Hi all, veteran of 25 years in solid waste and scrap metal. Currently operating a propane tank recycling business for the last 10 years.
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Hi all, veteran of 25 years in solid waste and scrap metal. Currently operating a propane tank recycling business for the last 10 years.
That sounds like an interesting line of work - do you stay busy with it or is it slowing down like everything else.
Welcome to the forum just the same.
Welcome to the forum. Anything I should know about recycling propane tanks other than brass, steel and of course the danger of propane? Mike
One yard here buys tanks, all others do not want them at all...
Around here the yards want you to cut them in half. I guess they figure if you've taken your torch and cut it in half then it should be safe for them.
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We stay busy most of the year, we remove the gas, filter it and resell it. We are a fee based business so the scrap price isn't our main concern, but this market is painful at best. Our specialty is the removal of one pound bottles, I designed a machine that extracts the gas and renders the bottle recycable. Thankfully, we don't have to sell scrap to produce income.Nice to be here, let me know if anyone has any LPG questions.
My advice is to be safe when handling any gas, propane is heavier than air so the chance for a catastrophic explosion is much greater if the conditions are right.
We use very little burning in our operation but carry extra liability insurance so the yards we broker to don't have to worry if we make a mistake. All bottles are handled and checked by at least two operators to make sure all valves have been removed. Yards with shredder operations are especially leery to accept bottles of any types. Shredder yards are some of our best customers.
Welcome from Maryland
can you show me how you process the 1 pound disposable propane tanks? i have 2 large gaylord bins full of them to puncture before the scrap yard deems them safe
tingQuote:
Originally Posted by Destructo_d
They are great targets for sighting in guns. Come to think of it, so are gas tanks and tires. Using lead bullets prevents the chance of an explosion. Now that I think of it, a gun is my favorite tool for scrapping. If you live in the city you can use a drill, just use a bit that does not spark.
I do not scrap a lot of propane bottles. The little ones, if I know they are empty, I include them in a shred load. The 20# bottles, I advertise and sell for $10. No one ever even tries to haggle. If they have even close to half a tank or more, I get $15 for them.
The problem you run into is that, as a technicality, puncturing a pressurized cylinder counts as "handling" a hazardous waste. There are devices (not cheap) which safely vent and capture propane (not a greenhouse gas, BTW) but that's still handling and there are protocols to observe. Even if you can find a safe way to discharge or punch them clean through and your yard accepts them, should regulators and State agents routinely check their sites, they will probably see your massive pile of "handled" waste and ask your yard operator for a way to contact his "processor." I don't think that will go well for anybody. The level of diligence on this point varies by state but it's a federal regulation which pressurized canisters fall under for the purposes of enforcement. You might skate by with a few at a time but you are probably looking at the better part of a ton and change and I think everyone will notice that happening. Then again, the EPA isn't in a strong place, at this point in history. Really, for the price that steel commands right now, it hardly seems worth the hassle. Call a local propane dealer or a canister service like AirGas and see what they know. We move all of our tanks through a propane service and it's just easier than thinking about it this much.Quote:
Originally Posted by Destructo_d