Gas cylinder welding fire - GIF

[Jon]

Gas cylinder welding fire. Looks like the guy was unharmed, except for perhaps some scorched eyebrows and the shame of eternal internet fame.




Previously:

Invisible methanol fire in 1981 Indy 500
Hair catches fire while soldering
Big Wind firefighting jet tank
Fire bomber plane puts out truck fire - GIF, photos, and video
Artisanal firewood spoof - video
Two-headed fire truck - photo
Fire chute escape concept - video

[Frank S]

YOU'RE FIRED! Unfortunately this happens all to frequently around scrap yards, usually with workers who have not been on the job for very long and do no thave much if any experience with disposing of gas cylinders. The fault lies with the supervisor or company policy though, but mostly with improper training. Well run recycle establishments keep all pressurized type cylinders for disposal within the confines of a thick walled concrete enclosure these cylinders first are checked to seen if they are empty then they are mechanically punctured once any possibility of explosion is removed then a qualified worker will use a very long torch to cut the cylinder up into small er pieces. There is still the chance of a fire but not one that would be devastating.
That guy was extremely lucky not to have been killed. A few years ago a scrapper delivered a load to the recycle place across from where I used to live. Apparently he had hidden several propane cylinders in the load when the workers started cutting it up one or more of those cylinders exploded killing 2 workers and injuring a couple others. The materials were traced back to the scrapper and charges were brought against him.

[metric_taper]

My brother in law (BIL) is a lawyer. He had a client about 35 years ago, that purchased 55 gallon scrap barrels. He used an OA torch to cut the top off. Unfortunately one of the barrels had flammable product still in it, with the bungs still intact. The barrel launched like a rocket, as the bottom bulged to where it tore loose, and it sprayed this liquid on him as the explosion was occurring. The barrel came from the oil fields. The original product manufacture and the scrap yard were held liable. The manufacture because a few labels required by OSHA were never in place (it did say flammable), and the scrap yard because they should have removed the barrel end with a "can opener" to prevent morons from making themselves Frankenstein's. The guy was mad at my BIL because he won millions (don't recall how big), some as upfront, and some as a structured settlement (he wanted the whole payout). My BIL, told him you didn't get this money because you were smart. The guy blew through the money buying antique cars.

[Frank S]

At the blacksmith shop I worked at as a teen we used to de-head lots of barrels to sell as burn barrels, but we had a special made tool we used that Clarence the blacksmith had made it looked somewhat like a huge can opener. I would hook it under the rim then work it around the drum until the end was cut free. Clarence didn't care if it was full of water he wouldn't allow a torch near one until the head was first removed by his tool.

[Jon]

The difference between ignorance (above) and stupidity (below).

[Frank S]

mama says stupid is as stupid does

[Jon]

Not sure what we have here. I wonder if this is a fuel theft gone wrong.



To clarify (and someone please correct me if I've got this wrong) - to cut open a vessel that may have once held fuel, you first fill it with water. Then you can grind or saw away as much as you want, correct?

[Frank S]

Tep water would have prevented what happened , but the way he did it removed both ends much faster

[wizard69]

Not sure what we have here. I wonder if this is a fuel theft gone wrong.

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To clarify (and someone please correct me if I've got this wrong) - to cut open a vessel that may have once held fuel, you first fill it with water. Then you can grind or saw away as much as you want, correct?

I wouldn’t want to ever answer this positively! The problem is unless you know 100% what was in the tank and if any of that stuff remains you just can’t be positive you are safe. These days you can buy new steel barrels pretty cheap and even brand new propane tanks so I really can’t understand trying to recycle these barrels with the unknown histories.

Some people like to make barbeque pits out of 55 gallon drums. While they work perfectly fine I can’t for the life of me understand why somebody would use a mystery drum. Not only do you have the fire risk you have no idea what you are putting into your food.

[VinnieL]

My Dad and a few other guys organized a Volunteer Fire dept in a small town we lived in when I was a little kid. There was a service station that also sold commercial type fuels, heating oil, buld motor oil etc. They met with the Fire Dept and told them one lf their large gasoline above ground tanks had a leaking hole in it, and they almost had it empty and wanted the fire dept. to stand by while they welded-up the hold. It was a large vertical tank of probably 5000 gallons of so.

My Dad told them to let him know what day they were going to do it that he was going to another town. They asked why and he told them it would obviously explode. They asked him how to do it and he told them to either weld it full or better still weld it full of water. They did it full of gas, and when the little flame went out they knew the hole was sealed.

This guy is lucky that the top of the barrel didn't split his torso like a a circular saw blade.