Humphry Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Hey out there, Has anyone cut an oxygen cylinder for reuse as a bell or gong type project? Is it safe? does it have a nasty or volital filler? I came into a few for free and am thinking of X-mas gifts. Any advice or warnings would be great, Thanks Humphry:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 They do not have a filler like the Acet. bottle does. My friend has cut them on a horizontal bandsaw to get a nice edge. If they are able to be refilled it would worth getting them into the system again. Hydro runs $25 here, and you could ask for a bottle that has failed the hydro test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgtwister Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 i have cut a few years ago make sure its empty and remove the valve and cut were you want it and they are tough i would recomend a good bandsaw or chopsaw i used a ksaw with a metal blade that cut like butter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphry Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 Hey thanks guys , I'll check on the refill and the bad tank idea. I do the recycle thing when I can. Again thanks Humphry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 The main reason why i said to look into a hydro for them is that if they are good tanks they are worth some money. You can then sell them as owner bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Ah we wish we could own oxy & acet cylinders, here in Australia. The rent is poison over a length of time. What find of conditions do the refilling companies impose? In Oz LPG / propane cylinders (which can be privately owned) are required to have date of manufacture stamped on them; to be filled they need to be less than 10 years old. Do you guys in USA have similar rules on other cyllinders? Andrew OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 ...What find of conditions do the refilling companies impose? In Oz LPG / propane cylinders (which can be privately owned) are required to have date of manufacture stamped on them; to be filled they need to be less than 10 years old. ...Andrew OC The answer is *it depends*. For oxy/acet we can "own" the smaller cylinders and swap the cylinders for full ones. They get the responsibility then of making sure the bottles they give you each time are up-to-date. - A supplier in town requires you to pay a fee each year to "test" the cylinders regardless of how often you swap for different ones. - If I travel south I can patronize a company that charges a $25 per bottle fee, *only* if I have not swapped cylinders for over a year. They even swapped a set of old rusty cylinders for free about 2 years ago without charging me test fees. For propane, it is cheaper to take the bottles to have them refilled. The bottles have a date stamped on them and are good for 12 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Out here in my area you can get set up with a welding supply shop for bottles. You have the option to rent, or buy the bottles that you use, whatever size they are. I figured it out once, and if you plan on keeping the bottles more than 5 years it was better to buy than rent. When they were empty you just took them back, and they would swap them out for a full cylinder. You could have a bottle refilled if it wasn't one of their bottles(competing company's), but it takes longer. They covered the hydro tests as long as you purchased the gases from them. Hydros on bottles are every 5 years IIRC. I have seen bottles first stamped in the 1920's still in use. I have a bunch of old military bottles that I need to get into the system. A single hydro is up to $25, and you can usually get a deal on multiples. Propane tanks are good for 12 years. Most people toss when they get out of date, but they can be hydro tested too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Thanks heaps for the education on the US world of gas bottles. Here the 10 yearly inspections are visual (as far as i know); the examiner unscrews the valve off the empty cylinder and looks in with mirror and light. Had to do this for my van's 80 litre fuel tank, then you pay for a new valve. I hope we haven't hijacked your question Humphry! Cos oxy bottles are linked to a rental agreement they tend to get 'lost' or abandoned once the contract is broken (eg if supplier is changed). I recently cut off the bottom 6" of two 'scrapped' cylinders that had the valves off. Shall sell them to armour makers that think they are good dishing blocks. The remaining top (about 2.5') i've suspended to try as a bell... not as loud as i thought it would be. The next experiment i may try (ha!) is to flare the bottom say 3", then perhaps try h&t it. tell us how you go Humphry. regs Andrew OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Most of the folks I know trade in their propane tanks when they get close to cert time and so pay a bit more for a fill; but get a tank with more time on it that they then go back to refilling until it runs out of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 In my experience getting a bottle that has failed Hydro is hard to do... I have a standing request with 3 gas suppliers and 2 bottle testing companies.... in a year and a half I got nothing. I wanna get an H or K sized Oxy tank for the dished bottom.. I have asked and the answer is No or they rarely fail hydro... and yes I have explained what I wanted it for, I told them they could or I would do whatever it took to mitigate their liability.... The moral being if you plan on cutting them for a project, and you don't want to use them for an oxy/fuel rig go with it. ... because the replacements may be hard to come by.. but thats just my story.... good luck Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Gee we got three pickup loads from one hydrotester, they did demand that we cut the bottles in two *before* they left the yard; but also supplied the gas to do so. All we had to do was bring the torch and hoses and regulator. One of the gas forge building workshops used the center section from these tanks as the (very heavy) shells. I've been given 7 bottles that went through a fire as well---shared them with the fellow who's bandsaw was large enough to cut them into bells, dishing forms and central sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Thomas... I just turned green... goes to show you that everything goes into balance... you got a pile ... I got none.. therefore we all got some.... (I am typing this and laughing, so as to not sound bitter or snarky) Glad to hear it worked out! Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Well if you'd stop by my shop you might be able to talk me out of a piece of two. (See there was method in my madness to moving out here where NOBODY is close!) I'm just kicking myself as I never got around to getting two tanks I spotted discarded in a junk pile back in OH... Some CO2 tanks have a nice dimple on the bottom---have a bottling co nearby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 CBRAN, As an old Conn yankee I have seen tanks in scrap yards. Mostly Hartford and south. Chck with local welding supply houses. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Emig Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Here in the Hudson Valley (New York State), you pretty much have to rent the tanks. There is no one who will fill your tanks locally. The local welding shop/gas supply all use barcoded tanks now and they won't swap tanks if you own yours. I have 4 tanks (one for the mig, 1 for the tig, and oxy acetylene) I rent to the tune of $70.00 each per year. As for the propane tanks, it is a visual inpection of the date on the tank and if it is too old, too bad-go buy a new one. There is no one around here that does hydro testing. Mark Emig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meinhoutexas Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) hint to all look for the companys that recycle freon. and contact me for som info if you live up near indy. . Just walked away from a aircraft fire supression maint.facility. have collected quite a few tanks of all kinds of shapes. the O2 tanks have a parkerizing coating in them but it will vaporize at low temp. And if you can find an aircraft maint. facillity you can get thin walled O2 tanks that make some nice bells have a few at shop. Edited November 8, 2009 by meinhoutexas sp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 yeah I made a shop bell from an old oxy cylinder, took the valve out, drilled a hole, and sawzalled it around. I am going to do another soon, got 2 more cylinders. This one hangs on the front of my shop, and it gets rung upon the completion of a project, so the nosy neighbors can come by and see what was done!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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