Philip West Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Im looking at buying a 30# or a 40# tank to help revent ice up...Will the 30 pounder help at all or would it best just to go ahead and buy the 40# tank ? thanks You have to take Life by the throat, then you need to chocke it until it spits up what you want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Norris Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 It would be best to get the 100# tank. They are not much more expensive than smaller tanks. Ice up should not be an issue with them. You will have to make fewer trips to get propane. Sometimes places charge a premium to fill smaller tanks (have to cover the costs of labor somehow) and sometimes they give a discount if you buy in quantity. If the bulk and weight of that large a tank is an issue then I would recommend constructing a manifold and connecting several, smaller, tanks together. Of course you could also try constructing a smaller, more fuel efficient forge. There is after all more than one way to skin a cat! ~Bruce~ “All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them." - Alfred Adler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guarnera Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Im looking at buying a 30# or a 40# tank to help revent ice up...Will the 30 pounder help at all or would it best just to go ahead and buy the 40# tank ? thanks I was told that freeze up is caused because we draw gas to fast for the surface area of the propane in the tank. So to keep from freezing up you need more surface area. So if the diameter of the bigger tank isn't much bigger then the smaller tank it won't do much. What you need to do is join 2 or more tanks together so you have more surface area. Even 2 or more small tanks run together will help to not freeze up. Or, after you have used some of the gas in the tank, you can tilt it a little to get more surface area. Or you could put the tank in a tub of water, that will dissapate some of the cold and keep it from freezing. So, if the bigger tanks are just taller, and not wider it won't help much. Now if they are short and wider, that's good. Hope this helps. Tony G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan B. A. Jackson Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 i would go with the 100. but is there anything wrong with ice build up? viva whatever country this is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Norris Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I was told that freeze up is caused because we draw gas to fast for the surface area of the propane in the tank. So to keep from freezing up you need more surface area. So if the diameter of the bigger tank isn't much bigger then the smaller tank it won't do much. What you need to do is join 2 or more tanks together so you have more surface area. Aha!!! You learn something new every day. Thanks Tony! The bigger tank does not ice up nearly as easily in my experience but, it can if you try to pull a lot of gas out of it. I have not ever had it ice up as badly as one of the smaller ones, to the point the flame starts to die back because the gas flow is so much less, just a little bit of condensation at the bottom. ~Bruce~ “All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them." - Alfred Adler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Erwin Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Probably goes along with what guarnera is going over, as the larger surface area lets more warm air take away to cold. The reason it gets cold is compressed gas, once it expands it gets quite cold, so as there is more room in the tank as it gets emptier, there is more room for the gas to expand making it colder. This also goes along with the fire piston but in reverse, if you compress the gas it gets hot igniting your tinder. My cousin was telling me of a experiment they did in his classroom where they took a can of pop put it in a tupperware container, and used one of those cans of air for cleaning keyboards and such, put the nozzle in the container and pressed it fill, as the gas expands into the container it drops the temp cooling the can of pop. The only problem they ran into/discovered was that the manufacturer had started putting bittering agents into the mix which left a nassty tasting residue on the can even after being washed. Bittering agents to help prevent intentional inhalation, which can kill you pretty darn quick because of the heavy gases in the can. My tank is a 40# and it'll start freezing up some as it gets empty and if I'm using it in welding where it's using a lot faster. Beau Erwin www.ErwinKnives.com Custom knives Bcarta Composites Stabilized Woods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip West Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 (edited) Well I bought a 40# tank today..It was only about $35 cheaper than the 100 pounder but I have several busted disks in my back so I decided to stay away from the 100 pounder..I still use a coal forge for most of my welding so I think the 40 pounder will do me alright...Actually I could have gotten a refurb 100 pounder for about 30$ cheaper than the 40 pounder but it was hard telling when I could have gotten it...I needed the tank now, not two weeks or three from now... I run my diamond back at 5-6 PSI most of the time.. Edited September 19, 2008 by KYBOY You have to take Life by the throat, then you need to chocke it until it spits up what you want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerrystagmer Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Well I bought a 40# tank today..It was only about $35 cheaper than the 100 pounder but I have several busted disks in my back so I decided to stay away from the 100 pounder..I still use a coal forge for most of my welding so I think the 40 pounder will do me alright...Actually I could have gotten a refurb 100 pounder for about 30$ cheaper than the 40 pounder but it was hard telling when I could have gotten it...I needed the tank now, not two weeks or three from now... I run my diamond back at 5-6 PSI most of the time.. I'm now runnning on 40's and I still have freeze up at 5psi but it is greatly lessened by both the size AND a water bath. With the 100lb tank I basiocly had no icing problems till the tank was near empty. We ran dual 100's for the foundry and it solved everything. I'm very close to just having Suburban Propane drop a big tank here. As they already come to fill 2 100 gallon tanks already for the house it seems to make sense as we are using more and more each day forging. Kerry Stagmer www.baltimoreknife.com www.fireandbrimstone.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip West Posted September 20, 2008 Author Share Posted September 20, 2008 Thanks, Ill probably make my stand to accomadate a #3 washtub to set the tank in if need be...So far the longest Ive run my propane forge is about three hours. That was on a 20# tank it was starting to ice pretty good..Thanks for all the replys and advice...LOL, feel free to keep it comin' You have to take Life by the throat, then you need to chocke it until it spits up what you want!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Finnigan Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 I have to use a plastic garbage can full of water to keep my 10 gallon tank from freezing. There is no way I could be hauling a larger one to get re-filled with my bulging lumbar disk. The garbage can takes up precious space in my small shop so I have plans to build a plywood box with mylar insulation for the tank. I would use a small ceramic space heater to flow warm (not hot) air around the tank. I have also kicked arouind ideas to make a heat exchanger to use a small amount of the excess heat from the forge but it is more involved then the box to build. The ten gal tank only freezes up when I am welding, forging wrought or making mokume. The flow for regular forging is not enough to freeze the tank. Everything I need to know I learned from the people trapped in my basement. I'm out of my mind but feel free to leave a message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guarnera Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Well I bought a 40# tank today..It was only about $35 cheaper than the 100 pounder but I have several busted disks in my back so I decided to stay away from the 100 pounder..I still use a coal forge for most of my welding so I think the 40 pounder will do me alright...Actually I could have gotten a refurb 100 pounder for about 30$ cheaper than the 40 pounder but it was hard telling when I could have gotten it...I needed the tank now, not two weeks or three from now... I run my diamond back at 5-6 PSI most of the time.. I have a 100# tank here doing nothing. When I was younger, and had a truck, I could use it. But now I have no truck, and I couldn't get it in or out of it if I did. I need to get a couple of 40#er's. Tony G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard van Dijk Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I use 2 tanks linked together they ara also in a bin of water and that works very well. On cold days I get an aquarium pump to pump the water to the forge where it passes through a spiral of copper tubing heating the water. Richard Richard van Dijk My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik markman Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Richard is back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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