Any one thinking of cutting a drum or Gas cylinder open?

[Wendelspanswick]

When I first set up my forge I used one of those Earlex wet and dry vacuum cleaners on blow to provide the air. Lunchtime came so I turned the vacuum off, shoved a lump of wood into the coals to keep it smouldering and off I went. An hour later I walked back into the workshop, a gentle wisp of smoke still rising from the forge so I flicked the switch for the vacuum...










BOOOOOMMM!
The noise was tremendous, all the dust and crap got blown up into the air and my ears were ringing for about an hour!
The only thing left of the vacuum was the motor assembly, the plastic canister had shattered into a load of shards which luckily had been underneath the forge and had only peppered my legs!
I guess the coal gas formed by the baking coal had sunk back down the air feed into the canister of the vacuum and when I flicked the switch a spark from the motor had ignited the gas creating the perfect bomb.
So if you ever set up a coal or coke forge it makes sense to shut the air control before you turn the blower off.

 

[addjunkie]

All can be done safely but the CAN BE is the part theres too many people without a clue doing these type things i seen where a lad was killed welding an oil tank purely as he wasn shown the proper procedure .
Theres too many lads that know a little and taking on work they shouldn .
Its good to see companys getting fined as theres too much lack of health &safety and as most know only way to show companysa problem is hit there bank accounts

This is so true, but every year there are work place incidents with either hoteork and gas or a pair die in confined spaces. Nothing new, and it will happen again.

I do this stuff for a living for an oil company, if it goes wrong Im the one who get the blame, the hoops we jump through to weld inside a vessel etc are all there for hard learnt reasons.

Some of the things and advice i have seen on the tinternet about cutting and welding gas bottles makes me cringe!

 

[dannyp]

there is a much more fun way of opening barrels up.

you just need some electric igniters/matches ( the model rocket mob use them ) a small cup full of thinners and a a long length of 2 core flex. you wont belive just how big the bang can be from less than 100ml of thinners

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ You're not with the SAS are you?

 

[skotl]

^^ You're not with the SAS are you?

??

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I was thinking more along these lines, since he's based in Herefordshire

 

[colnerov]

He can't tell you, it's confidential. If he did, he'd have to shoot you.

 

[skotl]

He can't tell you, it's confidential. If he did, he'd have to shoot you.

Or fly you to Stockholm...

 

[dannyp]

^^ You're not with the SAS are you?

defantly not, the whole running round hideing in hedges in the rain isn't my sort of thing and no way would anyone ever let me loose with the toys that lot get to play with.

 

[dannyp]

i only found out how big the bang was after throwing an empty 25ltr on the bonfire,,,,,,,,,,,,, that was nearly a new pants moment then the thought of ummw at would a 205 go like i wonder.

was thinking about an idea i had the other day i recon i chould have a lot of fun makeing health and safety induction vidios

 

[Neckieman]

i only found out how big the bang was after throwing an empty 25ltr on the bonfire,,,,,,,,,,,,, that was nearly a new pants moment then the thought of ummw at would a 205 go like i wonder.

was thinking about an idea i had the other day i recon i chould have a lot of fun makeing health and safety induction vidios

You need to survive making the first one to make more...........

 

[dannyp]

well i'm still here so far id like to think i've got relativly good at getting out the way, running away, and hideing far enough away. i would also like to think that when i do get it wrong on the scale of things i bounce reasonably well.

 

[Wedg1e]

When I first set up my forge I used one of those Earlex wet and dry vacuum cleaners on blow to provide the air. Lunchtime came so I turned the vacuum off, shoved a lump of wood into the coals to keep it smouldering and off I went. An hour later I walked back into the workshop, a gentle wisp of smoke still rising from the forge so I flicked the switch for the vacuum...
BOOOOOMMM!
The noise was tremendous, all the dust and crap got blown up into the air and my ears were ringing for about an hour!
The only thing left of the vacuum was the motor assembly, the plastic canister had shattered into a load of shards which luckily had been underneath the forge and had only peppered my legs!
I guess the coal gas formed by the baking coal had sunk back down the air feed into the canister of the vacuum and when I flicked the switch a spark from the motor had ignited the gas creating the perfect bomb.
So if you ever set up a coal or coke forge it makes sense to shut the air control before you turn the blower off.

We had a lad at school called Charlie Slater and his big moment came when we were doing some forge work and came back in after a break; he pressed the gas and air buttons in the wrong order and filled the place with soot, covering himself in coals and getting a good yelling-at from old man Liddell