some oxyacy questions

thanks, back to craigs list again.

It's memorial day and I want to weld but have no more gas.

Why didn't someone tell me to get larger tanks! LOL (kidding)

seriously, I didn't think gas welding would be this addictive
 
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sorry, I'm so full of questions. When I get new tanks, they'll be chained and stored upright, obviously.

Now, where to put them?

My current set is located inside the house in basement. My outdoor shed and garage would also work but temps probably get to 120degF in summer. I'm assuming that storing tanks in that sort of heat is dangerous. Is that correct?
 
my self, I would be concerned with tanks in the basement. leak= potential bomb. not a good idea.

no garage ?

humm, ive seen tanks stored in service trucks like enclosed vans, and also strapped to the side of a pickup box. . no problems unless theres a crash and something breaks the valve.

storage shed, i'd say ok, as long as its in a safe area.

gheesh, I cringe thinking about your tanks in the basement. . . . . . . . . . can't you strap them to an outside wall outside the house and run the hoses and torch thru an open window when your using them, then back outside with the torch when your finished ?

however, I do remember having mine in my basement when I was young and a bit less safety minded .
 
I said I have a garage. I was concerned with heat.
 
I generally go through twice as much O2 as acetylene. So if you have a 54 CUFT acetylene tank you should look for at leas 110 CUFT O2 tank. I always buy the biggest owner tanks I can get, or lease the largest tanks they have so I can cut down on the Saturday afternoon out of gas situations. I also keep a spare bottle of both just in case the big bottles run out at an inopportune time. It was kind of an expensive luxury way back when but over the years those spare tanks have saved my bacon a few times. Just invest a little at a time and it won't hurt quite so bad. I also use Gas Pony at the local TSC so I can get gas on Sunday if I really need to finish a project. Good luck and don't forget to restrain them bottles wherever you end up putting them. You could move them to a slab outside with a small tin roof and you would be golden. That's where I have my air compressor. The slab is just big enough for the comp and I sheeted the top and sides with sheet metal and it cuts down the noise and heat in the shop noticeably.

Bob
 
0K, thanks. I'll move em in garage. I'll check around to see prosand cons about buy/rent/ have TSC and AirGas within 10 miles.

practicing on some old railway spikes and plates that are rusted. I should probably grind the rust away to practice. Anyway, I haven't made anything yet, just cutting and fusion welding until I get some coat hangers to play around with.
 
OA is a lot of fun.
Almost as fun as TIG.
Careful welding gets addictive.
Be safe, and please let us know if there is anything we can do to leverage your success and safety.
 
Heat shouldn't be a problem, at least weather wise. I store my tanks out in the garage, out of the sun, which in the Nevada summers gets up to about 125+ deg. UGH!!! I have never had a problem, and don't think I ever will. However, I am wary of leaving them in the sun for too long. Luckily, the hose that I have is long enough to reach all the way to the end of the driveway without moving the tanks, so I rarely have to. Driving them to be filled is the longest they are ever in the sun.

Go to your supplier and ask to see how they store them. Mine just stores them under cover (usually, not always), flammable gasses out of the sun, under proper cover. But they don't keep them inside in the summer.

Acetylene tanks do have a thermal plug in the bottom of the tank, which is designed to melt out and release the contents in the event of a fire, but don't let go till around 600-700 deg.

Also,

I was always taught to turn off the fuel gas before the oxygen, for two reasons. First and foremost, oxygen is not flammable or poisonous, so letting excess out into the shop is not a big deal. So if you forget to turn it off, well you are out of oxygen, but that's the biggest problem, and oxygen is cheaper. Second, because acetylene is the entire fuel and heat portion of the fire triangle in this equation, once it is gone, there is no more fire. Much safer this way.

-Cody
 
turn off Oxygen 1st is Victor's suggestion so as not to clog the holes. It is VICTOR SPECIFIC, not for other brands.

Anywho, went to AirGas in manassas va today. they answered questions, nice folks. Looked into bigger tank but with some of their big tanks required a different fitting for regulator.

Picked up some RG45 to weld some steel with

Picked up new mini-tanks ($57 for refills--they do trades). Of course they won't last long. And, my nice shiny new tanks are replaced by nice well weathered ones, LOL

investment for big tanks and new regs goes into the hundreds, which I didn't have at the time but someday goal

thx for all your appreciated suggestions!
 
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