I have a spare propane tank I'd like to use as an air tank for inflating tires and such. Does anybody know of a safe way to take the valve assembly out of it?
OMT ..... Milton makes this kit and I think Lisle makes one as well. I have it and fill it to like 80#. Works well for its intended use. You don't NEED to use Freon tanks, those tanks from party balloons work just as well. MIL-S682 Milton R12 Air Tank Conversion Kit - tooldesk.com
Never done it but thought about it. I just ended up buying a 5 Gal portable air tank from Princess Auto (similar to Harbour Freight) on sale for about $30 a few years ago. I figured I would spend at least that in fittings, hoses and gauges etc.
I did a conversion to an old 20# lp tank and have used it for many years. It is slightly convenient but probably wasn't worth the hassle. It doesn't hold much air. Simply put a big azz pipe wrench on the old valve and twist it off. There was a loktite type sealant on there but it came apart. I then flooded it with water and dumped a few times. Pretty stinky. Then brass fittings to suit. I like it for very small jobs like inflating lawn mower tires when I don't want to unroll 1000 feet of air hose.
Sometimes smaller is better. When my old small air compressor broke, i bought a much larger capable one. Kept the old tank, removed the motor and compressor part and added fittings. now it can be used either as a portable air tank, or in-line with the big compressor for even more capacity.
For father's day I bought a 99$ pancake air compressor. It is slightly heavier than the recycled propane tank but it has a 6 gallon, 150 psi tank and a pump. Gotta say, I wouldn't waste much time on converting that l.p. tank.
Getting the valve out of the top is about the biggest PITA. I had to change 4 tanks at work that were original installed air receiver/accumulators. We ended up sticking a pipe through the top handle and using a cheater pipe on a wrench to get the valve to break free
Did the same with a 20 gal horizontal on wheels. Put in 1/2" and 1/4" ports. 1/2" port will run a 1" impact and get 7-8 lugs off a big truck axle until compressor recovers tank. Prolly should supply the small tank from compressor with 1/2" line but it works for my needs. 400' of hose in the shop. Handy for workin on stuff if it breaks in equipment yard. Also have a 150 gallon tank in shop on its own line for air capacity when doing major tire changes. Have a 5 gallon in service truck for car/pickup/mower tires. Got a nail in service truck tire on a service call not long ago and saved its own azz. Those 5 gallons are great but usually only good for one tire.
I have power packs that have a air hose option on them. They do the trick every time. I have a few kept charged for backup for our C paps in case of power outages. That way no getting up and messing with a generator in the middle of the night.
I teed a 100 lb. tank with shut offs and disconnects into my system. It helps out with the volume of air when using something that uses a load of air and is also portable to throw into the back of the truck. It took forever to get the smell out of it even after washing it out multiple times. Gary
with the top handle on the tank there is limited swing angle for the wrench. We used a ratchet strap to hold it to the 4"steel table leg, pipe through the handle and I can't recall the valve wrench size but pipe wrench' s won't work no room to fit or turn them
If your tank also has the female threads inside the newer style male coupler ,,, how about one of these . Propane LP Gas Fitting Full Flow POL Connector 1/4" MNPT Then screw a Milton quick connect on or a short pig tail fill hose . Use the existing valve as a fill/dump shutoff.
