cutting a propane tank

charlie2tight · Post by **charlie2tight** » April 29th, 2013, 12:48 pm

I have looked around and seem to be short on this topic. I have a 175 gallon propane tank that has been venting for a loong time. I have heard to fill it with water, some say dry ice, some say different methods? So what have you men done? I'm about to start another build and i'm gathering info. Thanks

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » April 29th, 2013, 1:27 pm

Fill it up with water and a gallon of bleach...then make your cuts!

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charlie2tight · Post by **charlie2tight** » April 29th, 2013, 1:40 pm

Thanks dcman. Im kinda nervous about propane tanks. I built mine out of a 200 gallon air compressor.

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » April 29th, 2013, 2:24 pm

once a propane tank is full of water all the liquid is gone as well as the vapor....I have witness alot of tanks get cut open and never have I been worried....

johnney · Post by **johnney** » May 30th, 2013, 6:11 pm

I was pretty nervous when I cut my first one too. 60 gallon lp, but everything turned out good

T G · Post by **T G** » June 6th, 2013, 8:49 am

That's a fantastic technique I never even considered for cutting the opening. I bet that negates any warping of the tank doing it with small cuts. Thanks for the video.

donovan.mike · Post by **donovan.mike** » June 6th, 2013, 1:26 pm

Advising someone on cutting a propane tank is fraught with problems. Having said that, my first smoker is made out of a propane tank. I would probably not do it again, without cutting one end cap completely off (it gets hard to weld inside the tank with both ends still in place). Also, I used a tank that was 20" in diameter and would advise 24" or bigger as I can barely accommodate a second shelf (hind sight

)

Cut the tank in a manner that makes sure all the fumes have dissipated. Water in the tank is great, so is an inert gas. I have cut both with plasma and grinding discs and the method I used was "stitch cutting" to prevent warping. It worked for me.

If you are at all concerned, either have a professional make the first cuts, or buy pipe instead. I wasn't worried, so I went with doing it myself.

Good luck.

T G · Post by **T G** » June 6th, 2013, 2:12 pm

donovan.mike wrote: the method I used was "stitch cutting" to prevent warping

What was your spacing on the stitch cuts? How much time in between cuts did you give the metal to cool down?

donovan.mike · Post by **donovan.mike** » June 6th, 2013, 2:18 pm

Hi TG....it was very random. I cut about 6inches and then jumped about that amount. I was slow enough that it cooled all on its own. Get lots of discs though :explode2:

T G · Post by **T G** » June 6th, 2013, 2:32 pm

donovan.mike wrote:Hi TG....it was very random. I cut about 6inches and then jumped about that amount. I was slow enough that it cooled all on its own. Get lots of discs though

good deal, thanks a lot

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