Does this look like it will work?

[Hood]

Seems like a right parlava when all you really need is a ramp that clips to the car. Slide the bottle up the ramp...

Tilting the cylinder is the problem, wet slidy or loose ground and it is not easy to control when it is getting tilted over.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you are not really in love with the car..
Make a couple of boxes that sit behind both of the front seats.
Make them the same hight as the center tunnel, basically giving you a flat floor in front of the rear bench seat. Maybe even put a couple of cups or straps on the top of them.
Open one rear Passanger door, tip the bottle and slide it in, when unloading you can just go round to the other rear door and drag it on through with the handle.
Might want to stick a couple of bits of old carpet to the outsides of both boxes so you can flap them down to protect the door sills!

 

[hotponyshoes]

The cylinder sliding around is easy to deal with, chuck a bit of old carpet on the ground first, or use one of the footwell mats from the car!

 

[Hood]

It is an estate and the back seats are almost permanently folded down as I need to get everything in.

 

[Hood]

Just extended the slot as such.

That should mean it is well past the tipping point when I am pulling it out and should make the hinge arms rotate with less effort.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Could you get another tail gate catch then you could just clip it to the hoop that's in the boot.

Does not look like you have enough room to fit something in there permanent!!

Unless you can just get a longer gas hose then you could leave the bottle permently attached to the ramp/loader?

 

[hotponyshoes]

Or, on another tangent,
How about pricing up the smaller bottles?
Not sure how much extra that makes the gas per litre but one advantage of having 2 smaller bottles over one large one is they will not both run out at the same time!

Also, the hobby weld /boc ultra bottles at 300bar have the same amount of gas in but are 1/3 smaller/lighter!

 

[Hood]

Could you get another tail gate catch then you could just clip it to the hoop that's in the boot.

Does not look like you have enough room to fit something in there permanent!!

Unless you can just get a longer gas hose then you could leave the bottle permently attached to the ramp/loader?

The whole assembly is less than 100mm wider than the cylinder so it will fit. The cylinder does stay in the car as does the power section of the welder. I have a 10m interconnect from the power unit to the wire feeder and then 8m from there with the push-pull torch so it gets every place I need.

 

[Hood]

Or, on another tangent,
How about pricing up the smaller bottles?
Not sure how much extra that makes the gas per litre but one advantage of having 2 smaller bottles over one large one is they will not both run out at the same time!

Too expensive that way, I already have 2 of the 33l/300bar cylinders (10m³) and I am going through one a week at the moment.

 

[Luke]

I've got an idea but no easy way to draw it as I'm not at home.

Put the slot in the arms, not the cylinder holder. Keep the arrow head at the outer end of the arm, pointing down.

Put the pivot point in the centre of mass of the cylinder.

Put the arm pivot point inside the car, so it cantilevers out and rests on a stop/roller near the edge.

Make the arm as long as useful, but not so long that it hits the roof.

Hopefully, the arm will be long enough to let the bottom of the cylinder fit in to the car.

No need to lift the arms until the cylinder is in and resting on the boot floor, by which point swinging the arm up will lock the cylinder in.

 

[mike os]

Y the mechanics are all wrong.... that will be hard to control once the arms approach vertical

A simple pivot would be better

If it's just grip you need why not make some strap on handles?

 

[Hood]

I've got an idea but no easy way to draw it as I'm not at home.

Put the slot in the arms, not the cylinder holder. Keep the arrow head at the outer end of the arm, pointing down.

Put the pivot point in the centre of mass of the cylinder.

Put the arm pivot point inside the car, so it cantilevers out and rests on a stop/roller near the edge.

Make the arm as long as useful, but not so long that it hits the roof.

Hopefully, the arm will be long enough to let the bottom of the cylinder fit in to the car.

No need to lift the arms until the cylinder is in and resting on the boot floor, by which point swinging the arm up will lock the cylinder in.

I had originally thought of the slots in the arms but reckoned it would weaken them to much, also if I remember they would be too long for the height I have, will revisit it though and see.

 

[Hood]

Y the mechanics are all wrong.... that will be hard to control once the arms approach vertical

A simple pivot would be better

If it's just grip you need why not make some strap on handles?

It is not just grip, I am getting older and knees getting more knackered so lifting is going to become a problem soon enough.

 

[mike os]

It is not just grip, I am getting older and knees getting more knackered so lifting is going to become a problem soon enough.

You would still be lifting the same weight...... plus the frame

 

[mike os]

As it is a u shaped holder on the edge of the boot to control it and a handle on the bottom of the cylinder would do the same job

There is no mechanical advantage I can see in the original design

 

[Hood]

You would still be lifting the same weight...... plus the frame

Not so sure about that as it will be resting on the bumber as it goes over and the hinges should take a lot of the weight off as it goes so I will be lifting in more of an arc..

 

[Hood]

As it is a u shaped holder on the edge of the boot to control it and a handle on the bottom of the cylinder would do the same job

There is no mechanical advantage I can see in the original design

My problem is controlling the cylinder as I tilt it over to rest in a holder, once the cylinder gets tilted too much the bottom can easily kick out, I know that from experience

 

[mike os]

Not so sure about that as it will be resting on the bumber as it goes over and the hinges should take a lot of the weight off as it goes so I will be lifting in more of an arc..

Surely that's a what you do now? Just without the frame?

 

[Hood]

The harbour has granite cassie blocks and they are very slidy.

 

[Hood]

Surely that's a what you do now? Just without the frame?

Nope, I grab the top and bottom and lift.