EMT / Hospital Alum Oxy Tanks

[LX Kid]

I bought two aluminum EMT / Hospital / Home style tanks with one regulator and gage for $5.00. The end of the regulator is missing flow adjustment knob. I have a small home oxy/acet torch set that I use very little for hobby use. When I run out of oxygen, in my torch set, is there a way to transfer the oxy to it? One tank is full and the other is about 3/4 full. Is there an adapter that I could use the aluminum tanks regulator with a oxy torch regulator? Inquiring minds want to know!!! LoL

Would I be "wrong" in thinking all I would have to do is make an adjusting knob and add an Oxy output pressure gage on the regulator?

 

[Nutfarmer]

Unless you have a prescription for medical oxygen it my be hard to have refilled. Also medical oxygen is more expensive than shop oxygen

 

[Winegrower]

True enough about costs. Yet, it’s been studied and reported extensively that welding oxygen is exactly the same as pilot’s breathing oxygen, and it’s common to have some big welding bottles in your hangar and fill your portable bottles from that. Because filling a bottle generates heat, you have to fill slowly so it’s important to monitor pressures during tge transfer…and if it’s hot, when it cools it won’t be as full as possible.

 

[RJSakowski]

I bought two aluminum EMT / Hospital / Home style tanks with one regulator and gage for $5.00. The end of the regulator is missing flow adjustment knob. I have a small home oxy/acet torch set that I use very little for hobby use. When I run out of oxygen, in my torch set, is there a way to transfer the oxy to it? One tank is full and the other is about 3/4 full. Is there an adapter that I could use the aluminum tanks regulator with a oxy torch regulator? Inquiring minds want to know!!! LoL

Would I be "wrong" in thinking all I would have to do is make an adjusting knob and add an Oxy output pressure gage on the regulator?

I made an adapter for a medical tank. The tank was filled with a nitrogen mixture, pressurized to more than 2,000 psi. I emptied the tank and painted it oxygen green. The adapter was simply a copy of the regulator fitting with a standard oxygen fitting purchased from my gas supplier. The photo shows the adapter below spare with a regulator above. I filled it from my large tank. It was best to fill it with a fresh tank as I then got a full charge in the small tank.

 

[LX Kid]

Unless you have a prescription for medical oxygen it my be hard to have refilled. Also medical oxygen is more expensive than shop oxygen

I don't have any intention of refilling the medical tanks and just want to use it till it's gone. I would just pay for refilling my torch set oxy tank instead.

 

[LX Kid]

I made an adapter for a medical tank. The tank was filled with a nitrogen mixture, pressurized to more than 2,000 psi. I emptied the tank and painted it oxygen green. The adapter was simply a copy of the regulator fitting with a standard oxygen fitting purchased from my gas supplier. The photo shows the adapter below spare with a regulator above. I filled it from my large tank. It was best to fill it with a fresh tank as I then got a full charge in the small tank.
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That's an interesting idea!

 

[LX Kid]

Here's what I have. In the past 6 years I've only had to refill the acetylene once. That shows how little I need to use the torch set.

 

[vocatexas]

We all get complacent about all the pressurized vessels in our shops. An air compressor tank is a bomb, and it's only 120 to 180 psi. An oxygen tank is about 2200 psi. As a fire fighter I refill our breathing air tanks quite often. They too are pressurized to 2200 psi (some are 4500 psi). If you are transferring oxygen and have never done it before, do so VERY SLOWLY. As mentioned above, the tank will heat up. It should NEVER get too hot to touch. If it gets too hot, it can explode. Oxygen under pressure is much much more dangerous than atmospheric air. Be very careful; even your portable air tank can kill you. An exploding oxygen bottle is even more dangerous. In firefighting we use a cascade system and the bottle being refilled is contained in a blast cabinet, but we are still warned over and over that you can be killed if you aren't careful.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

I have considered using a medical tank for use with propane in a torch. I don't need the heat of acetylene, the largest work I do is silver soldering or brazing middlin' sized items. I haven't gotten a 'round tuit' yet, I think medical O2 tanks have the same date coding as welding tanks. The cost of medical O2 is no real issue, I don't do that much work. O2 is dangerous. Above 21%(free air), you light a cigarette and your clothes flare up. Under pressure is not something I would want to fool with.

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[Nutfarmer]

The regulator you have will work with the torch . It is just calibrated in liters per minute. It's a flow regulator like on the argon bottle for a tig torch. If I remember correctly it should be adjustable from one liter per minute to about 15 liters per minute.