Disposal of outdated Oxy-Acetylene Tanks

[majr1029]

Hello, We have a set of old out of date Oxy -Acetylene tanks laying around our shop i have asked two local welding shops who will take them and a scap yard refuses to take them they all say ask the next guy ? So what do you all do with em!! TThanks and God Bless

[Sberry]

Take them to a TSC and see if they will take them on trade, there might be an additional fee for out date but normally it is 20$ with owner bottles and it gets you into a set you can get filled.

[Guest]

The worst that could happen is you would have to pay for a new valve and testing.

[AnotherDano]

Make a Gong.......

[Mr Jimi]

There is a guy around here that makes a cannon out of the oxy bottles after he makes a nice looking base for them like they used to have on pirate ships and from the road they look great. They do not and will not work but they sure look mean ( yard art )
Jim

[sumojo]

How do you tell if the Oxy-Acetylene tanks are out of date? I had gotten a set from my father in law, he had gotten at a yard sale for twenty bucks.
Thanks Joseph Russell

[TozziWelding]

Big oxy bottles make nice lighthouses too.

[dda52]

Just because they are out of date doesn't mean anything. I had one cyl that had a ton of dates stamed on it and the oldest was from the late 30's. The newest was just a year old. Old doesn't mean bad. Try to trade them in or get them tested.

[Knowledgeworker]

I have mine tested, and if they are bad enough to where they are not useful for thier original intent, they become materials for art (from gongs to submarines to wierd steel creatures). For the most part, the proceeds from the art well exceeds the costs of the testing. I have also been lucky enough to take them off the hands of other weldors that needed to dispose of them.

Jim

Added note: This is for all tanks except the acetylene tanks.

[migwelder05]

im sure hot foot whould talk them to make a gong

[Hotfoot]

If i was in North Carolina, that is!!

[usmcpop]

Take the old Acetylene tank into a pasture and shoot it. Take prisoners later. Bleed the Oxy tank down and make something out of it. That's IF you can't retest and use them.

[ptsideshow]

Unless the acetylene cylinders has some physical sign of damage, and the fusible plugs are intact. and it doesn't contain asbestos filler based material. Most places will take them in trade, and some do charge for the testing some don't but that may be changing across the land with the take over virus of the two or three big chain LWS spreading. That said, All pressure gas holding vessels now are considered to be hazardous waste material. Due to the fact that there is no national or international color coding for the cylinders and other than the valve type and threads people do make up connectors and refill them with other stuff. As the case with the meth heads and propane cylinders and anhydrous ammonia. Which was covered in another thread.

Since site based generation of acetylene gas for larger scale users was still the normal into 60's. The number of fuel gas cylinders that are real old are fewer than oxygen cylinders. I have seen one oxy cylinder that was stamped first time during the later days of WW1.

The proper disposal procedure for acetylene cylinders, is to relive the pressure of the gas slowly, then remove the valve, drain the acetone liquid, fill with water, and cut the cylinder so you can remove the filler material generally up towards the neck end as not to disturb the the filler material, the best way is with a large colds type saw with water spray currtan to keep any asbestos particles from becoming airbone.

You pack up the filler and depending on what it is it is disposed of properly, along with the acetone. If the filler is high pressure flushed out of the cylinder the liquid is still a hazardous waste material.
The cylinder must either be cut in half or a large dia. hole is cut in the cylinder to preclude repair.

Somebody else on this forum already described the mess he had when he used an acetylene cylinder in a project.

Your cheapest answer is to find out what they charge to test and inspect them at your LWS or were to call about it.

Hes comes the Disclaimer!: Some words of caution, the above explanation is for illustrative/educational purposes only! It is not an instructional about how to do it. This was told to me awhile ago and things in the hazardous materials biz changes rapidly. Secondly you need to be licensed. The fines are quite high if you get caught feeding it into the general public waste stream.

Asbestos is very nasty stuff having known a number of pipe covers,fitters,welders that have succumbed to mesothelioma, cancer, asbestosis and pleural disease. Which are the things you can get from it. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/PHA/libby3/appb.pdf is a non law firm site.

It can be transferred to your cloths going through the wash cycle and be transferred to your families and then to them when they wear the cloths it dried on. Or from being brought into a car or truck seat when the clothes aren't changed at the work site. And disturbed each time some one gets into the seat.

[Zrexxer]

That said, All pressure gas holding vessels now are considered to be hazardous waste material.

I think I know what you're trying to say, but what you stated there is absolutely false. There is a HUGE difference between a "hazardous material" as defined by the Department of Transportation for placarding requirements, and a Hazardous Waste.

DOT regs (49 CFR Part 172) requires Oxygen, Non flammable gases, and flammable gases to display a Class 2 "Hazardous Materials" placard for transportation in quantities over 454 kg gross weight.

EPA regs (40 CFR Part 261) define hazardous wastes as wastes meeting the characteristics of flammability, corrosivity, explosivity, toxicity, or being listed in a laundry list of chemicals published in Subpart D. Regardless, a hazardous waste has to be a WASTE first to qualify... if the product is still in use, regardless of whether it's flammable, etc., then it's not a waste and cannot be a hazardous waste by definition.

Pressure gas holding vessels are not defined as a hazardous waste under any circumstances, although their contents might be.

[ptsideshow]

I was only referring to the disposal of the cylinder for whatever reason. I did not mention anything to do with transport of the cylinders of any kind. with any residue left inside the cylinder from the fill material (asbestos) is hazardous waste along with the acetone which is still the cylinder.

When you try to take one to a scrap yard whether it be a propane cylinder, or other fuel gas cylinders. or most LWS they call them (damaged) cylinders hazardous waste because of the special handling required and the costs to dispose of them.

Most LWS charge a hazardous material handling fee for TIG,Gas and Stick rod when you buy it. At least Airgas does, around here.

EPA regs (40 CFR Part 261) define hazardous wastes as wastes meeting the characteristics of flammability, corrosivity, explosivity, toxicity, or being listed in a laundry list of chemicals published in Subpart D. Regardless, a hazardous waste has to be a WASTE first to qualify... if the product is still in use, regardless of whether it's flammable, etc., then it's not a waste and cannot be a hazardous waste by definition.