Of course it is, but if you read my post #28 in this thread you'll note where I mention I had thought about doing the same with a 500 gallon propane tank that was about a third full a few years ago but decided against it. As for the oil tanks, I may start cutting on one of them in the coming week. And of course, pictures or it didn't happen.
SG... please be sure (I'm sure you will) that oil tank has been flushed out with water. Our old oil furnace guy told me a story almost 40 yrs ago, about a guy who tried to cut a 275 gal oil tank and it had a very tiny amount of oil left in the tank. He said the guy was sure it wouldn't be a problem because it was "oil". The resulting fumes blew up and killed the guy instantly, and tore off the corner of his house. And, as I said, you prolly know all about this kind of stuff already...
I knew about putting water in a gasoline fuel tank to do any welding but didn't know the same would apply to fuel oil but it makes sense. Thanks for the tip!
Many good suggestions above. With any volatile fluid there is a certain degree of danger. I've cut a dozen fuel tanks or more, some with oil residue, some bone dry for years. They all smell of the oil fume, just some worse than others. A line of sparks from a sawzall shooting directly into liquid fuel oil does not seem to contain enough heat to initiate ignition....they just go out. A continual shower of sparks from an angle grinder or razor disc/Metabo may be a horse of a different color. For my fuel tank trailers, I cut a fairly large opening with the sawzall, then with the large opening there is no explosion potential. I then go to the Metabo/razor disc to do the majority of cutting. On a positive note, the only time I've ignited residual oil within the tank was using a oxy/acet AFTER the sawzall was used to create the larger opening eliminating the explosion potential. At that point nobody cares if the oil ignites or not.....at least I don't anyway. If you are so inclined, any inert atmosphere will definitely eliminate explosion or even burning because of lack of oxygen. The exhaust gases of a vehicle will do just fine for your project as compared to nitrogen vapor being the typical choice for professionals. But you only need it until you create a large opening in the tank. I have cut 500 gallon propane tanks filled with water in the middle of winter and frozen solid. I cut those with oxy/acetylene torches but only when frozen. It's not easy no matter what though. 500 and 1,000 gallon propane tanks are THICK. I am thankful that you only THOUGHT about it and didn't TRY it !!!! Apologies for the lengthy response. Be Safe.
I wouldn't be concerned about the length of your response. I've come to enjoy reading your posts as well as many others here, some with humor, some very clear and concise. Some a combination of the two. But all appreciated. I do have an angle grinder, but no fancy cutting wheels. Most often I use those for reshaping mauls and axes. I had originally picked it up for cutting rebar, but quickly learned there are easier and quicker ways. I have used the sawzall to open a couple of 50 gallon oil drums which I had turned into burn barrels, but that was after I took a wood chisel to start the opening. (like a can opener) So as you can see, I'm not a pro by any means. Just a homeowner that tends to get creative once in a while out of necessity. There may be times I do take unnecessary risks, but most of the time I try to think things through to determine if it is worth the risk. Not always though. (Like taking a motorcycle down a toboggan slide when I was young in the middle of winter. Total insanity on that one, with no thought to whether I might be injured or killed. I came out of it totally unscathed) Now that I'm older and more seasoned I tend to be more careful in my endeavors and plan well in advance every potential scenario to determine the best way to get the results I want. That includes being the safest way. AND, if I don't know, I do ask especially if there is a chance of injuring myself. The easiest would be to pipe in the exhaust from my truck if I can find enough tubing for the hook up. Otherwise I'll full the tank with water. It's a good thing we have a bit of warmer weather or getting wet (which I most likely would) could be a chilling experience. Thanks for your input!
I didn't get a chance to cut the one tank today, but I did move it into position and removed all the caps, valves and the float. I did look around, but couldn't find a tube long enough to hook the truck exhaust to the tank. So I guess I'll have to end up using water. The second tank I decided to turn upright and put in a rack that it had originally sat in when in use. That thing had some serious weight to it. It's one thing to flop the tank over on a cart and haul where I wanted it, even remove it from the cart and put on some landscape timbers. But to get it back in the rack and upright! Hollllly chitt! I looked at the float for that tank, and come to find out the tank is almost a quarter full. A lot of pushing and pulling, using anything available for leverage and I finally managed to get it into the rack and upright. It was getting dark when I did all of this, and tomorrow is another day.
I will be as careful as possible, but ................ if you feel an unexplained rumble, like on the Richter scale of about a 7, well, then you know what happened. I promise, I won't blow myself up.
No wonder it was so heavy. I was using my truck jack, some 2x4's,a couple other bars, and a pile of wood scrap just to get the thing off the ground. That was after I kind of had it tipped into part of the rack.
I do love spinach, and wheaties too. But I hadn't eaten either today. I did have some good protein though. Venison!
Not often you read that statement, eh Stinny? Where's that Jeff Dunham puppet(ATDT) when you need him?
Yeah, if it's one of those goofy oblong tanks that everyone with an oil furnace has , about 5 foot long, 18-20" wide, 4 foot high they supposedly hold 200 gallons (I'm not sure if it's my gallon or yours). With our tank, every inch of fuel is about 23.5 liters. That would be where the walls are straight across, not the bottom 3 inches.
