bimbo,
I did the pattern development myself and cut out using 9" angle grinder. Quickly made a folder out of 2"RHS and folded every 1" on the outside P.C.D. Easy enough if you have basic metal skills and tools. Otherwise look at plastic H.D.P.E tanks for settling. These can be bought from Rota mouldings in Perth. 250l cone bottom tank for around $400 but you cant stick a heating element in it. Settling only. Expect to spend at least 10 to 12 hrs for labour by the time you start pattern development and final weld up to a 44g drum.

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anyone looking at LPG bottles - find out who tests them or a depot - the one here in Oaks Estate (Canberra) usually has a supply of the 45kg and now and then the 90kg sizes - and u can normally pick them up for scrap at most.

90 kilo ones would be tops i reacon.
How many litres do ya recon you can get in one of those??
45 kilo ones make a nice 70 litre batch ( so hold more)

__________________
Cheers
Nick.

Roidio 2001 Holden Rodeo 4x4 2.8L TD. 2.5" Straight through exhaust sytem, heat exchanger shower system. 2" Body Lift,
And lots of fruit, B100 for 25,000 no problems.

Elsa 1983 Mercedes-Benz W123 300D. The Fastest Merc in Oz, Loving B100 Burgers

Gday Nick,Actually you can make a 80 litre batch.they hold 110 litres when full.Have made two of them for reactors.regards westwinds

Hi All,
I have cut 3 lpg tanks open so far with no problems. First you have to remove the valve after making sure that all the gas is out, then turn upside down and either use a waterblaster to wash it out for at least an hour or push a hose right up inside and leave it run for a few hours . Stand it upright again and fill to the top then put a 3/4inch bsp plug in to stop the water running out.
Lay it on its side and using a grinder with a cut off wheel cut around the lower edge of the top weld, make sure that you cut right on the edge though.Only cut in about 2mm and you will cut into a backing ring, if you are careful after cutting all the way around drive a chisel into the cut and the end will fall off. carefull you dont get your feet wet.
The tanks are not galvanized on the inside and are a little rusty but a wire brush will clean it up. I have used a 40lb bottle and can process 25 ltrs at a time and have started on another using a 100lb bottle.
If you think the tank still smells of gas redo the washing bit again Even after the top has been off for a week there is still a smell though.
Saltie

Request for ideas at the end of this piece please. Thanks
I made a cone bottomed tank by cutting the top and bottom from a 205 L drum then welding a 16 guage steel cone to an open end.
I had a sheet metal shop preform the cone in 2 halves for $50. (vertically separated rather than horizontally) then welded up both sides using oxy acetylene welding rather than mig or stick. Then welded it to the thick edge left on the drum. (16 gauge steel is easy enough to weld but hard to hand form neatly)
Welding a regular ball valve stop cock and bush into the opening completed the tank part of the job.

The cone was 500mm deep and along with the tap and bush the additional 'length' on the drum was about 650mm. This made it quite tall.
I then used 2 standard 205L drum lid clamps (the bolt closure type rather than the lever closure) which I bolted onto the strengthening ridges around the middle and bottom (where the cone was welded on) of the tank. Then welded heavy 40x40mm angle onto these clamps as legs to raise the tap off the ground far enough to get a standard 25L drum under. This allowed me to get a very strong support for the whole tank without having to actually weld the thin metal of the drum itself. It also has the advantage of being removable if ever I need to. Some bracing near ground level added necessary strength.

But.
I have been mist washing into the open top and all works well except that after i have drained the water from the bottom which runs off nicely through a clear hose, I then get a quantity of emulsion white gunk before i get any diesel. This tends to entrain itself into the diesel and I need to run off 10-15 L before I get clear washed diesel.
What should I do with this white emulsion and the slightly later emulsion/diesel mix.
Should I just wash more. If I do this will I eventually get to a 'no emulsion state" and get a quick transition from wash water to diesel as I run it off?

Is the wash water and emulsion harmful to the environment. Can I just tip it down the drain? What do others do with it?

(Why does everyone here have silly names?)

Thanks for any help
Tim