Tank?

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As long as you secure the tanks together and keep them from rolling, moving, or sliding during transport, you have several options.
I usually use swimming noodles with bungee or ratchet tie downs to secure my tanks together and to the cargo hooks of my car.

1) Point the valves toward the passengers so if the valve shears off the tank will rocket away from you. (Highly unlikely though)

2) Alternatively you can carry the tanks so the valves are pointed to the side of your car.

3) An even better alternative would be to secure the tanks standing up, but you would need to really get some good straps and restraints to make it work. I'd also recommend a frame of some sort to assist you as well.

With the first two options you usually have a truck liner or floor liner to help keep the tanks from rolling. I usually go with option 2 since it's the most space efficient in my trunk.

Edit: It's actually not necessary to tie the tanks together, come to think of it. The point is you don't want them tapping each other or rubbing on the carpet during transport.
Keep static electricity from building up, and keep the tanks from being jolted. Those are the main points when transporting them.
 
Greetings RDRINK25 I usually position tanks valve to the front of the vehicle with bottoms toward the rear.
The thinking behind is that if a valve ruptured the tank fires off away from the persons in the vehicle.
I have carried them both ways but try to think about safety.
The best is to have them secured in a tank rack.
Be very mindful that loose objects can kill!

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
 
I was told the same thing but am getting conflicting info. 1. Being have the bottoms towards the rear in case it blows it goes out the back. 2. Being the valves face the back because if it blows the valves are what is going to blow?:dontknow: I guess I am going with sideways.
 
I was told the same thing but am getting conflicting info. 1. Being have the bottoms towards the rear in case it blows it goes out the back. 2. Being the valves face the back because if it blows the valves are what is going to blow?:dontknow: I guess I am going with sideways.

It the valve shears off then you'll have the tank that's shooting out, not the valve.
There's 3000psi shooting out of the tank, making the tank a rocket.
The valve on the other hand will lose momentum and propulsion as soon as it leaves the air stream from the tank.
The valve is heavy, but not as heavy as the tank.

There are some people who say differently because they think the valve will become a bullet, in reality the valve will shear off and shoot off in a haphazard direction while the tank will continue to be propelled as long as there's air shooting out of the tank.

Personally I'd rather be hit by the valve than by the tank.

Have you seen the mythbusters episode? It's kinda like that. :D



If it's any consolation, all valves have a bleeder disk that will burst from over pressure before the valve does.
The only way for the tank and valve to separate catastrophically would be if you were to super heat it in an inferno or physically shear the two from each other.
 
Thx thats what I needed to know? I still like your idea pointed to the sides!
 
Thanks, I like that way too. Keeps everyone else safe as well =]
 
In case of an accident where the Tank separates from the valve, the Tank body will become the bullet NOT the valve so plan accordingly (Tank body must NOT point towards the passengers in any configuration).

What g1138 said is it.
 
Put your tanks in whatever way you are comfortable with. The fact is that if something happens that has the force to shear a valve off, you have a lot more going on at that moment.

Also, soft weights make for good padding between the tanks. Then my bag goes on top of it all.
 
agree with Prostar - if you manage to shear a valve off whilst you're driving, you've just had a major collision and probably won't be in a position to worry about exploding tanks. You probably won't be in much of a position to worry about anything at all, actually.

The easiest and most convenient way is to load the tanks horizontally with the valve pointing to the rear of the vehicle - this just makes it easier to get the things in or out.

Remember that a tank can withstand 3000psi of pressure every time it's filled - a few knocks are not going to cause them to explode. If they did, I would be long dead by now and pretty much every boat I've ever worked on would have sunk.

Load them securely, drive carefully, and don't worry about it.

Cheers

C.
 

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