Oxy bottle failures

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Since I only work inside where things are relatively safe I found these stories told to me yesterday informative.  A guy who does outside work dropped by and we were talking about oxygen bottle failures.  He had seen several ones release their pressurized gas.  The first thing he said was that the bottles do not take off like a rocket.  There are no fins on the back so the things go in any possible direction: up down and sideways and spinning as they release. The other incident he saw was an acetylene and oxy bottle chained together against a railing.  The welder had used the railing to conduct his ground current back to his machine and somehow there was arcing on the acetylene bottle which ignited.  The blast of burning gasses was directed at the side of the oxygen.  He   was at the top of the bridge tower and was able photograph the flame.  Eventually the side of the oxygen bottle burst and the cart and bottles went up into the air spinning.  After it was over he found the oxy bottle and photographed a large bulge and opening on the side of it.  And that's why I prefer working inside a shop.  It doesn't pay as much but it is warm and dry plus life expectancy is better.Last edited by lotechman; 07-01-2005 at 09:06 AM.
Reply:It's not very nice having one bounce around the workshop with you in it though, I know of three or four shops that this has happened in. Luckily (for me) I wasn't in them at that time!Cheers Stephen
Reply:I seen a bottle fall outta the back of a supply truck once, cap on fortunately. Nothing happened but everyone hit the deck expecting the worse.  Though once we were doing a cutting operation and one of the guys near me dropped a small piece of hot metal right onto his hose.  It of course burned through the acetylene hose and the ensueing fire was something to see.  I got to the tank and turned it off before anything else happened.  But it was an addrenelen rush.  CHRIS
Reply:And good fun to watch!   I had the same thing taking a boiler out of a ship, the guy that did it didn't know which way to go!   I put the extingisher on it which got it out, then the boss moaned cause he had to do paper workabout it.Cheers Stephen
Reply:my uncle owns a concrete company.i worked for him over the summer and t guys were about 40 ft up in a lull with a basket and somehow the acetylene reg broke and burst into flames!its a 4x6 basket they were on the way down when it got about 10 ft up they jumped.someone got a fire extingisher and put the flame out but it blew gas out for a while.the oxygen tank was caddy corne to the acetylene tank.saftey first.
Reply:SAFETY FIRST?!!!!I have done a LOT of high work from a variety of man baskets. I have NEVER put the bottles in the basket!!!!!  The bottles stay on the ground, away from falling sparks.
Reply:Originally Posted by lotechmanThe first thing he said was that the bottles do not take off like a rocket.
Reply:fly like a rocket, but under the right conditions myself and other members of this board can verify that they do!
Reply:Originally Posted by TxRedneckI seen a bottle fall outta the back of a supply truck once, cap on fortunately. Nothing happened but everyone hit the deck expecting the worse.  Though once we were doing a cutting operation and one of the guys near me dropped a small piece of hot metal right onto his hose.  It of course burned through the acetylene hose and the ensueing fire was something to see.  I got to the tank and turned it off before anything else happened.  But it was an addrenelen rush.  CHRIS
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterand if you stand in the right place you can ride it too!!                            just like on the 3 stooges when they were on the rocket.. ...zap!
Reply:how much force would a oxy bottle be packing if it was 'set off'? our shop teacher pretty much says if it goes its gunna be going through the walls (welding area has a cinder block wall around it)ect...is this true or is he exagerating or can that actualy happen?
Reply:Originally Posted by yotawheelerhow much force would a oxy bottle be packing if it was 'set off'? our shop teacher pretty much says if it goes its gunna be going through the walls (welding area has a cinder block wall around it)ect...is this true or is he exagerating or can that actualy happen?
Reply:Yes, they WILL fly straight if you break them properly!Patrick
Reply:The brother of my father's friend was killed by an oxygen tank that toppled over breaking the valve..... I don't know the specifics of it but I know the tank struck him._________________Chris
Reply:Years ago when i worked at a rocket test installation I saw a 3,000 psi GN2 (nitrogen) bottle fall over with the cap off. It was a big one. The valve broke and the bottle took off like a dragster and buried the blunt end of the cylinder in the side of a hill about 25 yards away. It was fun to watch but definitely dangerous. I don't believe they found the valve.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:FROM: Welding Myths, Legends and Legacies. Fact or Fable? Originally Posted by denrepFact or fiction?Listen to this one:My co-worker insisted, - and held up well, to repeated detailed  questioning, - that in the navy, his shipmate would strap a belt to a hp cylinder and ride it when they broke the valve off for him!Could it be?
Reply:denrepopening one and breaking off the valve are 2 verry diferent situations. i have no dought that if you were foolish enough to strap your self to a tank and have the valve busted off it would drag you acrost the shop. how far would depend on several factors but the blast is short and forcefull so odds are you would stop befor too long due to resistance where the tenk alown is just steel sliding acrost the floor or flying around so it would make beter distance without you but would shourly pull you a bit if you straped in for the ride.even if you open the valve all the way its still a much smaller opening to release the presher than it would be if you just busted the vlave off. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Originally Posted by fun4now.denrepopening one and breaking off the valve are 2 verry diferent situations... ...i have no dought that if you were foolish enough to strap your self to a tank and have the valve busted off it would drag you acrost the shop......if you open the valve all the way its still a much smaller opening to release the presher than it would be if you just busted the vlave off.
Reply:I just measured the diameter of my argon bottle and it's about seven inches.  That's about 38 square inches.  With a 2000 psi bottle, even with the rapid decrease after breaking off the valve, that's 38 square inches with 2000 pounds on each square inch.  How much thrust is that?
Reply:Originally Posted by riley mcmillanI just measured the diameter of my argon bottle and it's about seven inches.  That's about 38 square inches.  With a 2000 psi bottle, even with the rapid decrease after breaking off the valve, that's 38 square inches with 2000 pounds on each square inch.  How much thrust is that?
Reply:If you were to think of the bottom of the cylinder as a piston, that would be the area that the pressure is acting against.  I know the volumn and mass of the gas leaving the bottle comes into the equation but that is above my knowledge.  There are equal pressures perpendicular to the movement of the gas.  The difference in pressure that causes the thrust is relative to the pressure and the area (square inches).  I think.  But I didn't make A's in high school.
Reply:its simple, you can open the valve and hold it due to it haveing to go threw the valve. snap it off and the tank takes off. seen it on mythbusters the other night also. it did propell the boat but not verry far or fast so i dont know how far it would drag a person, feel free to try it. i dont think you would have much luck holding on to it though.feel free to be as stupid as you feel the need to be, just take some pic's for us as we could all use a laugh. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:What you guys are looking for is the cross-sectional area of the opening in the end of the cylinder, NOT the cross-sectional area of the cylinder.In other words:If you break the valve off and leave a two square inch hole in the end of the cylinder, and your pressure is 2000 psig, you get 4000 pounds of thrust.It's the size of the hole not the size of the cylinder.2000 psig.....2 sq inch hole......4000 pounds of thrust.This would be true weather the cylinder is 10 inches in diameter or 1000 inches in diameter.Patrick
Reply:Originally Posted by Sober_PollockWhat you guys are looking for is the cross-sectional area of the opening in the end of the cylinder, NOT the cross-sectional area of the cylinder.In other words:If you break the valve off and leave a two square inch hole in the end of the cylinder, and your pressure is 2000 psig, you get 4000 pounds of thrust.It's the size of the hole not the size of the cylinder.2000 psig.....2 sq inch hole......4000 pounds of thrust.This would be true weather the cylinder is 10 inches in diameter or 1000 inches in diameter.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrep.....I just don’t  believe that the same cylinder if harnessed would lift a 4000lb load.....i still want to see some one stupid enough to strap one on and see what happens. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:At work, we have those big tanks.  Some are full of nitrogen which we use to service aircraft tires and accumulators, and others are full of 100% oxygen for breating on the plane in an emergency.  Anyways, one day I went and opened this huge cabinet that sat about two feet off the ground.  The last idiot that was in there didn't secure the bottles.  As soon as I opened the door, about 8 of those things came tumbling out onto the concrete.  I thought I was going to die!  One of the bottles hit on the nozzle and it only cracked it.  Thankfully it was the nitrogen and not the oxygen, but I still ran for my life.  We let that bottle sit there for a good 4 hours before we approached it!  HA!Matt in OKCLincoln 175HD
Reply:At my old job, some dumb *** cut the head off the oxy acetlyn torch. it was like a ww2 flame thrower snake, until the regulator safety valve purged the flame out of its valve,i quit that job.
Reply:i think the wrong person left. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.