Cutting up oil drums

[BDG]

I have done quite a few and the technique is well discussed amongst those that do it to weld new things up such as wood burners, BBQs and the like. Here is how:

1. Ensure the bottle is empty. Once it is 'empty', press the nipple in the valve for a couple of seconds. More gas may come out. Do this until no more is coming out. Obviously, do not vent it all on one go. Do it outside, give it no more than a few seconds blast and give it plenty of time for the gas to disperse. Know the gas you are working with, some linger, some sink, some float. Venting an LPG bottle in a bund is a bad idea as it is heavier than air and will linger.

2. Remove the valve. Sometimes they can be a pain to remove. I go at it with a Stilson. If I get no joy, a large brass drift and a blacksmith hammer. You can sit astride the bottle to hold it in place. I know people who strap them to fence posts. You do not want to end up like this:



3. Flip it upside down and walk away from it for a few days so any remaining gas can drain out. You can skip this step if you really want to, but I prefer to.

4. Fill with water and then cut open. When I say fill, I mean to the top. Then put the bottle on its side and begin to cut. Water and electricity are not friends, so take it easy. As the bottle is on its side and you are cutting it from above, water should be draining out of the valve hole, both taking water away from you and pulling air into the bottle rather than gas residue coming out of the hole you are cutting.

If you have drained the gas from the bottle and filled it with water then drained it, the bottle will not have enough flammable hydrocarbons in to make the bottle go up like a bomb - the worst you are going to get is a small flare off.

This only goes for gas bottles that have contained LPG propane / butane, not oil drums or drums containing other chemicals. When I have cut oil drums in the past, I have made sure they have plenty holes in them and cut through the thin steel first to open it up so if anything did catch fire, it would not explode.

I would not use any drums that had contained other chems.