Oxy/Acetylene tank and torch storage?

Case450 · Jun 4, 2014

I just bought a couple of small bottles of O/A and a victor cutting torch. Works awesome and been wanting a set for a while.

My question is, what is the best way to store these items in my shop? My shop is very dusty and there is always smoke, dirt and sawdust flying around. Should I disassemble the hoses from the regulators and store everything in bags or something? Or am I overthinking things? I'm a little paranoid about foreign particles getting into the oxygen side of things. Thx

504 · Jun 4, 2014

It would be good to throw an old sheet or cover of some kind over it,just to keep the dust off, but nothing is really required. I have shops that won t even cover them when they spray paint.

Case450 · Jun 4, 2014

I guess I am over cautious about safety particularily when it comes to these things, not too mention the obscene amount of money they cost nowadays but I really just want to continue to work in my shop with all of my limbs. lol

I think I will just make a little wooden storage case for 'em. The tank I will cover with a sheet or something. Thanks!

Richard from SE AZ · Jun 4, 2014

Your only real concern is to keep them secured so that they do not fall over. It is unreal what can happen if the oxy falls over and shears the valve off of the bottle. Also, always keep the acetylene bottle upright.

KSTractor · Jun 4, 2014

Make sure you keep fuel, oil, & grease away from them I had neighbor badly burned when he was turning his O2 valve with grease on his hand.

dr sportster · Jun 4, 2014

You need a sign on the door to notify the fire department that there is gas bottles inside at this location.
Storage of: then in a little diamond shape oxygen and another little diamond acetelyne. Green and red shapes. If you have MIG add a grey one for that bottle.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 4, 2014

Loosen the regulators right off so you don't wear out the diaphragm. You can leave everything hooked up but make sure the cylinders are turned off and you drain the hoses. Then you pretty much have a sealed system. The more you take apart, the more places for dirt to get in.

Dr. Walt · Jun 5, 2014

Keep them chained or strapped to a wall or post so that they don't fall over. If the Oxygen falls over and shears off the valve, the bottle will become an unguided missile with enough strength to punch through a block wall. (I've actually seen this happen.) Also, ALWAYS keep an Acetylene bottle in an upright position. The Acetylene bottle contains a spongy material that is saturated in ACETONE (which is what actually holds the Acetylene). If the Acetone should get into your regulator (laying down), it will eat up the diaphragm, and Heaven Forbid it should ever get into contact with pure Oxygen in the Torch Head - you don't need a spark to get an EXPLOSION.

Doc

Case450 · Jun 5, 2014

Thank you so much for the tips guys. I am going to implement every single one of them. It"s super handy having my own torches for cutting and heating but I REALLY don"t want anyone or myself to get hurt from having these things around.

Butch(OH) · Jun 5, 2014

I dont know how to lead into what I have to say here without demeaning the other posters but damn guys,, this fellow leads off with his shop is full of saw dust and he is using a torch in same building????
Believe me I am no safety freak but you are not over thinking this deal, you are underthinking.

Your concerns at this point does not need to be long term storage of your torch set but in being certain that you remove anything stored in your shop that is irreplaceable and that you keep the fire insurance paid up,,,, because your going to need it!

STOP! using a torch inside of that building until your housecleaning habits, as they pertain to sawdust, improve. Until then use the torch outside at least 20' from the doorway and dont leave the area or building until at least 15 minutes have passed since you quit using the torch and even then take a good look and sniff around for smoldering wood before you leave.

That's my advise and speaking from experiance,,,

mkirsch · Jun 5, 2014

Where did he say his shop was "full" of saw dust?

Just because he does woodworking in the same building does not mean that he doesn't clean up. You aren't going to be able to keep the incidental dust off of everything all the time.

Reality is, how is the dust going to get "in" anything on the torch set? The only open hole on the whole works should be the torch tip. Even if you jammed it repeatedly into a bucket of sawdust for hours, you'd never be able to push dust up the hoses into the regulators.

dr sportster · Jun 5, 2014

I did not catch the part about the sawdust. You need more than a 20 lb . fire extinguisher. You need a new location for your metalworking. Woodworking and sparks don't mix well be it from grinding or a flame source. I thought you just had some grinding dust . Sawdust is a whole different factor. I will have to read these posts more carefully .Paranoia is a perceved threat, you have an almost guarrantee of a fire with sawdust.

dr sportster · Jun 5, 2014

In the " my shop is very dusty sentence" .

Butch(OH) · Jun 5, 2014

Pheew! thanks dr, I wondered if you had missed that part somehow.

Although I do little woodworking years ago I was getting ready to pour a floor for the new shop addition and found myself short on form stakes. Now, a lot of the wood cutting and been done in the old shop and little clean up had taken place. First cut with the torch caused flames to travel the saw dust on the floor at least 12-15' to the table saw and it was a damn precarious situation for about 10 minutes let me tell you! Saved the shop but only because there was nothing else flammable near the saw and I was dumb enough to fight it and not run outside.

mkirsch · Jun 5, 2014

"very dusty" does not equate to "full of sawdust"

You can generate a LOT of dust while working on things (i.e. a very dusty shop), and not have a shop full of sawdust. There's this wonderful, almost magical, tool called a broom... You might want to look it up on Wikipedia.

Case450 · Jun 5, 2014

I know full well what a broom is my dear friend. I keep my shop very clean. I cut my steel and do my welding outside, away from the building on the cement pad in front of my bay doors. I am a contractor who owns some small pieces of heavy equipment. I do cut some wood from time to time in my shop. I also weld from time to time in my shop. My concern was airborne dust from the welding, grinding, torch cutting, table saws, and numerous other dust causing tools getting into my storage cabinets and contaminating regulators.

You should look up the word "assumption" on Wikipedia since you are so familiar with that website.

Case450 · Jun 5, 2014

This was exactly what I was getting at and what it's about.

Oxy/Acetylene tank and torch storage?

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