Large propane tank for smoker

[rlmstock2006]

Does this sound like the correct process for an old propane tank?

Flood it with water...twice.

Use the Carbon Monoxide from my tail pipe, and flood the tank for 30 minutes with the CO?


I would hate to make the 10:00 news by screwing this up!

 

[peculiarmike]

Try this and you WILL make the 10:00 PM news. Probably the morning edition also.

 

[chadpole]

I heard the same thing as this when I asked questions about a propane tank I got. But the best thing to do is get a professional to use the tester (I don't know the name of the device) to see if it has any gas pockets in it. Once the first hole is cut into it then it is safe to finish cutting it yourself. I had an old buddy of mine who makes trailer grills out of propane tanks tell me to drop a couple of firecrackers into the tank and run like hell. I told him I was to fat and old to run like hell. He told me to pay some dumb kid to do it,LOL. Anyway the tank is still sitting in my back yard for 5 years.

 

[rlmstock2006]

Mikes, It sounds like I am getting some bad info from some locals then.

I have had 4 different people tell me to do it this way.

What is the easiest and safest way to go about cleaning it out?

I have had the caps off the tank for a week now.

 

[bigarm's smokin]

That, my friend, was funny.

 

[peculiarmike]

Before tearing into this give some thought to how you will empty the tank. Does it have a plug in the bottom you can remove? If so, go ahead and loosen it so it is easy to remove. Full of water that tank will be one seriously heavy sucker.
All caps/plugs should be on or in the tank and tight, except the very top.
So slowly fill the tank with water, not agitated water. Make sure it is sitting on a level surface. If so, you should not have any pockets that are not flooded. Fill it COMPLETELY FULL. You want water out the top valve, or where the top valve was if you have removed it (I would remove it), so it forces all gasses/air out of the tank. Let it sit a while, empty it, and repeat the process as many times as you need to to feel confident there is no LP in the tank. After that you can cut/weld.
You are dealing with a vaporous gas that is easily forced out of the tank. If the tank had a liquid in it such as gasoline or Diesel fuel it would be much harder to remove the residual.
Like I said, build the great mother of fires in that thing and burn it out before trying to cook in it.

 

[johnd49455]

I've been in the propane business since '94. The size of the tank is probably 330 gallon tank.

Be extremely cautious or have a professional cut the baby

:ico n_exclaim:

Even washing the tank with water will not get all the gas out. Propane is a scary animal. We tried to take a relatively new 100# tank & wash it out with all kinds of detergent & water several times & one of my coworkers lit the liter near the valve hole while the tank was locked into the tank vise & it lit up & took off about 100yds across the lot.

. We thought it was clean enough to clean up & paint to use for a home show.... We bought a new tank to paint & letter for the home show.

I would have a pro do the cutting then burn that baby out but good before you start to put it together.

The ethyl mercaptan (stink) they put in the gas sticks to the metal pretty good so it may take several burnouts to get that stuff out.

Be careful & good luck

 

[coleysmokinbbq]

Sure thing!!!...

...Glad to help!...

May be useful to others too!...


Until later...

 

[peculiarmike]

Now I'm not one to tell someone to do something that will get them blown up, maimed, disfigured, killed, etc.
Propane is a liquid when under pressure, when exposed to atmospheric pressure, which is far less than the pressure that turns it to a liquid, it reverts to a vapor. That vapor is easily forced out of a tank by filling the tank COMPLETELY full of water (leaving no voids or pockets), or an inert gas.
See, I've dealt with a lot of locomotive Diesel fuel tanks, 3000-4000 gallon, that were damaged or cracked. We used to weld them with the tank completely full of Diesel fuel. Believe it or not, it works fine. That was the standard method for years. If the damage was major we emptied them and steamed them for 1-2 days. Then we started inerting them, much better solution. Very expensive for me to do it, not so for a 3 billion dollar a year company.
As far as propane goes, what I've said goes. Check this link for more. The only exception I take is the last post by "mrbuzzsaw" who says "the only problem with propain (sic) is it gets in the metal and stays there". WRONG! There is no way for it to "get in the metal". That is the old "pores of the metal" thing. Metal does NOT have "pores" and there is no way for propane to "get into it".
That said, read this -

http://www.barbecuenews.com/forum/to...TOPIC_ID=10697

You have to take reasonable precautions. If you do, you should be fine.

 

[actionoutdoor]

it appears to be a 250 gal fuel oil tank

 

[matt01g]

How did you fix the warped openings on your tank?

Thanks,