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Comment by orangepurple | Hacker News Reader

I seriously hope you filled that propane tank full of water then drained it completely and left it upside down before cutting into it. Hole pointing down. This is an extreme fire and explosion hazard because propane sinks to the bottom of the tank.

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It was in my buddy’s shed. If it is a tale of wisdom you seek, turn back now.

Ha!

Yup!! We had a neighbor with a propane fueled electric generator. He wanted to get it running so that he could use it on his boat. Soooo, Dad helped him in his garage. They kept cranking the generator trying to get it going.

Right, they were accumulating propane on the floor of the garage!

Then they got the generator running and KABLOOEY!!! The garage burned to the ground. Dad and the neighbor both ended up in the burn ward of the hospital!!

Lesson: Be careful with propane!!

The good news: They didn't burn and sink his boat and have to swim.

FWIW if you need to cut into a tank like this, a sawzall is a bit safer as you can operate it more slowly and "tear" the metal open. But the safest tools are like a giant can-opener for use on things like oil drums. Angle grinder... I can't imagine sparks not happening.

It also gets into the pores of the steel which can be enough to explode.

Steel has pores???

Technically, it has grains. As it hardens, the liquid steel stuff clumps together not too unlike bread, with the boundary and grain size / mix being factors that affect the quality of the steel.

https://thermalprocessing.com/metal-urgency-determining-aust...

More like cast iron, and some lower-grade steels. Higher-grade steels tend to have their pores closed off, the grains welded shut/together as a part of the mechanical processing.

Sorry, not being technical. The pits is probably a better way to put it. Point being just because the tank is empty doesn’t mean it’s safe. Should still fill with water.

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