Welding Tips and Tricks

I had seen previously where someone used a small aluminum medical oxygen tank to hold desiccant for an air-drier setup for their compressed air system. They drilled bungs into the tank for air fittings, but I was wondering if anyone knew if medical oxygen tanks are made of a weldable alloy so one could use weld-on bungs? Seems some are 6061-T6, but are most?

I haven't welded medical tanks. I have welded firefighter air tanks. I believe they are used at 2200 LBS G. After weld I used much less pressure. It worked fine.

Medical oxygen has to 95% or more.
Welding cutting oxygen is 99.5 or more.

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

smithdoor wrote:Medical oxygen has to 95% or more.
Welding cutting oxygen is 99.5 or more.

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

I don't follow, sorry. If you care to elaborate your response with regards to my question about the weldability of medical oxygen tanks, I'm all ears.

Where he's from, oxygen is known to be carcenogenic.

Oscar wrote:

smithdoor wrote:Medical oxygen has to 95% or more.
Welding cutting oxygen is 99.5 or more.

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

I don't follow, sorry. If you care to elaborate your response with regards to my question about the weldability of medical oxygen tanks, I'm all ears.

I suspect he didn't read it all, thinks you want to use it to fuel weld.

Bill Beauregard wrote:

Oscar wrote:

smithdoor wrote:Medical oxygen has to 95% or more.
Welding cutting oxygen is 99.5 or more.

Dave

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

I don't follow, sorry. If you care to elaborate your response with regards to my question about the weldability of medical oxygen tanks, I'm all ears.

I suspect he didn't read it all, thinks you want to use it to fuel weld.

Oh ok, probably drunk posting! jk

It is same tank

Most hospital like using lighter tanks. This type will fail test more over the type we use for welding. They typically are lower pressure too.

The medical industry is looking the weight of tank.
Next is CO2 tanks still same tank. The soda company like aluminum tanks too.

To change a oxygen to CO2 change the value. The DOT will not let you change a CO2 back too oxygen.

Button line you pick your tank and put value for most gas and what put in tank.


Dave

Oscar wrote: I don't follow, sorry. If you care to elaborate your response with regards to my question about the weldability of medical oxygen tanks, I'm all ears.

I suspect he didn't read it all, thinks you want to use it to fuel weld.[/quote]

Oh ok, probably drunk posting! jk [/quote]

smithdoor wrote:It is same tank

Most hospital like using lighter tanks. This type will fail test more over the type we use for welding. They typically are lower pressure too.

The medical industry is looking the weight of tank.
Next is CO2 tanks still same tank. The soda company like aluminum tanks too.

To change a oxygen to CO2 change the value. The DOT will not let you change a CO2 back too oxygen.

Button line you pick your tank and put value for most gas and what put in tank.


Dave

Dave, thank you for your response, but none of that helped. At all, lol.

It's good stuff those Californians are legally on

I've welded a bunch of assorted aluminum air & oxygen cylinders - never obviously going back into high pressure service but for any number of oddball uses - all welded fine - may I suggest it's easier to start with some form of filter housing than making from scratch from cylinders if your making a drier as they are already a pressure vessel with a removable canister - the cheapest new is the 10" housing sold for household water filters - SWP 10 bar & available in see thru - great if you use the color changing media - if you want higher pressure then 2nd hand hydraulic filter housings are good - I've used both over the years.

noddybrian wrote:I've welded a bunch of assorted aluminum air & oxygen cylinders - never obviously going back into high pressure service but for any number of oddball uses - all welded fine - may I suggest it's easier to start with some form of filter housing than making from scratch from cylinders if your making a drier as they are already a pressure vessel with a removable canister - the cheapest new is the 10" housing sold for household water filters - SWP 10 bar & available in see thru - great if you use the color changing media - if you want higher pressure then 2nd hand hydraulic filter housings are good - I've used both over the years.

Do those house hold water filters have the ability to drive the airflow through the entire desiccant volume? Or would it get bypassed somehow? I haven't seen anyone use those. Seems that for gasses the pressure rating is substantially lower.

I was'nt aware that the pressure rating was reduced for gas & have regularly used them mainly as breathing air filters for use when diving off a surface compressor - never had one fail but equally I can;t say they are meant to be used this way - I probably should check up more on safety stuff ! your right if used just packed with media the flow won't pass through all of it - a certain amount of modding is required - easiest way is to make up a cartridge from plastic pipe to contain the media that replicates the original filter dimensions that you remove & repack - I imagine this is for a plasma cutter maybe ? if I ever get finished moving I intend to make one up for mine along with an air cooler to try to condense the water better.

I’ve cut open old catalytic filters from medical air systems and there just canisters with bead media, and a perforated center tube distributing air up about a third of the way into the level of the media. Fluid dynamics of sand like particles when pushing through water or air is a cool science.