Someone has dumped a large gas canister in my garden and wondering how easy it is to use it as a tire inflator?
It's empty, metal, orange, and about 80cm tall.
Be fine.
Be wary about cracking it open or using a drill
Loads of vids show you how to wash them out for welding
One of the fitters at work made an inflator for me out of an empty gas bottle. It worked okay but it was a big lump to have sitting around and ended up giving it away. They use to fill up for us out of the air compressor in the work shop.
That's size reservoir going to be a bastard to inflate with a track pump! You'll get plenty of tyres inflated with it though.
Don't want to do any welding but happy to buy a few cheap bits to get a valve on there. It'l just sit in the garage so not in the way. More hassle to take it to the tip.
Is there some kind of adapter that screws in to fill it up?
If it’s that big you might as well get a cheap compressor.
That sounds like it will be too big. I've managed to get any number of tyre/wheel combinations seated with an airshot that's about a litre in volume if I remember correctly?
Do you have a picture of the cylinder/valve? Gas cylinders, especially seemingly empty ones can be very dangerous.
I work with gas cylinders as a part of my job.
Gas cylinders, especially seemingly empty ones can be very dangerous.
I think you'll find as long as they seem empty they're fine. It's the precise moment at which they don't seem empty when they're dangerous.
If you can unscrew the top in some way, and there's then a reasonably sized (c.30mm) hole then it will work.
Unscrew.
Flush with water.
Drill a hole near the top to take a tubeless valve.
Insert valve from inside and tighten down lock ring outside.
Re-install top fitting, and attach tube and pump head.
Inflate using the new valve you've fitted and away you go.
APF
Unscrew.
Unless you are really, absolutely, 100% sure what you are doing - really don't unscrew it!.
Happy to learn, and assuming it's empty, why not?
APF
Happy to learn, and assuming it’s empty, why not?
If you're not really, reaaalllly sure it's empty, and you're just assuming it is because it feels like it /you can't vent it, there's a few reasons, most will get you a lot of YouTube hits though.
Because if its not infact empty you are going to get a lump of brass in you face for starters.
I've left it open for a few hours and no gas is coming out. There is a slight smell of propane if im close to the valve but assuming thats residue.
Any tips on removing the top? I don't really want to go hitting a spanner with a hammer.
Any tips on removing the top?
Stand it on a hot bbq.
I’ve left it open for a few hours
Should the valve vent when not connected to anything?
Should the valve vent when not connected to anything?
I can see it opening and closing when i unscrew it so don't see why not.
So a flammable gas cylinder then?
Don't know much about propane valves, but the easiest way on any valve, without having to drill holes, is as follows:-
Fit a tee to the outlet
One end of the tee add a presta valve or whatever you can attach a pump to.
Other end of the tee add an isolate
valve.
On the other side of the isolate valve add your tyre filling device.
So a flammable gas cylinder then?
Yeah, propane.
Do i not need to clean it all out with water first?
I managed to fill it with some air using a rubber bung with a presta valve. Only put 5 psi in and let it all out again. Smelled of diluted propane and there is definitely no pressure in there. The main valve does leak a little but not worried if i can fit an isolating valve as suggested above. Its a 5/8" left hand thread which is annoying.
Any tips on removing the top? Its very tight and won't budge with a 3ft bar and me standing on it.
Any tips on removing the top?
Top of what? I'm not an expert, but I think all threads on flammable gas fitting are left handed - which way are you turning it?
Top of what? I’m not an expert, but I think all threads on flammable gas fitting are left handed – which way are you turning it?
Top of the cylinder so I can clean it out with water. Unless I don't need to? Looks like a standard right hand thread on that part. The fitting onto that is left hand. It is completely unpressured now.
Dunno, I only deal with Co2, inert gases and a few others. Basically the opposite of flammable.
Managed to remove the top this morning after soaking it with WD40 overnight. Filled and emptied with water.
Now just need to find some kind of attachment for the 5/8" left hand thread to have an isolator (the main valve leaks) then attach a suitable tube. I'll check ebay first.
Okay so having gone through all this BS repurposing a CO2 extinguisher the first thing you should be doing is establishing what thread is cut into the valve, you can usually find this out from manufacturer/ owners datasheets, from there you can start patching stuff together. It was worth it in the end though.