Cutting 1/8" cement lined steel

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This isn't a welding question but I thought members have so much experience with metal, someone might have an answer. I have a dead 120 gallon 550 lb water heater I need to cut up if I can get it out of my basement so the cutting process doesn't stink up the house and aggravate my wife.The manufacturer suggested beating the crap out of it with a sledge hammer so the cement busts up inside the metal shell then cutting the metal. I'm frankly skeptical about that. It's quite possible some of the cement won't fall off then I'm cutting through cement and 1/8" metal. A plumber spent quite a while a few days ago with a 4 1/2" grinder and 5 blades trying to cut it up and just gave up.I hear there are metal cutting blades for a circular saw. I wonder if I could set the circular saw to just over 1/8" so I'm only cutting metal, then switch to a masonry blade and go back over the cut deeper for any cement left on it? That would be my cheapest option if it would work. Or use a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade but that seems a bit wimpy for such a massive job.My other more expensive options are to fill my neighbors cutting torch tanks and use that or rent a 115v plasma cutter or a 7" 15 amp angle grinder and blades.I have to cut this beast into small enough pieces that our trash people will haul it away. They take refrigerators so the pieces don't have to be too small but they're not going to take a 550 lb monster.Last edited by JD1; 03-19-2016 at 12:10 AM.
Reply:A good 6" grinder and some 6"x.045" cutoff wheels should do the trick I'd think pretty painlessly. Otherwise they make electric demo saws. Most rental stores should have them.-DoogieMiller 350PMiller Trailblazer 325 EFI w/ Excel PowerLincoln LN25 suitcase welderXMT 304/22a feederMiller Syncrowave 350LXMiller EconotigHobart Handler 140(2) Uni-Hydro 42-14Hypertherm 65 plasmaWEBB Gap bed lathe
Reply:I can tell you that if you use a conventional steel grinding wheel on concrete, the grinding wheel will glaze over and the concrete will glaze over, nothing good happens. I bet a buck that steel cutting wheel won't be any better. Check with your local water company and see what they use. Here they use a typical gas powered demolition saw. Using a gas powered saw in a basement for any length of time doesn't sound like a good option to me.  Good luck."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:So is it stuck in the basement until you cut it up, or it's already out and you just need it in smaller pieces?    If it's already out, surely you could save yourself the aggravation and just drop it off whole at a recycling place, right?
Reply:I would do as the manufacturer suggests.  Cement is not flexible.  I would strip the steel jacket and insulation.  I would then work the middle of the tank over with a sledge.  I would then cut the tank in half with a sawzall.  This will allow you to remove the concrete.  Then it should be light enough to remove both halves.Could it be removed intact using an appropriate dolly or has it been built in place?
Reply:Could you cut out a 3'' band around the entire tank mostly cutting the metal and the take a sledge to the concrete ? Or get a hammer drill set on hammer only and do the same around center and then use cutting wheel ?
Reply:The only way I can get it up out of the basement is to rent a motorized appliance dolly, the kind someone would use to move a big gun safe up/down stairs. I'd rather not do that if there was some way to cut it up down there. I don't like the idea of using a cutting torch or plasma cutter down there. Steel cutting fiber blades stink up the place, I wasn't too keen about that but stink is temporary. The wife could go shopping somewhere for a while if needed.Maybe the suggestion of a sawzall would work. Will demo blades cut steel AND concrete?  The concrete lining is supposed to be about 1/2" thick.The gas powered demo saw sounds interesting, if I knew what blades were on it I might find one the right size to fit a circular saw. Maybe I'll check our rental place and see what blades they put on them.
Reply:Open the windows and place a box fan in one to move the stink. I tried cutting up a rolled over concrete truck mixer body one time with a torch. It was next to impossible due to all the concrete left inside. A diamond wheel will cut both I believe? If it was me, I would follow the guys suggestion of cutting a band out of the middle in sections, then bust through that concrete. Hopefully creating two halves.
Reply:let me know how it works out for you. i have one in my basement that's been sitting for a couple years.  i'm just about to start figuring out how to make it get gone.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Originally Posted by JD1The only way I can get it up out of the basement is to rent a motorized appliance dolly, the kind someone would use to move a big gun safe up/down stairs. . . .
Reply:Originally Posted by JD1The only way I can get it up out of the basement is to rent a motorized appliance dolly, the kind someone would use to move a big gun safe up/down stairs. I'd rather not do that if there was some way to cut it up down there. I don't like the idea of using a cutting torch or plasma cutter down there. Steel cutting fiber blades stink up the place, I wasn't too keen about that but stink is temporary. The wife could go shopping somewhere for a while if needed.Maybe the suggestion of a sawzall would work. Will demo blades cut steel AND concrete?  The concrete lining is supposed to be about 1/2" thick.The gas powered demo saw sounds interesting, if I knew what blades were on it I might find one the right size to fit a circular saw. Maybe I'll check our rental place and see what blades they put on them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sharon NeedlesIf that concrete lining is only 1/2" thick the hammer trick will work just fine. The steel will deflect with the hammer blows while the concrete will attempt to maintain its original shape and crumble off.
Reply:If it is only half inch thick concrete it will not be hard at all to break up with a few good swings of a sledge hammer. Then use a grinder and cutting blade. Mike
Reply:You could go to HF and buy a 7 inch grinder(@$40) and some cut off wheels .Cut around the tank(just the steel) then wack with a hammer .7 inch grinder is much faster and less wheels then a 41/2 inch .
Reply:Originally Posted by docwelderlet me know how it works out for you. i have one in my basement that's been sitting for a couple years.  i'm just about to start figuring out how to make it get gone.
Reply:Are you binding the discs in the cut? With a decent cutoff wheel you should be able to go all the way around without using a whole one.
Reply:You only want to cut just through the steel that way just wear the outer edge of the wheel.When you bury the wheel you wear all the way across the wheel thus it wears out faster
Reply:Electric wet demo saw. Yes it will cut through the metal AND concrete. Rental places have them. Wear goggles AND face shield, ear plugs AND earmuffs. Cuts like butter.RyanMiller Multimatic 200 tig/spool gun/wireless remoteMillermatic 350P, Bernard/XR Python gunsMiller Dynasty 350, Coolmate 3.5 & wireless remoteCK WF1 TIG wire feederMiller Spectrum 375 XtremeOptrel e684Miller Digital EliteMiller Weld-Mask
Reply:You don't want to bear down on a zip cut. I like to run it lightly along where I want to cut first which gives you a good line to follow. Then I run it back and forth as I progress with my cut if that makes sense. That seems to make the discs and grinder last
Reply:Originally Posted by Greg-r-uYou don't want to bear down on a zip cut. I like to run it lightly along where I want to cut first which gives you a good line to follow. Then I run it back and forth as I progress with my cut if that makes sense. That seems to make the discs and grinder last
Reply:It's done. I cut off a little more than the top 1/3, a neighbor helped me set that on the ground and I got a good look at the inside of the remaining piece. Very interesting cement, I'd never seen that kind before. EXTREMELY dense, it looked like flint - no wonder the plumbers gave up. They didn't know the right method. The technique of pounding on your cut line, cutting just as deep as the metal, pounding again, then through cutting worked great and was pretty quick, although stinky.The two pieces each seem to weigh about as much as a large appliance so someone is coming over today with an appliance dolly and we're going to haul it upstairs to the curb.