It looks like the OSHA requirements are to label empty vs full and the types of gasses stored.
OSHA 1926.350(a)(12) refers to this, where section 3.3 details requirements on gas storage. Well, CGA-P1 2015 looks current, but it’s still behind a paywall, and since this is an academic exercise anyways, not worth the cost.
The cradles are already labeled as inert gases with placards
All leased bottles are marked regardless by the vendor, so we don’t have to worry about it. They actually won’t service unlabeled bottles.
The full empty part we have tags for however with the cradles we basically should rarely have an empty bottle considering cradle replacement is generally next day service.
Worst case, one of these on the chain link. Technically the placard is for DOT, which is for only transporting & the supplier has to legally have.
I’m sure y’all will do everything correctly. The idea of making argon and co2 as flammable sent me down a rabbit hole.
Yeah FMs don’t like that happening. They end up wasting a ton of resources on mitigating fire to them or disconnecting etc when that effort could be spent elsewhere in an emergency.
Jim, are you planning on scheduling a few workdays for this? I’d be happy to help.
Yup. Can’t schedule anything for sure until the landlord gets back to us. In reality this can probably be done in a day if we get a few people and the parts ready in advance
Back from the Dead!
a couple weeks ago the landlord finally gave us approval, and the process started. The fence for the outdoor storage was mostly completed tonight (needs a little trimming and putting in a little more of the tension strips).
The new bottle cradles get dropped off tomorrow. They aren’t going to take the old bottles just yet, as we still have to build the manifold and test things.
Cheers,
-Jim
Thanks to the helpful hands all around the space (@TBJK, @procterc, and others whose talk handles I do not know), the new gas system is up and running. There are a few items to be fleshed out (like adding the second output on the pure argon line due to a bad close fitting and some better labeling), but it’s ready for use.
With the gas system there are a few other items of note, namely…
We have 25 foot hoses for the two most commonly used machines, with quick connects on the machine side to make things easy to move around. The MIG has a quick connect on the reg side as well, and we’ll be looking at adding these to all of the machines.
It’s simple!
No bottle swapping, easier to move units with less bulk.
Myself or @TBJK should know thanks to the electronic monitoring system well before a member finds out the hard way. When the outdoor 6 pack is low it pings both the committee leads, as well as our gas vendor. We crack open the spare bottle in the pack and have plenty of gas whilst a swap is scheduled.
We’re maintaining one mix, and one pure bottle for keeping the machines mobile. Just hook a bottle up like before the manifold, only this time put the bottle back disconnected rather than leave it on the cart.
Yup, and to prove it here’s the first weld off the system:
That’s one of the new vise mounts for the welding tables. Plasma cut 1/4" plate welded to some 2"x0.25" square tube.
We still have a some outstanding items, though none currently impede operation
Thanks to all that made this possible; Metal has come a long way since I first joined, and I’m excited to see what we can do with improved equipment and a more manageable space.
Cheers,
-Tails
Jim I’ve had the hot work and a couple welding classes but I’d really like to know more. Are you planning to do any seminars about the new equipment? Perhaps some basic “here’s where everything is and how you should connect it.”
It’s fairly intuitive to use, and if you know how to open a tank you’ll know how to use the setup. The gauges and such are even still the same. If you want a quick walk-through anyway, I should be around Saturday.
Being less familiar with all the nuances of current operating systems, I’m going to make sure I know how it works tonight, so that I can be informed before my classes tomorrow. I should be back in Metal Shop from 2-ish until 9-ish tomorrow. You can drop in during the safety class (starts at 5pm), although it’s probably better if you were there a smidge early, and we could just address that point quickly. Or, sometime between 6 and 7.
The post a few up from yours is about as descriptive as it gets. All the bottles outside etc are abstracted away from the user. The regulator adapters etc are the same as what one would see on a normal tank.
The big TODO is better labeling of the lines (right now there is some writing on the wall as to which is which). @patrickpleez1 I could use some help for that actually.
I was thinking about these. I just hadn’t got around to order them yet. I looked around for AR/CO2 but couldn’t find anything.
yeah we should get some of those. We could probably make one for the 72/25 mix gas.
man we really need to update that page
Man time for some more necromancy.
@michaelb and I got Laser’s inert gas sprayers piped into the 6 packs today since they spent their last bottle. One of the Tees on the argon is temporarily capped in metal shop until I can get an extra SGA fitting for it.
