http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-19035426

You’d think to check before you start that it doesn’t have flammable contents!

I’ve got an old gas cylinder thats been waiting for me to turn it into a woodburner for my shed for that last 2 years because I can’t get that sort of image out of my head!

fully open the valve on the gas cylinder and heat gently, we used bonfires for that bit 8)

swill out drums with water first

fully open the valve on the gas cylinder and heat gently, we used bonfires for that bit

swill out drums with water first

thats would be a sensible thing to do. ashame a guys died but what a fool

Nature’s way of culling the stupid.

Filling a gas cylinder fully with water and then draining it will gas free it.

However, I do not think swilling an oil drum with water is a sure fire way of removing hydro-carbons. Last time I looked oil type stuff is not generally soluble in water!

If the drum had been used to store petrol or similar light spirits, you will probably find it is easier to gas free than something that has had diesel or fuel oil in, the light stuff will evaporate on its on accord. The heavier stuff may hang around and leave residue which produce vapour when heated.

Personally, if in doubt, I would always use a gas meter.

Connect a hose from your car exhaust to the tank/drum/container you wish to purge the gasses from, run car, (tank will need an escape hole for car exhaust fumes to exit).
For oil you will need to obviously get that out first. Use petrol for that then as above to remove petrol fumes.

Last time I looked oil type stuff is not generally soluble in water!

A drop of Fairy Liquid should help with that according to the TV ads.

Nah, everyone knows that paraffin is good for cleaning out oil. Chuck some of that it and get cracking!

Troubled me for a second.. 😯

Incredibly sad. I can’t see how anyone can find amusement or not find empathy in the fact someone has died in a horribly unfortunate accident, leaving behind loved ones.

+1 for mastiles.

Incredibly sad. I can’t see how anyone can find amusement or not find empathy in the fact someone has died in a horribly unfortunate accident, leaving behind loved ones.

+1. This incident could be attributed to a lack of knowledge, and not necessarily a lack of intelligence.

I did not mean to appear unsympathetic on this thread but I think I may look like that

I apologise if I have come across that way it was not my intention.

Fair enough, that’s a good point. I’d edit my comment above out if I could

RIP, stupid things happen to everyone. You can ‘train’ people to do common tasks like cross the road, but there’ll always be stuff you do with an educated guess. For example I bought a petrol strimmer last month, took me half an hour and some pretty bloody shins to realise it’s far better to (counter intuatively to me) cut with the side closest to you as the spinning wire then flicks the debris away from you.

At work some contractors were taking down a seperator column that had been deomissioned (but not properly as it turned out) 20+ years ago. First cut and the thing caught and tuned into a 150ft tall chimney fire, luckily they had their wits about them and got out the way sharpish before it propelry got going.

Unfortunately some people learn these things the worst possible way.

You’d think to check before you start that it doesn’t have flammable contents!

It could appear to be completely empty and still explode