Old Oxy Act cylinders

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Hi.  I have this old.  must be antique  set of  old   B0C.  cylinders sitting in my shed. I brought them from the  UK  over twenty years ago.  and never could get them filledor  exchanged  here in  Manitoba.   Any  suggestions  what to do with them?  other thanscrapping  them.    Thanks.Last edited by Josey; 06-09-2021 at 02:20 PM.
Reply:They make great wind chimes or bells,,I cut a 300CF oxygen bottle with a 9X16 saw, and hung both halves.The wind chimes sell for BIG $$$ in the right market.There are lots of YouTube videos,,,
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Originally Posted by SweetMK

They make great wind chimes or bells,,I cut a 300CF oxygen bottle with a 9X16 saw, and hung both halves.The wind chimes sell for BIG $$$ in the right market.There are lots of YouTube videos,,,
Reply:Maybe a rocket great to sell to to teenagers with match.

Originally Posted by Josey


Hi.  I have this old.  must be antique  set of  old   B0C.  cylinders sitting in my shed. I brought them from the  UK  over twenty years ago.  and never could get them filledor  exchanged  here in  Manitoba.   Any  suggestions  what to do with them?  other thanscrapping  them.    Thanks.
Reply:Old doesn't matter as long as it still tests well.There are pics on the internet of bottles with World War 1 dates and military proof marks  still in service.I've seen those wind chime bells.I hate the extra noise, no need for it.Nothing wrong with silence.They make great compressed air tanks, super high ratings thousands of PSI, lots of safety factor.Pull out the valve, it's restrictive.Maybe 1/8" orifice insidePut normal 3/4" pipe fittings in it.Parallel them together, mounted upside down with an auto drain on it.Last edited by 12345678910; 06-09-2021 at 06:05 PM.
Reply:I had one too.  The guys here turned me onto "stumps" so I made it into one.


Yeswelder MIG-205DS(3) Angle Grinders at the ReadyJust a hobbyist trying to improve
Reply:

Originally Posted by 12345678910

Pull out the valve, it's restrictive.Maybe 1/8" orifice insidePut normal 3/4" pipe fittings in it.Parallel them together, mounted upside down with an auto drain on it.
Reply:For the OP, get the cylinders tested. Unless they're rusted or damaged cylinders can be in service indefinitely.Acetylene cylinders don't have asbestos. It could have been pretty dangerous cutting and welding on an acetylene cylinder. Below is short blurb on acetylene cylinders.  Acetylene cylinders differ from other compressed cylinders in that they contain a porous filler material (or mass), and a solvent in which the acetylene is dissolved. If acetylene were to be stored as a compressed gas in cylinders (in the same way as other gases) it would be very unstable and could decompose explosively. For this reason, it is dissolved in a solvent, which allows greater quantities of the gas to be stored at a lower pressure in a safe manner.
Reply:

Originally Posted by 12345678910

Old doesn't matter as long as it still tests well.There are pics on the internet of bottles with World War 1 dates and military proof marks  still in service.
Reply:We one supplier that purchased tanks made in late 1930's from Germany they tested good just put blinders on for stamp used by Germany Army.  One group would not buy from that company. It was strange to see that stamp in America. Dave

Originally Posted by danielplace

Cylinders from UK may not possess the proper approval stamps needed and may not be able to e certified for that reason.
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Just sharing what I read...I cut it with a bandsaw after it wouldn't fill with any water at all. I cut the protruding material with a Sawzall, threw it in the fire pit, and tried to light it off. Smoldered for a minute, then kept going out. When welding, the worst was the acetone kept contaminating the mig beads.Yeswelder MIG-205DS(3) Angle Grinders at the ReadyJust a hobbyist trying to improve
Reply:As Shootr mentioned, one of the handiest tools in the shop is the metal stump.  They're great for shaping sheet metal, and I've used mine to make dishes from .125" flat as well as turn rings in 1x1/4" bar.Just fill it up with all kinds of extra mass if you can to deaden the ring and keep them from bouncing around.  Sand works really great if you add a bit of oil to prevent corrosion on the inside.
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Originally Posted by smithdoor

We one supplier that purchased tanks made in late 1930's from Germany they tested good just put blinders on for stamp used by Germany Army.  One group would not buy from that company. It was strange to see that stamp in America. Dave
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Originally Posted by VaughnT

As Shootr mentioned, one of the handiest tools in the shop is the metal stump.  They're great for shaping sheet metal, and I've used mine to make dishes from .125" flat as well as turn rings in 1x1/4" bar.Just fill it up with all kinds of extra mass if you can to deaden the ring and keep them from bouncing around.  Sand works really great if you add a bit of oil to prevent corrosion on the inside.
Reply:

Originally Posted by Shootr


Just sharing what I read...I cut it with a bandsaw after it wouldn't fill with any water at all. I cut the protruding material with a Sawzall, threw it in the fire pit, and tried to light it off. Smoldered for a minute, then kept going out. When welding, the worst was the acetone kept contaminating the mig beads.
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Originally Posted by danielplace

Cylinders from UK may not possess the proper approval stamps needed and may not be able to be certified for that reason.
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Originally Posted by Welder Dave

With the millions of cylinders out there, I'd bet there are a lot that go from country to country and have to meet pretty common standards. The UK isn't a 3rd world country where anything goes. What's interesting is I saw a video years ago from BOC in the UK where they lay the cylinders down and kick them to move them. They can roll several at a time using this technique but then have to stand them up. It was odd to see them rolled on the ground like this.
Reply:That's very interesting and informative. I've never had to inspect cylinders or looked a lot of them over to see if they were DOT or UN/ISO. I would suspect most cylinders, especially the larger ones, would meet the higher specs. of UN/ISO. Would be interesting to know if there are a lot of DOT only cylinders out there in 244 size which is the most common.
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Originally Posted by Bob

Stick a magnet or two on the sides...
Reply:Bowling ball mortars are a popular use for old high pressure cylinders but probably illegal outside the US.