Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello all, I'm in the process of making a diy grill out of a 20lb propane tank. I made a mistake cutting out the opening and now have to weld the piece of metal back on. I have a Lincoln 225 ac welder and some 6013 5/64 rods and 3/32 rods. I measured the thickness of the metal and it's a little thinner than 1/8th thick. I'm just a hobbyist welder, so I'm not an expert. any tips on how to weld this without burning through? also, do I need a chimney on this, or can I just keep the door open. Thanks

How did you cut it? Obviously it’s not full of gas anymore. I would guess the 3/32 6013 at about 75 amps would be ok.

nope there's no gas in it. I used my angle grinder on it.

If you had 7018 in a 3/32 I’d suggest about 70 amps. Do you have a tig option?

burnttoast wrote:nope there's no gas in it. I used my angle grinder on it.

Were you a little nervous using the angle grinder (sparks) to cut it? I dont know if it is the same as a gasoline tank, as far as fumes left in the tank.

ljdm1956 wrote:

burnttoast wrote:nope there's no gas in it. I used my angle grinder on it.

Were you a little nervous using the angle grinder (sparks) to cut it? I dont know if it is the same as a gasoline tank, as far as fumes left in the tank.

I've done it before, just remove the connector off the top, fill with water, then empty and let dry for a bit before cutting. Once you fill it with water, it's pretty safe after that. You can add a bit of dish soap to ease your mind.

As has been said, purging a propane tank is as easy as filling it with water. Dawn dish soap and some TSP can help a lot in getting the smell out.

If you are going to use steel strapping around the door it helps to make the side cuts for the door and enough of the top and bottom cuts to weld on the strap and hinges before cutting the rest of the top and bottom seams. That will cut down on the likelihood that the door will want to spring out of shape when it gets cut free.

Lance

got the metal welded back on. used 3/32 6013 rods. I have a lincoln 225ac welder. no option for tig. had a burn through because of a slight gap. had to go over it a few times to close the hole. I had taken the valve off and flushed it out a few times with water last summer. so I was pretty sure there wasn't any gas in the tank. I watched a video where this fabricator who builds bbq grills in his backyard had an explosion while trying to tack a 55 gallon drum. luckily he wasn't seriously hurt. here's the video. at 4:31 he explains his mishap. https://youtu.be/C9218a8_L1Q?t=12s

see how he had the bungs in the tank. big mistake.
simply removing the bungs drops the explosive factor by a lot.

burnttoast wrote:I watched a video where this fabricator who builds bbq grills in his backyard had an explosion while trying to tack a 55 gallon drum. luckily he wasn't seriously hurt. here's the video. at 4:31 he explains his mishap. https://youtu.be/C9218a8_L1Q?t=12s

I have watched many of his videos and I have a love/hate feeling for him. He's Hillbilly Fabrication at it's best, and I can't help but admire the DIY effort he exerts, but he's always doing some dumb stuff like tack welding with a mig and no gloves or sleeves on, one needs to watch him and understand what NOT to do what he does. He often tacks just a couple inches from his fingers with no gloves on...

He doesn't seem to worry about the UV either, often no protection on his arms, just not a very good way to weld, IMO.

It's amazing that he builds so many smokers and 'ques without getting hurt more, but somehow he survives. He sure got a blast in his face on that one, cause he's pretty char'd after the tank exploded on him...

Alan

I've watched several of his videos also. he may be a hillbilly. But he does some serious grill works. I too was surprise that he doesn't wear gloves when he's tacking. sometimes when I'm tacking I can still feel the heat. and that's wearing welding gloves!

burnttoast wrote:I've watched several of his videos also. he may be a hillbilly. But he does some serious grill works. I too was surprise that he doesn't wear gloves when he's tacking. sometimes when I'm tacking I can still feel the heat. and that's wearing welding gloves!

I agree, he does build some amazing smokers and grills. He has some interesting techniques also, some that are very useful for a DIY builder. As an example, he doesn't have a large brake so he will grind half way through the metal and bend it to the proper angle, then weld the seams. Pretty resourceful for someone without a lot of tools. He represents a part of America that we can't ignore, but just need to sort out the swarf as he has some great ideas.

His videos are a bit difficult to watch at times as he does a lot of selfie type videos...but again, many are useful.

Alan

I've used them for several projects. I air them out, shoot a hole in them, air them some more. Use a fuse of bed sheet dipped in wax, and burn them out.

Last time I used one to patch a brake air tank on an antique truck. It was built with a mounting bracket that formed a dish on top of the tank. Gunk accumulated, and rusted a pin hole in the top.

After cutting the tank, it laid in the junk pile a week. My neighbor called. From 100 yards away, she could smell "Gas".