Hey guys. Sorry for the sorta' O/T thread. Did a search, but didn't find much. Not sure why. I'm transporting a TIG and a MIG from one coast to the other, first week in June. Both with bottles. A CO2 mix and an Argon bottle. Both pretty full bottles. If I was just moving close by I probably wouldn't be asking, but being that the machines are going to be bouncing around in an enclosed truck for 2500 miles, I thought I should ask. Should I just pull the regulators and cap as normal, or should I open 'em up and blow off the gas? Should I take the bottles to the local gas place and exchange them for empty bottles or have them empty them? Also, for the welders themselves (Millermatic DVI and a Syncrowave 200) anything I should do to make prepare them for the truck ride? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks guys!
I believe there are certain requirements for transporting compressed gas. If the truck driver doesnt catch it you could probably just pull the regulators and close the bottle but they are usually pretty aware of what they're moving.
When I moved I just pulled the regulators and capped the bottles. Made sure they were strapped securely in my open car trailer turned garage stuff hauling trailer. A moving company will not take any compressed gases or even aerosol car chemical or paint rattle cans.
Yep, I don't see any issue with that as long as they can't bounce around in the truck. Both are inert gas that isn't flammable. Now if you were packing a couple of five gallon bottles of propane for the barbecue it might be an issue in some places.
D.O.T. Regs; Transportation Cylinder caps--metal housings over the valve--must be in place during transportation. Cylinders must be stored securely in an upright position when transported. Place high pressure gas cylinders so any discharge from the pressure relief valve system is into open air. Relief valves on tanks containing flammable materials must ventilate upward. The tank's service pressure, manufacturer and serial number must be stamped on the cylinder. The chemical analysis of the materials in the tank along with code numbers is required for tanks containing any materials. Records of the requalification are also required for tanks that have undergone that process. Type Of Vehicle A vehicle which is used to transport compressed gas cylinders should have a storage area which is open to the atmosphere and has a flat floor or platform for the cylinders to set on. Optionally, the vehicle may have a rack or racks which secure the cylinders against movement, in lieu of a flat floor or platform. No transportation in an enclosed vehicle! It is also illegal to transport through tunnels! Something else to consider - depending on the size of your bottles - if they are S or larger, may outfits will NOT fill them unless they are their bottles. You could end up on the wrong coast with bottles that can't be re-filled! Maybe you should sell them here and get new ones when you get there. One more thing, when transporting you could be required to have placards - Your compressed gas cylinders will have one or more of the hazardous materials placards shown below. The United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) in Title 49 Section 173 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR 173) requires the use of hazardous materials placards when shipping compressed gases. These hazardous materials placards are indended to indicate the general hazards associated with the contents of the gas in the cylinder. For complete hazardous material information, refer to the Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS).
Uhg... Thanks guys. Maybe I'll just sell them. It's a main in the but to stack anything on the welders or around them with the tanks anyway. I think the Argon is a 125 and the CO2 mix is a 175. If any of you are interested, let me know.
True -- you will see warning signs on tunnels about this ... but RV'ers do it all the time with dual 7 gallon cylinders. On the other hand, thirty gallons of gasoline in the tank is no problem... WTF?
Argon is going to the owner of the building. Probably just leave the other one with him as well and cut my losses.
I'd do a bit more research before walking away from your tanks. Without a dangerous goods manual in front of me I cannot help but plenty of so called dangerous goods are hauled without placards required depending on weight of product. I haul this stuff all the time but dispatch does all my paperwork and placarding.
If the welders themselves are in the back of a truck, make sure you secure them well, I found my miller 240 mig in the middle of the road on my way to a barbq, bazinga!
Since he's in the US, what I posted was US Department Of Transportation Regulations, they are the ones who govern this. He might get away with it if he is driving his own U Haul or Ryder truck, but could easily get busted in a weigh station as well, especially since many states require rental trucks to pull in now
obviously some things have changed over the years in your neck of the woods ,,,would MSDS be required to haul a 20lb propane tank in a personal vehicle? So would 2 tanks of inert gas require anything? Just askin'
There is a law about how much you can haul before needing the placards etc, but the enclosed vehicle rule is technically for any amount. It just doesn't get enforced.
You may want to check with where your bottles are from? If it's a national chain store like praxair they may let you trade them in at a Cali location and receive credit in where ever your heading?
When I moved to the mid west from Cali I had bekins move me. I took every thing,bottles welders and tons of spray cans in cardboard boxes. Driver didn't bat an eye.
Another issue is who's going to fill them. A lot of places here won't fill tanks unless you got them from them. So if they're from say National Welders you're good. Personally if they're from a national supplier I'd strap them in vertically and padded and do it. That's what I get for typing slow. Ryno nailed most of it.
Do you "own" the bottles or lease them? If you just lease them will you be able to get them filled where you're going? Otherwise I'd just cap them right, strap them tight and put lots of stuff around them. And obey the speed limits
The bottles were from a local place, here in CA. So, no go on the chain. Looks like I'll be traveling without the bottles. Giving one to the owner of the building and the other I'm trading for some early Ford parts. Actually works out better. Going to be easier for me to transport the parts anyway. So that problem is solved for me, but feel free to keep it going for anyone else who might be moving with their welders. How about the machines themselves? Just load 'em up and off we go? By the way, we're moving ourselves. Penske style...
If the bottles have the new style safety valves,I think I'd just cap them and stuff them in the front under other shit.. As far as the welders,I just removed the wire,so the weigh of the spools is not bouncing around and adding wear on your drive pins. Remove the cables also. Good luck with the move,if your coming through missouri,hit me up, I'll let hwy patrol know your coming with bombs.
The DOT regulations apply to transporting compressed gases. Empty bottles with open valves are just chunks of steel, with the exception of acetylene bottles where the acetylene is absorbed into acetone and the bottle isn't really empty. You could've blown out the argon and the 75/25 and it would be legal to transport them by whatever means you chose. While it was true a few years ago that it could be difficult to get personally owned bottles filled anywhere other than at the original seller's place, that has changed in this area and I'd imagine the situation is similar in other parts of the country as well. Here in the southeast, the move by Airgas to buy up all the competition and create a monopoly where they can jack prices thru the roof with impunity has created a market for smaller independent suppliers to get into the gas business where they may have only sold welding machines and electric welding supplies in the past. In my own case, I've got 6 acetylenes, 6 oxys, 2 argons, and 2 75/25's, all from National Welders Supply, and we'd bought gas from National since the 60's. Once Airgas bouught National Welders, it became obvious real quick I could either find an alternate source to fill my bottles or get robbed by Airgas. Within a short time, a locally owned welding supply house started handling gases, and I'm able to get my bottles filled there at a reasonable price. One additional thing worth mentioning is that these independents do know which bottles from other suppliers would be customer owned bottles and which ones would be company owned, so anyone who thinks they can take a company owned bottle they've come by, to another supplier and get it filled, is wasting their time. For example, if I've got a National Welders 160 oxy in my possession, its assumed I own it because that size was sold, but never leased or rented by National. OTOH, if I've got a 330 oxy, they'll also know that's a company owned bottle since that size was never sold by National. The independents aren't going refill company owned bottles and help someone keep using bottles that were carried off a construction site or otherwise illegally obtained.
ZMAN's right!----Why all the paronoia?---Common sense tells you when finished operating your project, remove the gauges & cap the bottles! All this BS about going from state to state is bogus! When you have the bottles anchored securley, it don't make any difference laying flat OR upright!
I've traveled a 1,000,000+ miles chasing pipelines in a welding truck with oxy and act. Just pull your guages and install caps. Thats all thats required. Good luck on the move. You are going into N.C.as I am going back home to texas from N.C. for a new gig. TP
I always thought cylinders had to be transported in open vehicles but all of the local welding supply shops use trucks with an enclosed van body.
like hotroddon said you may have cylinders from a supplier that may not have a place where you are moving.- we have several cylinders here at our shop that were from a previous supplier. The new guys won't touch them. I'd just cut my losses and get them from someone local after the move.
Just a thought on the spool in the mig, pull the wire back through the liner and fasten it down on the spool and wrap it so you dont have a big bird nest of wire in the spool compartment. Ask me how I know! LOL
Thanks for the tips everyone. Some great info on tanks in the NC area as well. Going to be moving all this junk to Concord, NC. So if anyone has a welding shop they like and frequent often in that area, let me know. Going to boost sales for some shop, one day. HAHA! Will need Argon, CO2 mix, and OXY/Acet bottles. YIYE!!! We will be heading straight East out of California, on the good 'ol highway 40! All the way to NC... Good idea on pulling the spool. Didn't think about that. I'll let you know AFTER we get through that part of the country, so you can hwy patrol.
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