per 'seat' in the frame. then a ratchet strap holds them all in the frame. each with a screw on valve cover of course. frame is mounted ( removeable.. but pinned to my 5th wheel rails. )