• OmnislashIsACloudApp@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    so I actually had a friend years back who worked at a junkyard.

    I was hanging out there with him one time (definitely probably not smoking anything…) and he was still clearing things out.

    so he grabs a propane tank and brings it up to where he has an oxyacetylin torch, lights the torch and starts cutting into the tank.

    I about shit my pants and took off at least 50 ft back behind a car asking if he was trying to die today.

    apparently I was the one that didn’t know what I was talking about though because of a second later he cut through and it just popped a little flame.

    he just let that flame burn until it was out and that’s how he knew the tank was empty.

    apparently these things are very hard to blow up.

    • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      They don’t blow up, but they will create a bigass torch that will spin them around some. You’re not getting blown into pieces, but you’re going to be going into the er with some bbq’d body parts.

    • rcbrk@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      Yeah nah, that’s not the way. Sure people can get away with it, but it’s really not eliminating the hazards.

      There’s a bunch of non-obvious hazards which exist around cutting into containers which have held fuels, including but not limited to:

      • An empty propane container could have an gas+air mixture inside it in proportions which could explode.
      • Any liquid residue in an empty fuel container can be vapourised by the heat of the cutting, creating a fuel+air mix which can spontaneously explode from the pressure and heat, even without sparks (think: diesel engine principle but instead of a 0.25L cylinder it’s a 200L cylinder).
      • An empty gas canister can be contaminated with heavier oils/waxes that could build up over the years of refilling cycles, creating the same hazard as noted for empty liquid fuel containers.

      Methods to reduce the hazard include:

      • Thoroughly washing the inside of the container before cutting (access can be difficult though).
      • Filling with water and cutting while full of water. (Container musn’t be sealed, and the cutting method must be safe to use in a wet environment, and further hazards such as introducing oxygen into the container need to be considered).
    • Tja@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      Because the tank was almost empty. Who knows what happens if it’s full, or overpressured, or corroded or something. Hiding behind a solid object would be my move as well.

    • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Pressurised gas is a different story, and liquid pressurised gas is even worse still.

      Basically a bomb if they are in a fire.

      • OmnislashIsACloudApp@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        yeah this will work but you basically have to create a fire around the tank while keeping it pressurized right? you have to bring the whole tank to the point where it overwhelms the relief valve.

        • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Yup. I’ve seen news footage of fuel depot fires where they had them stored, and you can hear them popping off like firecrackers.