transporting welding tank

[juddspaintballs]

My dad gave me his Hobart mig welder but kept his 20 cu ft tank. I'm seriously considering buying my own 80 cu ft tank since I live a lot further out from a welding shop or gas supplier than he does. The problem with any tank, is that I own a station wagon and two SUV's. I don't have a pickup truck and probably won't for a while. I have a utility trailer. What's the best way to transport the tank? I know I can't put it in the vehicle with me. I have a hitch carrier for the SUV's but that seems unsafe. Both SUV's have roof racks, but that also seems unsafe. Will I really have to hitch up my trailer and drag it 30 miles just to transport a single gas tank?

 

[Looking4new]

The safest way is to stand it upright and anchor it good.

 

[aczlan]

I would make a "collar" to sit on your trailer or hitch carrier and hold the bottom still, then use 4 heavy straps to hold the tank down and keep it from moving.
Alternatively, you could make an upright that you could tie the tank to in several places.

Aaron Z

 

[Reverser]

However you decide to do it, you might first check with the gas supplier and make sure that how you want to do it is ok with them. They may have rules about how the customer transports the bottles.

 

[juddspaintballs]

I think that it is illegal to transport it in the SUV, but the gas suppliers refuse to let you put it in the vehicle anyways so it's a moot point. Roof, hitch carrier, or trailer (or motorcycle )

 

[Stick895]

I'd be surprised if there wasn't access to a pickup in WV, rent or borrow.

 

[CNC Dan]

I just put my 80cf tank of C25 in the back seat floor area. With the passenger seat all the way back there is little room for it to move around. If you get a LWS that gives you a hard time, just park down the street and walk in with the tank over your shoulder. If it was a fuel gas, I would drive with the windows down and unload it as soon as I could.

With the safty cap on, they're quite safe. Only risk is a small leak that could fill a small space over time. Or getting hit by loose tank if you were in an accident.

 

[haveissues]

I try to grab them with my pickup but have used my hatchback occasionally. Here the welding shop puts them on the loading dock. What you do next is your business.

 

[juddspaintballs]

I went to the LWS and purchased a 80 cu ft tank already filled for $225. It doesn't have the company name stamped on the neck, just a sticker on the tank. Getting it "filled" is in the form of a tank exchange, but with the neck not stamped, I can take it to any gas supplier. I have the invoice that says I purchased it too.

They put it on the loading dock for me and let me do with it what I pleased. I put it in the back cargo area of my Volvo wagon and secured it up against the back seats. No issues :thumbsup:

 

[jim_wilson]

In the past - I've been transporting the 40cf and 80cf tanks I've been using by just putting them int the trunk of my car and putting milk crates around them so they don't roll around.

But I've seen a couple of good deals on 125cf tanks lately on Craigslist - so now I'm thinking of picking up some bigger tanks. I thought I remember reading somewhere that tanks are *supposed to be* transported upright. I could do that with the 80cf tanks - because I can just put them in the back of the Suburban. But there's no hope of that with a 125 cf tank. Can the cylinders be transported laying down? I could transport larger tanks by putting them into my utility trailer - but even there I'd have to lay them down - the sides just aren't tall enough to support standing up a cylinder. I'd build a "cage" for them if I had to - so there was something there protecting them and to make it easier to handle and transport them.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

I can defer to others with more knowledge, but I believe it is illegal, and at the very least unsafe to transport any gas cylinder in an enclosed vehicle.

 

[George2615]

Basically tanks should be transported upright. Here's a link.
302 Found

Link doesn't post properly from my phone. Try this www site.
(Vcu.edu/oehs/chemical/labsafe/compgas.pdf)

 

[jim_wilson]

Found another thread with a lot of discussion about how to transport tanks. Seems like the consensus is - transporting acetylene tanks (which I'm not doing) - should definitely be transported upright - and if they're not - don't use them for a few hours.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-your-6.html?highlight=transporting+cylinders

Transporting inside a closed vehicle - is not a good idea at all - but especially not a good idea for the flammable gases.

Otherwise - transporting cylinders with shielding type gases horizontally - gets done all the time.

When I have transported the 40 and 80cf tanks in the back of the Suburban - I've always wedged them into a milk crate or something to keep them from moving around - and kept the windows open. Putting them into the trailer - for one 80cf tank - just seemed a little like overkill. Plus the trailer beats the **** out of things if it's not loaded down with some weight.

 

[dragoneggs]

Basically tanks should be transported upright. Here's a link.
302 Found

Link doesn't post properly from my phone. Try this www site.
(Vcu.edu/oehs/chemical/labsafe/compgas.pdf)

Kind of like carrying a weapon... pointing down whether it be a gun, knife... or a pressurized bottle.

 

[Arc weld]

There was a plumber in BC that had a B tank in his trunk. He used a remote starter to start his car. Good thing! The car exploded, most likely because the B tank had the tiniest of leak. Even with dry ice, they warn you not to transport in your trunk and if you carry it in the car, have ALL the windows open. High pressure cylinders can be laid horizontal but it's a real good idea to have them secured. I had a guy come with a 300 cu. ft. oxygen stuffed into a Chevette. Had to fold the passenger forward to fit it in diagonally.:confused3:

 

[aczlan]

I had a guy come with a 300 cu. ft. oxygen stuffed into a Chevette. Had to fold the passenger forward to fit it in diagonally.:confused3:

Rocket powered Chevette anyone?

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

They are pretty safe if you keep the protective caps in place. I wouldn't transport acetylene inside a vehicle as even a slight leak could be fatal(acetylene and propane are heavier than air and would settle to the floor where a slight spark from any electrical item could set it off), but for compressed gas, put it in your car, secure it so it doesn't roll around and keep the windows open if it is inert gas. Even if you are in an accident, the bottle should still be ok with the cap on it. Not the best of transport methods, but still pretty safe. I would put it in with the bottom end facing forward and fully against the seat on the passenger side. As long as it is butted up and doesn't have a running start, even if the valve is knocked off (impossible with the cap on) it wont go any where and will just set against the seat and expel all the gas. I transport them in my truck the same way with the butt end against the front of the bed and ratchet straps securing it to the side of the bed for tall bottles and the small short ones (80 CF), I just stand up and strap them to the side of the bed with ratchet straps.

 

[Fifelaker]

Acetylene should be standing the rest can be in any position. If you lay an acetylene cylinder down let it stand upright for a day to let the acetone to reach the bottom.

 

[Big Barn]

Had to buy mig gas this morning. I turned the tank around so the valve faced rearward after I snapped the pic.



I secure acetylene tanks in the same manner as as my propane bottles.

Terry