Plasma Cutter Project,, WhAtSyOuRgUeSs ??

[SweetMK]

OK, the gift wrapping, and unwrapping is over,, and I ate too much,, AND the weather is beautiful this week!!
I figure it is time to start a project,,

I haven't done much with the plasma cutter I bought this past summer,, so this project will be plasma cutter intensive,,
The oil tank I was given is an indoor tank, that was used outdoors,, so, the bottom of the tank resembles a screen door.
That does not hurt the project,,

The plus side of the bottom being rusted away,, there is nothing combustible inside of the tank!!
That all drained, or evaporated a decade ago,,

So,, what is your guess as to what I am going to try to make out of this 275 gallon fuel oil tank ??

Hint as to what it is,, I have never seen one this large before, and I watch a LOT of YouTube videos!!

To start, an end was "precisely plasma cut" maybe, I should say, "plasma cut,, good enough"



Make your guess,,, please,,

[motolife313]

The plasma took me a while to get good at. I've self tought myself to move as fast as you can before it kicks back and that's what ruins the tips. I do it by ear a lot too it has a certain sound when its at it's fine line of too fast go much faster and it will kick back. Really fine line between to slow and too fast. Being light handed it the key

[SweetMK]

That tank was tough to cut, because there is SO MUCH RUST,,

After I finished cutting, "and the next step", there was over a gallon of rust that had fallen off the inside of the tank.

[wb4rt]

A steel drum, each spline a different tone.

[SweetMK]

Bang, BANG, BANG,, the drum is getting some sheetmetal adjustment ??

[acourtjester]

You may look a using a guide, wood is ok, also they make stand-offs for the tip of the torch to help keep the cutting distance the same.

[tapwelder]

Burn barrow/ tub.

[whtbaron]

I used a 500 gal round tank to aid in a data collection monitor on a small dam site once... wish I'd kept pics now. I didn't have a plasma in those days and I was afraid to take after an ex fuel tank with a torch, so I did the cutting with a zip disc. Went well.

[SweetMK]

Everyone keeps telling me that I am always trying to put square plugs, in round holes,,
well, in this case, I took a square (rectangular) tank, and made it into a round shape..


Boy, won't they be surprised!





This is why you MUST have at least TWO tractors!!


Plasma cutter time for the OTHER end,,,





It appears that two of the cuts went past the mark,, OH NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[whtbaron]

The built in legs are different... all the ones I've seen sat on cradles...

[albrightree]

Rocket Stove ?

[SweetMK]

Rocket Stove ?

That is close, some times, I expect it to sound like a rocket stove,,
When I started, the tank side was 43" tall, and 27" wide.
After releasing the chains, there was some spring back, but, the dimensions ended up at 40" high, and 33" wide. That 33" is good enough.



These tabs are bent in to form a heat shield, reflecting the heat hack in, rather than directly getting to the drum.

In the very back, you can see the amount of rust that has fallen off the tank, and was trapped in the tank. I think it ended up filling half of a 5 gallon bucket.

My other option was to cut the end out, and throw it away, this way, the end still serves a purpose,, helping to retain heat.

The oil drum looked so "Majestic" I figured it needed a "CROWN"!!

[SweetMK]

OK, Part "B" of this project started out as a 55 gallon barrel, with one end removed.
The barrel was sitting outside, filled with water. As the barrel froze, the ice expanded, and "domed" the closed end.



I cut a hole in the dome that is the size of a 5 gallon bucket lid.

Notice the color of the barrel is light rust color, and some yellow.

[SweetMK]

Here is a pic of the oil tank, with the Part"B" 55 gallon drum on top,



It is now ready to burn the half dozen LARGE stumps I have in one field.
These are big stumps, the trees were over 30" at 5 feet high,
The stumps are 50 to 60 inches across at ground level.

This is a fun way to get rid of stumps in the winter, and it gets rid of EVERY bit of brush, and branches that falls off of my other trees.
Yard cleanup, and some exercise, at the same time! Win-WIN! WOOT!!

[SweetMK]

I filled the oil tank with brush, and branches, logs up to 6 inches in diameter,
It took WAY more than I expected, I had to make a second trip to the brush pile for more wood.

A quart of old motor oil was added, a HF propane "Weed Burner" was aimed under the oil tank,
the fire was blazing in about 3 minutes,,



Flames are shooting out of the hole in the 55 gallon drum dome, at least 3 feet high.

This stump burner has been burning over 8 hours today, I went back and added more wood one time.
I had a ladder next to a trailer, to be able to get high enough to drop wood into the top of the barrel.
The top of the barrel is right at 8 feet high, I get pretty good draft,, the draft sucks in air at the bottom, incinerating the stump.

[albrightree]

Super-sized Chimnea !

Neighbors might think its a still.https://www.weldingweb.com/images/smilies/drinkup.gif

[SweetMK]

Super-sized Chimnea !

Neighbors might think its a still.

THAT would be funny, or possibly just fit in,, I am close to Franklin County, compared to the rest of the members here,,

[SweetMK]

Super-sized Chimnea !

I wanted to make it 60 feet high, but my wife said NO! to me buying that many barrels!!

[SweetMK]

Here is another attempt at getting a pic of the flames,,