Oxy-acetylene torch to cut and clean scrap metal?

**Faceball** · 08-18-2016, 08:45 AM

I figured id share a story. My uncle worked on Caterpillar equipment for a big yard in California. He would tell us stories about having to repair fuel tanks on the underside of these earth movers and scrapers. I guess these tanks were huge, like 100 gallons or something. Instead of draining the tanks they would fill them to the brim with diesel fuel and weld on them to fill pin holes and cracks. I believe they were using a big MIG with an inert gas blanket tip or something.
Crazy, imagine welding on a tank that’s FULL of gas! The whole idea was to eliminate the O2 so things don’t go boom.
Amazing what you can do safely when you know what you are doing.

ps. Please don't try this. My uncle had over 40 years of welding experience and these were old man stories around the campfire. Be safe

**Smf-retired-user-0043** · 08-18-2016, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Faceball

I figured id share a story. My uncle worked on Caterpillar equipment for a big yard in California. He would tell us stories about having to repair fuel tanks on the underside of these earth movers and scrapers. I guess these tanks were huge, like 100 gallons or something. Instead of draining the tanks they would fill them to the brim with diesel fuel and weld on them to fill pin holes and cracks. I believe they were using a big MIG with an inert gas blanket tip or something.
Crazy, imagine welding on a tank that’s FULL of gas! The whole idea was to eliminate the O2 so things don’t go boom.
Amazing what you can do safely when you know what you are doing.

ps. Please don't try this. My uncle had over 40 years of welding experience and these were old man stories around the campfire. Be safe

Interesting story.

Would work with diesel but not with gasoline.