Moving Tanks

[fjkratky]

Hello

We are in the process of moving, and my welders are not hooked up at the present. I am wondering how to move my Mig and Tig welding tanks safely as well as cutting torch tanks.

The guy at the welding supply center said it is safe to lay tanks down flat as long as the covers are on them and they are secure.

I am thinking of making a wooden cradel to hold these flat and lash them down securly in that.

Any comments or suggestions. I will be hauling them in the back of my pickup. It is a long move from Colorado to Montana so it is about an 8 hour drive.

I know you need to let Act. Tanks stand up right quite a while before using them again once they have been laying down.

Unfortuantly I am not able to weld a metal rack to stand them upright in my pickup right now.

Thank you very much for your help!

Frank

[Richard]

Frank,

you should be ok as long as you put the caps on and sucure them
and like you said the actealine botel should be set in the upright position and not used for a while to let the liquid settle before use.

[fjkratky]

Thanks Richard! I appreciate the reply!

Frank

[JonnyTIG]

All gases and gas mixtures in cylinders can be Transported (horizotally) without problems except for acetylene. Acetylene in pure form needs time to disolve into the <carrier> to become stable. This time frame respects the amount of time the acetylene was stored in a horizotal position. Generally, one hour is sufficent, but tempuratures play a part in this time frame.

If you light your torch and the flame is purple instead of blue, shut it off! Purple indicates that the acetone from the acetylene cylinder is burning instead of the acetylene it self, and can lead to explosion problems.

[wldrman]

I would ask your supplier if it's safe to transport acetylene horizontally over a long period. Since the acetone is a cushion basically for the acetylene's stability. Short trips I'm sure are fine, but long ones would concern me.

[silverbackman]

If your planning on building a wooden crate to hold them in the bottom of your truck, couldn't you build the crate so that the tanks sit upright? Should be simple enough to do, and then you have more of your truck to pack the rest of your house/garage into.
Just a thought.