acetylene transport

[mike paulson]

hey guy's can i carry an acetylene or oxy tank on it's side for a short trip say maybe 1/2 hour?

 

[willie in mn]

According to DOT, pressure tanks must be transported upright & secured. Regulator removed & protective cap installed. If transported lying down & have an OOPSIE the tank will take off like a rocket, wiping out anything or anyone in its path.
Small LP tanks with integral guard don't need the cap & may be transported lying down.
WJ

 

[andyt(pa)]

If you do lay bottle down you must set back upright for at least a half hour to allow acetylene to settle. If you dont regulator hoses can be ruined.

 

[sflem849]

(quoted from post at 03:41:22 06/11/11) If you do lay bottle down you must set back upright for at least a half hour to allow acetylene to settle. If you dont regulator hoses can be ruined.

Yep and I will add a little. IIRC my welding friend said the problem results from sucking liquid rather than the gas off the top of the liquid.

 

[Ron-MO]

I believe that is correct on the bottles being upright for transport, however with that said, I have carried mine laying down and honestly I would much rather carry laying down as they would be much more likely to remain in the bed of a pickup rather than fly out of the vehicle if they were upright, and involved in an accident. And it is very difficult to keep them upright in a pickup with limited ways to secure them. Something tells me a pair of upright oxy and acetylene bottle full of gas are not going to remain in place in a headon collision where they actually might if laying on their side. Each to his own, but I carry mine laying down and just be careful. Most important to me is put caps on while transporting.

 

[Nick in Kansas]

You know, about every 3 or 4 months this subject comes up, and all the DOT regs come out. Back a few years ago, I saw a welders truck set up with the bottles on their side. They were mounted that way, and he used them that way. I know from experience, that you can lay them on their side for many years, stand them up for a day or so, and go to using them.
I guess what I am saying is use your HEAD. If you went by all the government regulations, a person could hardly get out of bed.

 

[mike paulson]

hey guy's thanks for all the great replies, i will be going for a short 1/2 ride to get some bottles and don't have any real way of securing them standing up in my p/u. now that i know some of you have "carefully" transported them laying down thats good enough for me....tanks fellas..

 

[Janicholson]

No issue with that. Acetylene is stored as a pressurized gas in a liquid acetone containing pressure bottle. The acetone (finger nail polish remover) is further stored in a ditomaceous earth fiber matrix in the tank. The fiber and acetone are responsible for absorbing the fuel gas. Thus if a tank is laid down, there is a chance that the acetone will be getting into the regulator/lines and torch. Not good.
They can be used at 45degree angle or so with no issue.
Acetylene is unstable and explosive if not absorbed into the acetone at the cylinder pressures. If it is allowed to be under pressure over 30 (total) psi and by its self, (no oxygen or acetone) it can detonate.
Thus the red marks on the gauge above 15 psi.
(atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi, and 15 more make danger)
Jim

 

[Allan in NE]

Be sure and block it from sliding around. They can knock the tailgate right out of your pickup.

Allan

 

[Anonymous-0]

Propane containers must be transported in the upright position. The reason is the relief valve must be in contact with vapoer space.

 

[soybeanjoe]

As others have said, DOT regs call for them to be transported in the upright position. That said, I have seen a lot of them transported laying down.

I have a wooden rack that I transport them in the prone position in my p.u. bed that keeps them from moving. Been transporting them that way for over 40 yrs. Last spring was the first time I had an issue with the earth filler plugging the regulator. But I took the tank put of the truck & started using it without letting it stand for awhile. Cleaned the reg & everything was fine.

Use to be where we bought welding supplies made you sign a waiver of liability if you transported them horizonally but haven't done that for at least 10 yrs.

 

[willie in mn]

My mistake there. Was thinking of forklift tanks that are designed to be used lying down.

 

[504]

Forklift tanks have the safety relief valve up when they are strapped down on a tow motor, that is what the locator pin is for.

 

[scotc]

I usually hauled them laying down. When I had the Chevy I would haul them upright. Used two ratchet straps and half-hitched them. They weren't going anywhere without taking the front of the box with them.

It had the stake pockets and loops at the bottom corners of the bed.

 

[denny-o]

Just brought home a full acetylene tank from Airgas... In the pickup bed down on it's side... Stood up in the shop overnight and I am sure it is fine... Been doing it this way my entire life... No problems...

 

[sflem849]

(quoted from post at 12:13:42 06/14/11) Just brought home a full acetylene tank from Airgas... In the pickup bed down on it's side... Stood up in the shop overnight and I am sure it is fine... Been doing it this way my entire life... No problems...

Bring it home on it's side and use it right away. You won't have as long of a life for everything to be fine...but it would be most of your life. :lol: