Propane Tank Pits

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Cliff H.

Master Chef
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
6,143
Location
Jonesboro, Arkansas
I have a question for you folks who have built pits out of used propane tanks.
What method did you use to cut the tank?
Fill with water?
How long did you leave the water in before cutting?
Did you set up a torch on an empty tank and hide behind a tree?
 
Boy, this is a tough one. I got deleted that last time I answered a post like this on another forum. Thank God there is this site.

First of all I want to say that my wife works for a propane company and her boss is the leading expert in the region. He told me how to do this.

Fill tank with water and lots of bleach. let it sit for several weeks with all the holes open. Empty the tank and cut with a Zip Wheel on a hand grinder.

I have done a lot of these without a single problem. Now, thats not to say that someone else may have one. I am not responsable for anyone but my self.
 
Cliff H. said:
That is what I was thinking Bill. I would probably make a few cuts with the water still in place. Wonder what the bleach does?

he says it get the propane smell out of the metal.
 
This is one to leave the hell alone and let a pro welder do it for you. Evan if he charged you a hundred bucks to dice it up like you want, I think it's money WELL SPENT! :!:
 
Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
This is one to leave the hell alone and let a pro welder do it for you. Evan if he charged you a hundred bucks to dice it up like you want, I think it's money WELL SPENT! :!:

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!
 
Propane gets into the pores of the metal witch makes for a tricky evacuation. You might get a safe cut 99 times, but the one time....

I like the idea of the water and perhaps cutting with the water in it...it would appear that its not so much the existing fumes as the residue in the metal...
 
Propane is a liquid gas. It evaporates at low temps so all you have left is fumes that will evacuate over time through the openings. It is also oderless. They have to add an additive to it for the smell. What you smell in an old tank is the additive and not the propane.
 
Exactly..... you smell only the additive they use because propane itself is an odorless gas.

I personally wouldn't waste time cutting a tank. Too many scrap yards have these things of every shape size and color already "Debung& Evacuated"" so they call it. I also found every single local propane dealer to have several "out of date" tanks of many sizes for cheap to free.

My next build will be with a propane tank, or 2 or 3...... hope to get a little creative with the design.

A question I have is....... what do most people prefer........if they were the same cost...... a flat surface cooker/smoker....... or a rotisserie cooker/smoker????????????????????
 
Smokey_Joe said:
... A question I have is....... what do most people prefer........if they were the same cost...... a flat surface cooker/smoker....... or a rotisserie cooker/smoker????????????????????
I would like both. A rotisserie that could be removed and grate(s) inserted for flat cooking/smoking.
 
Smokey_Joe said:
Thinking of making 4 long grated cooking surfaces to hook into the rotisserie ends so they roll like a ferris wheel seat as the unit spins.


YES ? NO ?
The problem with the ferris wheel idea is that the meat it self isn't rotating. It's riding around on a ferris wheel. And that might be okay depending on what you're cooking. I have seen setups like that donw on a huge scale at famous BBQ places.

What would be better (IMO) would be to expand on your idea with four sets of cages (where your rack were). Put gears between the main axis for the rot and the four sets of cages so that the cages themselves rotate as the whole unit rotates. The cages would rotate at a different rate than the main unit so that the more direct heat would be hitting the meat on all sides.
 
Fill tank with water and lots of bleach. let it sit for several weeks with all the holes open. Empty the tank and cut with a Zip Wheel on a hand grinder.

Bill thanks for the post just had a friend of mine that owns a gas company here in Denmark offer a tank to me all I have to do is pick it out , I already have a certified welder to do the work for me all he wants is some boston butts done in liue of money !!!
 

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