ROT: Drilling / Cutting Butane Tanks

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #1

Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
one needs a little excitement...

I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out of
a blue Butane bottle. I've vented it for a few days, then sank it in
the waterbut and filled it - probably 75 percent full of water. It's
sodding impossible to get the valve out of the top, so what I'm sort
of thinking about doing is drilling it - below the waterline, like
this:


__=__
( )
|~~~~~|
|WATER|
|_____|<==
| |

A couple of 3/8 holes, let the water drain, then leave it for another
few days before taking the angle grinder to it.

Am I about to kill myself with this strategy?



--

I'd prefer to die in my sleep like my grandfather,
Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

 

L

Lee_D

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #2

Mother" <"@ {mother} @ <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net> uttered summat
worrerz funny about:
> Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
> one needs a little excitement...

> Am I about to kill myself with this strategy?

I'd be inclined to fill it with sand but as the valve is stuffed then it's
not looking good... I'd guess you've considered it could be a LH thread on
the valve and that it's just become a feature.... if so I'd probably abort
that bottle and get one which the valve can come out of due to the residue
in the tank best be safe than soup.

Lee
--
www.lrproject.com
Reaching the parts other Landrover restorers can't reach - JLo makes new
home in the USA.
Percy IIa - two Engines to the mile, awaits a new chassis.
Morph - He's "living the dream".

 

V

Vince

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #3

As long as you drill under the waterline you should be fine. When all empty
try purging with CO2 if you have a MIG.


"Mother" <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
> one needs a little excitement...
>
> I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out of
> a blue Butane bottle. I've vented it for a few days, then sank it in
> the waterbut and filled it - probably 75 percent full of water. It's
> sodding impossible to get the valve out of the top, so what I'm sort
> of thinking about doing is drilling it - below the waterline, like
> this:
>
>
> __=__
> ( )
> |~~~~~|
> |WATER|
> |_____|<==
> | |
>
> A couple of 3/8 holes, let the water drain, then leave it for another
> few days before taking the angle grinder to it.
>
> Am I about to kill myself with this strategy?
>
>
>
> --
>
> I'd prefer to die in my sleep like my grandfather,
> Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

 

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #4

On Tue, 2 May 2006 14:40:43 +0100, "Lee_D"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I'd guess you've considered it could be a LH thread on the valve

Tried with spanner, breaker bar and sodding big hammer - no movement -
I think it's sealled with some kind of grey glue :-(

Did think about getting my big set of bolt-croppers on the valve,
below the ball-bearing bit...

>if so I'd probably abort that bottle and get one which the valve
>can come out of

Do any of them really come out I wonder? May go and get another from
the lockup later and see.

>due to the residue in the tank best be safe than soup.

Ah but a sense of adventure is a wonderful thing - and besides, it
gives the neighbours some mild entertainment


--
"We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one
of distributed ignorance. And we know and understand less while being
increasingly capable." Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs
In memory of Brian {Hamilton Kelly} who logged off 15th September 2005

 

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #5

On Tue, 02 May 2006 13:46:17 GMT, "Vince"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>As long as you drill under the waterline you should be fine.

Kind of what I am hoping - if I don't post after 7pm tonight, assume
that you and I were wrong...

 

B

beamendsltd

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #6

In message <[email protected]>
Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net> wrote:

> Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
> one needs a little excitement...
>
> I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out of
> a blue Butane bottle. I've vented it for a few days, then sank it in
> the waterbut and filled it - probably 75 percent full of water. It's
> sodding impossible to get the valve out of the top, so what I'm sort
> of thinking about doing is drilling it - below the waterline, like
> this:
>
>
> __=__
> ( )
> |~~~~~|
> |WATER|
> |_____|<==
> | |
>
> A couple of 3/8 holes, let the water drain, then leave it for another
> few days before taking the angle grinder to it.
>
> Am I about to kill myself with this strategy?
>
>
>

If you have my luck, you'll probably electrocute yourself with
the drill!!

Richard
--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
RISC-OS - Where have all the good guys gone?
Boycott the Yorkshire Dales - No Play, No Pay

 

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #7

On Tue, 02 May 2006 15:50:06 +0100, beamendsltd
<[email protected]> wrote:

>If you have my luck, you'll probably electrocute yourself with
>the drill!!

Knowing my luck I'll either drop the bugger on my foot - or put my
back out again - as it's bloody heavy filled with water!


--
"We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one
of distributed ignorance. And we know and understand less while being
increasingly capable." Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs
In memory of Brian {Hamilton Kelly} who logged off 15th September 2005

 

T

Tim Hobbs

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #8

On Tue, 02 May 2006 15:11:57 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 2 May 2006 14:40:43 +0100, "Lee_D"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I'd guess you've considered it could be a LH thread on the valve
>
>Tried with spanner, breaker bar and sodding big hammer - no movement -
>I think it's sealled with some kind of grey glue :-(
>
>Did think about getting my big set of bolt-croppers on the valve,
>below the ball-bearing bit...
>
>>if so I'd probably abort that bottle and get one which the valve
>>can come out of
>
>Do any of them really come out I wonder? May go and get another from
>the lockup later and see.
>
>>due to the residue in the tank best be safe than soup.
>
>Ah but a sense of adventure is a wonderful thing - and besides, it
>gives the neighbours some mild entertainment

Why not get a bottle of something rather less flammable - CO2,
Nitrogen etc.... The bottles are just as good, but less likely to
blow your head off...

I know a man with 30,000 plus if you need a source....

--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'03 Volvo V70
'06 Nissan Navara aka "The Truck"

 

S

Steve Taylor

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #9

Tim Hobbs wrote:

> Why not get a bottle of something rather less flammable - CO2,
> Nitrogen etc.... The bottles are just as good, but less likely to
> blow your head off...
>
> I know a man with 30,000 plus if you need a source....
>

Purged with water for a week, drain, then add a cup full of water and a
cup full of strong bleach. Swill around for a bit, then drain. The
bleach destroys the ethyl mercaptan (gets rid of the stench)

Steve

 

T

Tom Woods

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #10

On Tue, 02 May 2006 14:23:26 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
wrote:

>Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
>one needs a little excitement...

Some guys we met at billing had a great heater made out of a gas
bottle with a big chimney. I wanted to make one and their instructions
were:

Beat the **** out of the valve till it breaks off if you cant remove
it.
Leave the bottle open to atmosphere for as long as you can to let
everything out.
Fill bottle with sand to weld/cut it.

They had 2 of them and were still alive so i guess this works. I have
a gas bottle but have not yet got round to messing with it.

>I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out of
>a blue Butane bottle.

I'm not sure what sort of woman could wear a bra made from gas
bottles...

 

M

Merlin©

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #11

I considered doing all the above for the same reason, logic prevailed, I
went to a scrappy & got a blue peter version for 50p then just trimmed the
cut with a grinder, let someone else blow themselves up.

Chris

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #12

Tom Woods wrote:

||| I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out
||| of a blue Butane bottle.
||
|| I'm not sure what sort of woman could wear a bra made from gas
|| bottles...

You haven't met my ....

Nah...

--
Rich
==============================

I don't approve of signatures, so I don't have one.

 

S

[email protected]

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #13

If the bottle is open to atmosphere, you haven't got enough fuel to
make more than a squeak anyway.

Steve

 

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #14

On Tue, 02 May 2006 18:08:13 +0100, Tom Woods
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I'm not sure what sort of woman could wear a bra made from gas
>bottles...

Amanda who walks her dog in the park and feeds Max little bone shaped
biccies could easily fill a couple...

.... She will hurt me if she ever finds out I've said that!

 

T

Tim Hobbs

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #15

On Tue, 02 May 2006 19:58:03 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 02 May 2006 18:08:13 +0100, Tom Woods
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I'm not sure what sort of woman could wear a bra made from gas
>>bottles...
>
>Amanda who walks her dog in the park and feeds Max little bone shaped
>biccies could easily fill a couple...
>
>... She will hurt me if she ever finds out I've said that!

And if Charlotte finds out you know her by name she'll ensure you
never feel anything at all below the waist....


--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'03 Volvo V70
'06 Nissan Navara aka "The Truck"

 

A

Austin Shackles

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #16

On or around Tue, 02 May 2006 18:08:13 +0100, Tom Woods
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>On Tue, 02 May 2006 14:23:26 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
>>one needs a little excitement...
>
>Some guys we met at billing had a great heater made out of a gas
>bottle with a big chimney. I wanted to make one and their instructions
>were:
>
>Beat the **** out of the valve till it breaks off if you cant remove
>it.

I got involved in cutting a whole lot of scrap gas bottles in half to make
them safe to be weighed in as scrap, using an oxy-propane torch. The drill
was remove valve (or break it off, as per above), pour a couple of pints of
water in to it and then cut it. some of them made a bit of a "foom", but
none exploded. If you get the valve out, or have a hole through it which
vents the cylinder to atmosphere, it shouldn't explode, as such. I think
the water evaporates inside and makes steam, too, which stops any gas from
hanging around being dangerous.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victims to
a great lie than to a small one" Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
from Mein Kampf, Ch 10

 

A

Austin Shackles

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #17

On or around Tue, 02 May 2006 15:11:57 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother}
@"@101fc.net> enlightened us thusly:

>Do any of them really come out I wonder? May go and get another from
>the lockup later and see.

yes. I only found a few that wouldn't unscrew. sod-off shifting spanner
got most of 'em.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"The great masses of the people ... will more easily fall victims to
a great lie than to a small one" Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
from Mein Kampf, Ch 10

 

R

Richard Brookman

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #18

Mother" <"@ {mother} @ wrote:

|| On Tue, 02 May 2006 18:08:13 +0100, Tom Woods
|| <[email protected]> wrote:
||
||| I'm not sure what sort of woman could wear a bra made from gas
||| bottles...
||
|| Amanda who walks her dog in the park and feeds Max little bone shaped
|| biccies could easily fill a couple...

Could she have associate status at the next unofficial?

--
Rich
==============================

I don't approve of signatures, so I don't have one.

 

S

Simon Isaacs

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #19

On Tue, 02 May 2006 14:23:26 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
scribbled the following nonsense:

>Possibly a quite silly thing to do - but as one approaches retirement
>one needs a little excitement...
>
>I'm planning to make a Brazier (for burning, not holdin' boobs) out of
>a blue Butane bottle. I've vented it for a few days, then sank it in
>the waterbut and filled it - probably 75 percent full of water. It's
>sodding impossible to get the valve out of the top, so what I'm sort
>of thinking about doing is drilling it - below the waterline, like
>this:
>
>
> __=__
> ( )
> |~~~~~|
> |WATER|
> |_____|<==
> | |
>
>A couple of 3/8 holes, let the water drain, then leave it for another
>few days before taking the angle grinder to it.
>
>Am I about to kill myself with this strategy?

half way through mine.

I cut the valve off using a hacksaw, filled the cylinder with water
while I went to Gaydon. The theory is the water pushes out the gas
anyway.

Yesterday began to cut it open using a hacksaw. Cut it so that the
cut was 4 inches long, then took the grinder to it to trim the rest
while it was laid on its side. No explosion or pops. Mind it still
stinks of the odour thing they put into the gas to tell you there's a
leak.

The cylinder has now gone through considerable work, and simply
requires some welding to atach it to a base for stability and that is
stage 1 complete: The brazier/BBQ I have a flap at the bottom to
remove ashes, a damper at the bottom to control air flow in (made from
an old shock absorber), a flap in the side to allow for Stage 2.

Stage 2 is a flexible design that will allow me to drop in a throat
plate and a solid steel top and chimney. The throat plate will push
the hot smoke under the hot plate, so that I use it as a cooking plate
for pots and pans. If just using it as a heater, I would not put the
throat plate in and just let the smoke go up the cimney higher up away
from the people sat around it.

Will post some piccies once complete, but quick bit of artwork below!

| |
| |
| | <====Chimney
| |
| |
| |________
| |
| ...... |<===Throat plate
|..... |
| ____ |
| | | |
| | | |
| |___ | |
| |
|_________=== <== Damper pipe
| | <===== Flap
--

Simon Isaacs

"Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote"
George Jean Nathan (1882-1955)

 

M

Mother

Guest

• May 2, 2006

• #20

On Tue, 02 May 2006 20:34:10 +0100, Austin Shackles
<[email protected]> wrote:

>>Do any of them really come out I wonder? May go and get another from
>>the lockup later and see.
>
>yes. I only found a few that wouldn't unscrew. sod-off shifting spanner
>got most of 'em.

Right, left or right hand thread? I'll go and use the very big hammer
again first before using the bolt cropper on the neck of the valve...


--
"We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one
of distributed ignorance. And we know and understand less while being
increasingly capable." Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs
In memory of Brian {Hamilton Kelly} who logged off 15th September 2005