Oil drum cutting

[2006300d]

get drum deheader,no sparks

[killdozerd11]

detcord works great to cut drums

My father used to do it alot

[wronghand]

Take both bungs out and cut away. It may flash a little but won't explode. If you're really unsure about it, then purge the drum with argon or nitrogen before AND during the cutting process. Displace all the oxygen and you eliminate the possibility of an "earth shattering kaboom". Or, fill the son of a **** right to the brim with water and hack away with an O/A torch and it won't go poof.

If a qualified welder can do oil well abandonments and hot tie-ins on pipelines, I'm not gonna lose any sleep worrying about lopping the top off of a stupid 45 (yes, 45) gallon drum

[Nitesky]

I showed my wife. Take an unlit torch, lean over tank or barrel, support elbows and look down. See where your stomach is? All your vitals are right there when it blows. No wonder people die

[aametalmaster]

Read Brad Livingstons bio and watch the movie "Just a Second Ago". Something to think about even for a job that you have done 100 times before with no problems. Treat every tank, drum, and job different because no two may be the same...Bob
http://bradlivingston.com/bio.htm
http://bradlivingston.com/stream.htm

[Donald Branscom]

I'm looking to make some cuts in a 55 gallon oil drum and I'm trying to avoid getting blown up.

First of all the drum is closed end with two bungs (one large, one small). From what I can tell it had almond oil in it before I picked it up. There is some remaining oil in the bottom.

I want to cut a door in the side of the drum and turn it into a bbq. I'm probably going to use abrasive cutoff disks in my angle grinder so there will be a lot of sparks and I'm worried about igniting the oil in a confined space.

Does anyone have any advice for cleaning the barrel out or any other suggestions for how I should go about doing this? Thanks.

STOP### STOP### STOP###

An 18 year old boy was killed when he tried the very same thing this week.
It was a 50 gallon drum which had peppermint oil in it previously. He was using a cut off blade .
It was a Catholic High School and the boy was in a shop high school class under the supervision of a shop teacher apparently unaware of the danger.
Happened this week I believe.
See www.weldingweb.com http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...n.html?ref=rss

Buy a tool made for opening 50 gallon drums. It is like a giant can opener.No sparks,no heat.

[Donald Branscom]

A laborer working for a Concrete Resurfacing Company was killed when an EMPTY 55-gallon drum of Concrete Sealer exploded and engulfed him in flames. It is believed that the laborer was attempting to cut the empty drum open with a cutoff saw just prior to the explosion.

The laborer was burned beyond recognition. The Concrete Sealer was 80% by weight ethanol and methanol. It is used as a treatment for concrete surfaces to make them water-repellant. On the day of the explosion, the Concrete Resurfacing Company was repairing a parking garage.

In another incident 10 years earlier on almost the exact same Concrete Sealer product, another laborer for a Highway Repair Company was cutting the lids off of used 55-gallon drums so the drums could be used for refuse. He was using either a torch or an electric welder to cut the lids off. The procedure was believed to be inherently safe, as they would turn the drums over for several days to let any flammable liquid drain out, and then they would turn them upright and fill them with water and let them stand for five additional days before any cutting.

In this second incident, the Concrete Sealer drum was not being cut open. However, it was standing next to another drum that was being cut open when a spark flew from one drum into the other. The drum exploded and the laborer died within 24 hours. He suffered third degree burns over 80% of his body.

In both cases, the fuels for the explosion were ethanol and methanol vapors inside what were believe to be empty or near-empty drums. It turns out that the vapor pressure of a small amount of liquid is just enough to fill the entire 55-gallon drum with an explosive mixture of air and flammable vapors. Therefore, near-empty drums can be significantly more dangerous than drums that are full.

The average worker perceives the risk of a near-empty drum to be less than a full drum. Because the actual risk is counter-intuitive, it is essential that drums of flammable liquids prominently warn of the high explosion risk of a partially empty drum. Additional warnings against cutting or welding are needed, as well as instructions to avoid all ignition sources and keep the drum completely closed at all times. While employee training about the risks of near-empty drums can be beneficial, used drums all to often find themselves in the hands of untrained employees or untrained non-employees. This reinforces the need for adequate and eye-catching labeling that goes beyond the usual warnings for a flammable liquid. The average, untrained layperson intuitively believes that less liquid means less risk, when the opposite is true.

This case involved:
• The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard,
• Flammable liquids,
• The vapor pressure of flammable liquids,
• Human Factors,
• The adequacy of MSDSs, and
• The adequacy of labels.

Dr. Fox is an explosion expert, fire expert, and chemical expert with extensive experience in OSHA chemical regulations and chemical safety.

[overkill 19]

fill with water and use a sawsall ! Remember oil, gas, wood etc does not burn.......when heated the vapours off them burn!

[boudreaux]

Jig saw with bi-metal blade is safe and makes a nice smooth cut!

[Donald Branscom]

Jig saw with bi-metal blade is safe and makes a nice smooth cut!

Those blades can get red hot. Still not safe.