Oxy-Acetylene and other types of fuel cylinder dangers.

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NuggetHuntingFool

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
224
Location
Michigan
I've always enjoyed any type of welding. A close friend was a competitor in national welding competitions and I've been around people that weld nearly my entire life. I've never welded as a full-blown career, but I was employed at welding shops and have hundreds of hours at all types of welding under my belt. Especially die welding with TIG/Heli-Arc. These were the days before I decided to move into the IT and networking fields.

Acetylene is probably the most overlooked and one of the most dangerous chemicals used in refining. One can easily attain a false sense of security when dealing with fuel cylinders.

------NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THEIR LETHAL POTENTIAL! -------

Especially Acetylene!
Inside of the tank is filled with Acetone. If you release or store Acetylene at more than 15 PSI it becomes violently unstable and explodes spontaneously. Even laying Acetylene tanks on their sides can be a costly mistake. Flashbacks can also occur if you do not prepare your torch for proper ignition and storage EVERY TIME. These habits are as important as the 4 rules of firearm safety! I've pieced together a few sources of info for this post.

Gas Pressure: One cause of fires and explosions is high acetylene pressure. When more than 15 pounds of pressure is used, acetylene becomes unstable and decomposes explosively.

Burn back: If your oxygen cylinder is low or empty, reverse flow of gas may occur. The fuel gas, being at a higher pressure, can travel up the oxygen line and mix with gas in the hose, regulator and cylinder. If you light your torch without purging the lines, a burn back may occur with explosions in the hose, regulator, or cylinder.

Backfire: The same thing can happen with high oxygen pressure and low fuel gas pressure if a backfire occurs, which is usually caused by holding the cutting torch too close to your work. This causes gas starvation of the cutting flame and results in the flame being sucked into the torch head. Usually you will hear a popping sound that turns to a whistle when this happens.

Flashback: When a backfire takes place in a mixing chamber, unless you shut off the oxygen valve, the flame burning in the torch head may ignite gases in the hoses and result in a flashback. A flashback is an explosion that progresses through the torch, hoses, regulators, and into the cylinders. Consequence can range from a burst hose to a violent explosion of the regulator and cylinders.

There are several things you can do to help prevent flashbacks, fires and explosions:

If using acetylene, keep the pressure below 15 pounds.

Purge your hoses before lighting the torch.

Never light your torch with a mixture of fuel and oxygen. After purging the lines, light the torch with only the fuel gas valve open.

Check valves should be installed on both torch inlets and operating properly. Check valves can stop the reverse flow of gases, but will not prevent flashbacks.

To prevent flashbacks, flashback arrests must be installed on the outlets of both regulators and/or torch inlets.

Never put oils, grease, or flammables on the Oxygen regulator, the threads, or the lines. It can spontaneously ignite.

Always secure cylinders in an upright position with CHAINS!

Never transport cylinders with regulators still attached!

Never "Roll" or "Walk" cylinders and always use a hand-truck or a dolly!
"My friends have seen gas supplier employees walking TWO cylinders at once, criss-crossed rolling them at the same time. A very STUPID practice!"

Never transport a cylinder without the valve cover screwed on! NEVER!

My welding teacher in High School (yes I know, awesome class) was employed as a welder on the banks of the Detroit River. Somebody dropped a cylinder and the valve cracked off of it. It was found across the river and embedded itself four feet deep in Canadian Soil!


Be safe everybody!

Best Regards.
 
Thank you for this safety tip. I saw the results of an oxygen cylinder on a third floor hopital office explode. It went through every concrete floor to the basement and buried itself in the ground just below the basement concrete floor. Always think and practice safety. PM's are worthless if you loose your life over it. If you don't practice safety, please get into coin and bullion collecting as a hobby. Your family will appreciate you dying in bed of old age. And your grand children will oouuuh and aaaaahh over your collection.
 
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