Cut oil tank with torch?

your neighbors backwards
a full tank of fuel is less likely to explode because there is a lack of oxygen for combustion to take place. welding a full fuel tank is fairly common , welding on a half full tank will kill you and anyone near you .
cutting on an empty tank is simply stupid.
heating a tank with oil residue in side is simply creating an air fuel bomb .
Years ago we demonstrated this with a cup of oil and a fifty gallon drum under controlled conditions , need less to say even with a covering of two ft of sand the result was very impressive , and Im a guy that likes big booms .

If your determined to cut it fill it with water even if your using a saw,
If theres fuel vapor in the tank all it will take is a spark or red hot saw blade to ruin your life .

Well, this is relatively simple question.
If there is any type of flammable substance in the tank there's the possibility of a fire, even if remote.
If there's no flammable substance in the tank, there's no possibility of a fire, not even remotely.
Take your choice, do you feel lucky???


.

__________________
If your presence can't add value to my life your absence will make no difference...

玉

(名)三位一體; 三個一組; 三人一組
.

As a person who works for a steel tank manufacturer, I can tell you that people do it.

We don't. Our shop blew up nearly 30 years ago, killed two. Six+ years ago, a gal I knew whose hub was working on one-got blown through a roof in Anchorage-he died too. He was a casualty when the top of the tank blew-he was not actually putting a torch to it.

Inert gas, or filled with water-or forget it. Do not do this inside an enclosed structure either, outside only. Only one place here will work on used fuel tanks, and they have a lot of experience and take many precautions against explosions and/or fire.

__________________
A glimpse into my life and thoughts up here in Southcentral Alaska-visit my blog www.suvalley.blogspot.com

I knew someone would get around to filling it with water , yes that does work even for gas tanks also , you do get a lot of ugly water so carfull were you dump that

My relative just stuck a hose ran off his truck's exhaust into the tank and filled it with carbon dioxide and then cut the tank, won't explode with no oxygen.

i imagine you could use vinegar and baking soda to fill the tank with co2.

__________________
this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

OMG, I just sat here and laughed out loud for like 5 minutes... My dog's looking at me like I'm nuts!

This is a simple task if done correctly its completely safe, I have cut many gas tanks and oil barrels open with a torch. I have heard all sorts of methods, fillem with water, yeah right, that works till you begin cutting, and you cant ever fill them all the way up. Steam cleaning is quite unsafe as if any tiny spot is missed, the remaining petroleum products will being to fill the tank again with explosive fumes.

Heres the basic theory. fuel and oil tanks will continue to contain explosive fumes for years even it they are bone dry. The key is to remove the oxygen levels which are also required to cause the combustion. What I do is take any gasoline engine and start it up. I drain all the fuel or oil out of the tank to be cut, insert a hose or pipe from the exhaust of the running engine into any available opening in the tank. Make sure that all the other openings are sealed fairly tite, the idea is to fill the tank with exhaust forcing all the oxygen laden air out thus making combustion in the tank impossible. I usually let the engine run about ten minutes or so to make sure its done its job. I go off and have a cigarette somewhere while this is happening. I then leave said gas engine run while I cut the tank open. Make a long continuous cut around the top, or around the side. What we dont want is for air to get in while we are doing this. A car or tractor engine will produce enough exhaust to keep the air from entering in the small slice you make with the torch. Once you have it cut open, then simply put the tools away, let it set open in the air for a while and its as safe as a kitten with a ball of string. remember, one, empty the tank of any liquid, we dont want it running out as we cut the tank open and starting a fire, two, fill the tank with the inert gas from the spent exhaust so the fumes dont explode, three make your cut in a long thin line while continuing to pump exhaust into the tank to prevent any air from entering while you work, (dont just cut small patches out). Four, clean up yer mess and yer done.

__________________
"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

i think someone needs a hug.

__________________
this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

Right on,a man from the real world..
i just skip the exhaust because the tanks have usually been empty and setting a couple weeks before i get them and i do build a hot fire in the halves for a couple hrs before welding them together because i make smokers and want to get all the oil and smell out of them.

I cut two apart with a sawsall in my basement. It was messy and stinky, but nothing blew up.

Does that make me a "man from the real world"?

Pete

must have made your house smell nice for a few weeks.

Means you got lucky .
In pyro I run into alot of people who have gotten lucky guys who have for years cut quickmatch with scissors or stapled QM to racks with out ever having an accident. For myself I got lucky for years ematching shells with out a hitch then came the day a little spark of static electricity taught me just how lucky I had been and just how foolish taking chances is .
an old oil tank is nothing but an air fuel bomb waiting for enough oxygen and a spark to go off .
I agree with YH CO2 or halon is easier to deal with than water when cutting.
I tend to disagree with those famous last words of " I've cut dozens and never had a flare up"
In my personal opinion thats drastically underestimating the danger , in my hobby not giving full respect to energetic substances can cost lives not only the one disrespecting but the lives of those 100 ft away .
Burns are not pleasant.

i guess it's like a mountain climbing saying...

"you can get it right a thousand times, but you only need to get it wrong once."

__________________
this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

That's exactly right MELOC one has only to Google the topic to see the possabilities. The last explosion I heard of at the airport was some poor fellow was cutting a steel pail into two halves. They know there were no hazzardous fumes or materials inside but they think the dust ignited and exploded.

__________________
Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Know a guy around here missing a few body parts because he torched a 55 gal drum that had been sitting empty for a few years.
At firefighting school in the navy the floor of the trainer was flooded with DFM and spark ignitors were used to start the fires.
As fun we used to spray DFM in the air with spray bottles and light it with our cigarette lighter while bored on the midwatch. Could do the same with the coffee creamer.
I have heard of guys welding inside tanks without any serious prep back in the days when ships ran on crude but ratio of flammable vapor to oxygen was so far out of whack it was possible.
Fumes do the burning, if you light stuff on fire the heat causes the stuff to give off fumes and it will continue to burn until the fuel is exhausted or something needed to burn is taken away. Cause something to rapidly give off fumes and add the proper mix of heat and air and you have an explosion.

__________________
Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

We cut one for a smoker last winter. 12ft long, 4ft dia. It had two 4in holes in the top. I sat it out in the field, jammed a 4in dia. log in one hole, put a little fuel on it to get it going and lit it up. Burned like a candle for a little while, then smoldered for about 2 days. After that, I filled it full of water and began cutting with a torch. We went slow and allowed the air outside to cool the tank and kept the hose running so that any water that ran out the new cut would be replaced. After we got a big section cut out, we filled it full of wood and lit it again and allowed it to burn until it was red. That baby put out some heat! It seems like a lot of work, but even if it wasn’t necessary, I think having my body in one piece is.

__________________
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities
in our air and water that are doing it."
--Al Gore, Former Vice President

Trying to "abandon" 60 year old fuel oil tank IN CRAWL SPACE under my folks house. Not used for 40 years. Not leaking. I've pumped out all but the last inch or so of oil and sludge. How can I SAFELY get the remainder out before pouring in 100# of oil absorbant material similar to kitty litter?

Had been planning to use a sabre saw to cut open one end and remove the sludge before cleaning and the "kitty litter."

Laws permit "abandoning" tanks if they are clean, DRY and disconnected. Obvousily, the car exhaust approach would likely kill me. The house is in town and disposing of contaminated water presents problems too.

Loved the quote: "Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group." ~ Robert Heinlein

Anyone here have the wisdom I desperately need? This project has my girlfriend totally freaked and I'm not particularly thrilled either.

Technically, your friend is incorrect on the science of his statement.

Vapors are what burn. Always with perto products, it is the vapors that burn.

Many people have done what your friend wants to do, and it worked out fine. Fuel oil does not vaporize very easily; and has very specific air to vapor requirements to ignite; and if it does ignite, it is a fairly cool and slow flame, not _nearly_ the explosive force of gasoline or other gases.

So it works out fine for folks to this probably 499 times out of 500 tries.

Now, suppose your friend just happens to be lucky & 'wins' the 1 in 500 odds?

There are ways to do this by filling it with water; or putting in dry ice or running an exhaust hose into it for a while (displacing the oxygen).

BUT, if your friend doesn't understand it is always fumes that burn, not the liquid, then I'd not want him trying such an experiment. Seems he doesn't have a good grasp of the situation.

--->Paul

Windjammer would think you could use a hole saw then pow sand in it an plug the holes But knowing me if it hasn't been used in 40 years i would plan on using it again if anyone ask .If it hasn't went anywhere in 40 years i could procrastinate it another 40