Safety in cutting a fuel barrel

NCmau · Oct 10, 2014

Can I get practical safety steps in cutting a fuel barrel that contained fuel in the past two years? I will be using an abrasive blade.

BigMarv1085 · Oct 10, 2014

you have to clean the barrel real good on the inside

ptfarmer · Oct 10, 2014

How big is the barrel? You will need some sort of gas like argon to replace the air inside the barrel after you clean it out.

wellmax99 · Oct 10, 2014

I welding on a fuel tank once.

50% of the maintenance heads said no way hoza.
50% said I could be done safety if you filled the tank with water.

I filled the tank with water, then welded my metal drain connection onto the outside of the tank.
then using a metal hole saw ran by a air drill I cut the inside plug out of the pipe I had welded onto the tank.

it worked fine and no one got blow up.

but I was very concerned.
do not want to do it again.

NCmau · Oct 10, 2014

(quoted from post at 21:25:38 10/10/14) How big is the barrel? You will need some sort of gas like argon to replace the air inside the barrel after you clean it out.

The tank is 100 gl. I guess by cleaning it is to use water and let it run for a day or two. I remember reading sometime ago that you could use dry ice to displace the air. If this is a viable method, I wonder how much ice I should use.

wellmax99 · Oct 10, 2014

I was told the gas molecules can get into the metal and no amount of cleaning will completely remove them.

the only way to weld on the tank is by filling it with something that is not flammable.

I used water, but note to file:

this procedure can be very dangerous.

you have to ask yourself is it really worth it.

now that I am older and a bit wiser, I would not weld on that tank again, however with it full of water, I guess there was little danger.

ptfarmer · Oct 10, 2014

Your best bet would be some sort of gas like argon that will displace all the air inside the tank. How thick is the tank, and what are you trying make out of it?

H2omelon55 · Oct 10, 2014

The easiest method is CO(carbon monoxide). Be sure the tank is drained. Attach a hose from you pickup or any engine exhaust and place the other end in the tank. Allow the engine to run a sufficient time to displace the air in the tank and bond up all oxygen. Then proceed with your work. I always left the engine running to keep any oxygen from getting back in. No oxygen = no fire

Robert Major · Oct 10, 2014

Hi
What was in the tank, if it was gas I'll
stand over here in Manitoba and watch you as
long as your not my neighbor!. I'm not even
going there with my life cutting a gas tank!

if it was definitely diesel as long as 99
percent is out, I have cut 40 gallon barrels
more than once, to make burn barrels with a
torch. I just removed the bungs and kept my
face away from the bung holes in the end just
in case when i started cutting the top out.
what seemed to happen was the diesel did catch
fire but burned off slowly.
I am in no way saying this is %100 guaranteed
not to explode. i know for definite what was in
my barrels from day one. i could of been lucky
and I'm sure there will be 200 replies saying
I'm an idiot. Probably am, but the twice or
more I've done it, i got %100 success. As I'm
hear telling you about it.
if you blow your self up no warranty what so
ever is implied by my comment either L.O.L.
Regards Robert

John Deere D · Oct 11, 2014

Around 1960 a Fuel truck (2000 gallons) tipped over into a river in Northern Alberta Canada. The tank was upright and water had been entering one end of the tank and exiting the other end. After four months in the river the truck and tank was retrieved. The day the welder started to cut the tank was his last day on earth. The tank had petroleum products still embedded in the RUSTED AREAS of the baffles that had been installed to prevent movement of the liquids. The tank had been steam cleaned .........for how long I do not know

H2omelon55 · Oct 11, 2014

This is a prime example of why you need to fill the tank with carbon monoxide/ carbon dioxde. Even if there is fuel left in the pores of the metal, it can't burn or explode without OXYGEN!! Remember what you learned in chemistry class, you have to have oxygen to make it burn. We have cut 10,000 gallon fuel tanks with no problem. I just welder the gas tank on my 55 this past spring. Just make sure you fill the tank with exhaust and you will have no problem.

NCmau · Oct 11, 2014

(quoted from post at 15:05:17 10/11/14) This is a prime example of why you need to fill the tank with carbon monoxide/ carbon dioxde. Even if there is fuel left in the pores of the metal, it can't burn or explode without OXYGEN!! Remember what you learned in chemistry class, you have to have oxygen to make it burn. We have cut 10,000 gallon fuel tanks with no problem. I just welder the gas tank on my 55 this past spring. Just make sure you fill the tank with exhaust and you will have no problem.

I guess the general practical consensus is water or exhaust. The tank was used for home heating oil, I would never try to do it if it had gas. It’s 100 gallons and I assume is 1/8” thick. I want to make a burn barrel using an abrasive blade for the cutting. I’m leaning towards using the exhaust method. To be sure I am going to ask a question on the procedure.
The tank is a standard home fuel container. It has more than two ports. Should I have all the ports open, during the filling and during the cutting?. How long would it take approximately to fill a 100 gal. tank before I start the cutting?

H2omelon55 · Oct 11, 2014

Stick the hose in one of the openings, leave the other one open, and 3 to 5 minutes of exhaust will do it. I usually leave the exhaust running in while I am working. I just watch out for breathing the gases, they are not good for your health!!

NCmau · Oct 11, 2014

(quoted from post at 21:00:04 10/11/14) Stick the hose in one of the openings, leave the other one open, and 3 to 5 minutes of exhaust will do it. I usually leave the exhaust running in while I am working. I just watch out for breathing the gases, they are not good for your health!!

Thanks to all for the inputs.

NEKS · Oct 12, 2014

Had a 12000 gallon gasoline tank that had a few rusted holes on the bottom. A neighbor who was a pipe line welder said he would repair it. Run the exhaust off of his welder into it for a hour and then started welding. I stood way back.

Indiana Ken · Oct 12, 2014

I have heard of using dry ice, which releases CO2 as it melts. Problem is it melts slowly, so the gas can fill a space but is not effective at maintaining a purge. CO2 is heavier than air so if the cut is down, CO2 will drain out the bottom and pull in air as you are cutting the top. Think of it as water pulls in air as it drains out of a container.

It would be better to use a tank of CO2 and a regulator. Add the CO2 at a rate to maintain a purge on the tank; positive pressure inside the tank as you are cutting.

This is one reason why using a non-combustible engine exhaust can be effective as the flow rate is great enough to maintain the purge.

60 acre hillside · Oct 13, 2014

When I ran a welding shop I had my own procedure. I would place the tank outside with the openings at the bottom, I would empty the waster paper baskets from the office around it and especially around the openings, I would weld while the paper and fumes were burning. If others would ask my procedure I would tell them that all of the welding was to be done from the inside. I would be afraid to use an engine exhaust unless the engine was running perfectly. I have seen mufflers explode from an interruption in the ignition system. It would take a lot of time to fill a tank with water

hughowens · Nov 2, 2014

Easy answer.NEVER EVER weld or grind or cut a fuel container.NEVER EVER no matter what people tell you to try to make it safe. There are plenty of containers around that have held innocuous materials like soap or food materials. Use those if you must.

Safety in cutting a fuel barrel

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