Tank?

[g1138]

So, you think the valve just sits still? If so, you need to brush up on your basic physics.

Of course, getting hit by a valve is probably more survivable than getting hit by a tank. But both are going spoil your day....

Where a proper cylinder cage isn't available, I've always laid my cylinders with the valve facing rear. In the event of a forward collision, the valves won't get impacted if the cylinders slide forwards. In most vehicles I've used, it has been impractical to store the cylinders sideways.

No, I sure the valve moves.
What I meant to say was that it's the tank that's going to do most of the moving. The valve will shoot off and cause some major damage, but not as much as the tank.
I tried to clarify this in my other posts on the first page =]

 

[DevonDiver]

It'll move enough to blow through a cinder block wall and embed itself 3' deep in an earth embankment. That's what happened at a dive centre I used to dive with in the UK. The cylinder blew through the opposite wall..and shot a few hundred meters across a lake.

Enclosed in a car... you're gonna get blitzed by the blast either way...

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

I never gave it much thought. I put my tanks in with stuff next to them and on top of them and go dive. I have a suburban so I usually am hauling SEVERAL tanks and gear to the dive site so If one blows I am F*$#ED

 

[g1138]

It'll move enough to blow through a cinder block wall and embed itself 3' deep in an earth embankment. That's what happened at a dive centre I used to dive with in the UK. The cylinder blew through the opposite wall..and shot a few hundred meters across a lake.

Enclosed in a car... you're gonna get blitzed by the blast either way...

Whoa. I didn't think the valve had enough mass to even make that possible.
Guess I'll always be stacking my tanks sideways from now on.

 

[BoltSnap]

Whoa. I didn't think the valve had enough mass to even make that possible.
Guess I'll always be stacking my tanks sideways from now on.

But then the innocent folks on either side of your car would get hurt. Why not vertical in a tank rack?

 

[g1138]

But then the innocent folks on either side of your car would get hurt. Why not vertical in a tank rack?

This does seem like the safest method if done right.
Law over here in CA requires commercial vehicles to transport tanks vertical. Transporting more than 25 tanks (I think that's the number)requires commercial permits.
However for us normal guys and gals, we don't always have the right car to make that feasible.
Plus unless you have a sturdy rack, frame, and straps: if a tank blows because of a car accident, it could sway and probably knock itself off it's "butt". And then you'll have a tank on a random trajectory.

There's really too many what-ifs and a really low chance of tank valves shearing to be worried about this IMO.

 

[electrix]

I have had two very scary incidents with 5 tanks onboard and was thankful they were strapped down tight. Last time a truck was stopped in the road with no lights at all.

 

[RikTikTavi]

I was transporting the tanks in a VW bug, trying to figure out which way was best. Then it hit me. The other guy should drive the bug and I would meet him at the site. Think about it - the tanks are in the front of the car (most likely to sustain high speed damage) and the gasoline tank is just under them. Hmmmm. A couple of hundred cubic feet of compressed air spraying through ten gallons of gasoline. Naw, what could happen?

- riktiktavi
"What, me worry?"

 

[captndale]

I try to strap tanks in in a vertical orientation. That keeps them protected from damage and also from having their valves knocked open. (Which is a far more common occurrence.) When I have to position tanks on their sides for transportation, I usually orient them so that their valves are facing the access door. It makes them easier to handle because you can just grab the valve and pull. If you place the tank with the valve facing away from you, becomes very awkward (and often hard on the back) to get it out.