The Project Begins...

Just to start out, a little note to cover my back... I accept no responsibility for any harm that comes to anyone who attempts a project such as this. Gas cylinders are dangerous and arseing around with them or their contents can cause death or serious injury. You have been warned!

Anyway, for those who are still with me, time for a little back story I think...!

A couple of weeks back I was out on Dartmoor with a walking group and we camped at Nun's Cross Farmhouse. (Available for hire from Kelly Adventure, by the way!).
I noticed a rather tasty looking log-burner made from a recycled gas bottle and had one of those 'I need to make on of these!' moments... Here is the aforementioned burner:

This blog will chart the trials and tribulations of the project and hopefully serve as a little help to anyone who is hoping to do the same. Remembering of course my prior warnings as to the dangers of doing this!

Anyhow, after a few days thought and some research online, I thought I'd get on with it - you only live once right?
I found and acquired an old 15kg cylinder that was being thrown out at work and took some measurements. It isn't as big as the one at Nuns Cross, but it'll do for a first try I think.

So, that's the first hurdle overcome - sourcing the bottle. Be aware that with many of these you can recover a deposit from the vending company (Shell, Calor etc.) if you have the paperwork. If no paperwork is present that it's as good as scrap metal to be honest.

The next step is preparing the cylinder. I'll need to get the valve off to flush the bottle with water and detergent to remove any residual gas and flammable liquid. That's going to be fun...! The handles on the top restrict access to the valve, so they needed to come off. Giving rise to the first risky bit. I've already vented all excess pressure by depressing the valve with a screwdriver (a light hiss followed by silence is a good sign that you're doing it right!) so it's time to get the angle grinder out...
The handles are mounted with 3 welds - one either side and one on the back. These need to be removed with a grinder (without piercing the cylinder  as this could cause a fatal gas explosion).

It's a pretty simple task - take a disc grinder and run it around point at which welds are visible, being sure not to cut into the wall of the bottle. Once I'd removed the welds, the handles lifted off leaving a few untidy lumps of metal. I gave these a quick once over with the grinder to flatten them out and downed tools for the day.

End of day 1: the handle is gone. 5 minutes of grinding and this is what I have!

Now I need to get the valve out... It is pretty tightly screwed in, so I think a 26mm spanner and length of scaffolding bar to use as a lever are in order... A job for next time....!