Propane tank in Michigan

[stee6043]

If any Michiganders are in the hunt for a tank check out the link below. I just saw this today on CL. Can't beat the price...


(broken link removed to http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/zip/1782825677.html)

 

[DaveBP]

At that price I'd go grab it in a minute. But let me share a word of caution with whoever goes to get it.

From the photo it looks like the tank is disconnected along the supply tubing . If the disconnected end is open and not plugged properly and the tank does not have at least a little propane still in it there is a distinct possibility that at some time in the past the valve was left open and the tank could "breathe". Daily atmospheric pressure changes will make the tank 'inhale' and 'exhale' and suck air into it. That can result in a propane/air mixture inside the tank.

Google-up the term "daisy cutter".

I would still take this tank for free even if I knew this were the case. You just need to handle it properly. If there is no liquid propane in the tank, spray something like WD-40 or some other oil all around the biggest fitting at the top and unscrew it from the tank. You don't want to strike a spark with a dropped wrench at this point, hence the oil. Soapy water might work just as well.
Get your garden hose over to the tank and put it down in the tank and then fill the tank completely with water. You want the tank pretty level so you don't have a trapped gas pocket above the point where the hose goes in.Filling the tank with water gets the explosive propane out and it is now safe to play with.

This process is going to stink like hell. Do this as far downwind from your house as your hose will reach. Borrow some more hose if you have to. Soil is pretty good at absorbing and decomposing the mercaptan used to make the gas smell but I wouldn't do this over my well, either.

Couple jugs of laundry bleach, a box of Oxyclean, or pool peroxide dumped in with that water are reported to kill the smell. I just pulled the drain plugs and all the other fittings from my two tanks and ran air through them with a hose for a couple months in the summer sun. Little 9-watt computer type fan ducted into the hoses was pretty cheap to run. Hardly any smell left.

 

[heaterman]

Well said Dave. "Empty" propane tanks seldom are and the consequences of mishandling one in that condition can be catastrophic.

Treat it like the bomb it is capable of being and you'll live to tell about it.