I would like to remove a 1000 gallon propane tank buried in my back yard. Is it possible to burn off all the propane and fill the tank with water and cut off the top?? My intentions then would be to fill it with crushed stone and possibly use it as a dry well.Any experts out there?????
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most propane company can pump off the propane into their trucks. when that is done you should be able to remove the valves.
Now as far as the tank retraining any gas in the metal after removing it, like a gasoline tank does no Idea.
Call your propane dealer and ask.
In some places, that propane tank belongs to the gas company. That way, they are responsible for it and any liabilities that go along with it. You need to contact them about procedures to folllow.
Excellence is its own reward!
First make sure it's yours. If the company owns it they must take it out and resod your yard. If it is yours you can burn it off with a temp site heater. It can take up to a day or more depending on how full it is(with a 1000 gal tank). You must be careful when burning it off. You can burn it for about 8 hours on full blast and the ground will get supercooled around the tank. When that happens the ground is so cold the LP can't turn into gas so you will think it's empty and that is dangerous to devalve do to the pressure. When it's empty you can devalve it and let it air out for a week or two then cut the top out with a torch. Depending on the age of the tank it may have a heavy end in it. That is a thick oily substance that smells like rotten eggs from the Ethil Mercaptian(sp).
Best bet is to force the company to dig it up for you. They may complain but it's their liability not your's(you hope).
Nor do I play one on TV.
The above ground tanks are on an annual lease basis in my neighborhood (1 $ a year or so.) The underground tanks you buy according to the contract I would have had to sign 3 months ago. It was relatively cheap (7 to 800 bucks) but I wanted to avoid your issue.
Consider you could get them to pump out all the propane (you get some salvage cost)
What's a drywell? A Drysink is the spot you drain the dishwasher and the washing machine. Sort of an underground leaky septic tank with no field. As long as you don't send it solids it works.
Just have them remove it. They probably have a quick sure method.
We call them drywells here, as well.
Come to think of it, everywhere I have ever lived, they were called drywells.
Quittin' Time
Drywell sounds as good as any name. I heard it from a buddy's dad back in Michigan in 1974. I might have been mistaken from what I heard. I never saw his face at the time as he was shouting to us with his head in the thing as he was throwing fistfulls of wet lint onto the lawn.
Now I've had sewer most of my days as an adult, so I don't fret on the wash water going down the sewerpipe. Water is good for a sewer system. It washes down all the bad stuff.
In a septic field moderation is the rule with soapy water, as you don't want to kill the bacteria feasting on the doodie.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
ROFLOL
I can imagine some of the names he would have been calling it.
; )
Quittin' Time
Drywell-
Suppose you have wet soils and no place to drain your gutters to. One method to deal with the problem is to dig a big old hole and fill it with stone so there are gaps creating spaces for water. Sometimes you place concrete blocks laid on side at bottom for bigger voids or in a ring to frame a center chanber for water to run into to percolate later into the soil. Then you lead your downspouts into it.
It is not part of a waste water system in any way..
Excellence is its own reward!
My buddy's dad ran the washing machine out there to the drywell. With a septic tank and a family of 5 kids I imagine the quantity of soapy water ran nonstop. Is washwater so foul that it can't be run in the drywell? Other than the lint it worked for them.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
Speaking of lint in septic systems, I never put that much thought into it until a read a few posts about lint clogging the system over time. Considering the about of non-biodegradable polyester from stay-pressed clothes and phostate solids, yep, I guess it would. I think I'll put one of these lint filters on my next house. http://www.laundry-alternative.com/septic
Do your self a huge favor and read up on this subject before you attempt fooling with that tank. http://www.nfpa.org/FireIvestigation/Articles/BLEVEKillsTwo/bleve kills two.asp . This concerns a propane tank and the situation known as a BLEVE "Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion". While this concerns a fire impinging on a tank , the post about burning off the vapor gave me pause as to the possiblity of pressure loss while a fire is burning. Concievably the tank could be ignited ? I'd pass this problem on to someone else that has experience and liability insurance. Go fishing that day.