acetylene tank disposal

[Landreo]

My son's girlfriend's grandmother asked me to look at a welder and give her an estimate as to what it may be worth. Her husband died years ago and she wants to sell the welder. The welder was towed to my place and got it running. It also had a gas setup on the same trailer with a large 300 cf acetylene tank. I have no idea how old but from what I believe is the last hydro date appears to be from the 1980s. Can't determine if it is a leased tank or not but no local dealer will take this tank and basically tell me to run from this setup as fast as I can. I know the tank may have asbestos inside as part of the filler so I am reluctant to cut the tank myself and scrap it. I am trying to do some leg work to help her dispose of the tank. I cannot find any local recycle places that would take the tank. She could place on craig's list and stick someone else whith the tank but that is not what they what to do.

Any ideas?

[Dale Shaw]

target practice with some armor piercing ammo

The pitts when you can't even give stuff away without negative ramifications.

[Eugene]

Stand way back. Shoot a couple holes in the tank. Let air out a couple of weeks. Cut a big hole in the tank or cut the tank in half - scrap it out.

[bob in CT]

They have a filler in them,some used balsa wood, and that was filled with acetone. Plus an asbestos filter at the top. I would not follow the above advice on my property. You can try calling these folks to find out what the damages are- Not cheap, I imagine. http://www.cylinderrecycling.com/index.html

They are in Massachusetts, so it is probably not a viable option. My town has a hazardous waste collection day twice a year, but I am not sure if they would take something like that. This has been a looming problem for years in the gas business.

[Rob in NH]

i guess renting mine is a good thing

[Boss Hog]

There should be a name on the tank, it belongs to some co. Well in Va you can not own the large tanks be it Ox or Acy. You use to be able to buy life time rites but no more all are leased here IF it is the large tanks.
I am glad I dont have it here

[Barnyard]

I agree with Bob, don't follow the above recommendations. You may be in worse shape than the tank if things go wrong.

Have you tried these guys?

Praxair
112 Lachicotte Rd
Lugoff, SC 29078
(803) 438-9252

[Landreo]

I talked with my dealer which is Praxair and they basically told me to run as fast as I can from this tank. The original dealer was Sunox from Charlotte, NC. No longer there. Merged with Air Linde?

This may not be a leased tank and the Grandmother would not know for sure.

If I knew for sure it did not contain asbestos then I would just cut and scrap the tank. I don't need my land to turn into a superfund site so no cutting for now.

No good dead remains unpunished and I would like to help the owner but I may just remind them that the welding trailer is still sitting in my driveway and it is time to bring it back home.

Thanks for the responses.

[Super A]

If I knew for sure it did not contain asbestos then I would just cut and scrap the tank.

Thanks for the responses.

As previously mentioned, asbestos is the least of your worries if you decided to cut it.

Al

[v w]

We're lucky here. We have a tax funded hazardous waste disposal. Never took large cylinders but do not doubt they would take them. I have taken the small torch type. They also take old medicines, electronics, oil basted paint and about any other nasty stuff including some stuff from my mother's garage that I could not identify. The only thing they won't take that I know of is old air conditioners and dehumiditifiers. Vern

[Rudi]

We have HazMat disposal days twice per year - at varying locations within Metro. Also you can take it directly to our Waste Management Facility which has a HazMat facility. They would most likely send the tank to one of the local pressure vessel folks such as DiTech or Neighbourhood Recycling. The do the majority of pressure vessel rehab/recycle. Should have a facility in your area I would think.