Home Built Roller using 300 gal. propane tank

MyJoBota · Dec 10, 2011

One of those things where a heavy duty roller would be very handy but could never justify spending money on something used so little. Well after talking and bartering with few friends I was able to gather the materials needs to put this thing together with no out of pocket cost. I will more than likely spend a few bucks on painting it once the weather warms up though. The roller consists of a old 300 gallon propane tank welded up with a fill/drain added on one end. Some angle iron,square tubing,channel, and pillow block bearings. The roller is aprox. 9 feet wide and weighs aprox 300 to 400 pounds empty and I'm guessing 2500 to 3000 pounds filled full of water.

JB4310 · Dec 10, 2011

Nice,
Just don't ever let it get away from you on a hill, it would roll right thru some one's house

If it really holds 300 gallons that would be 300 x 8.3 pounds per gallon = 2490 just for the water.

JB

Deere Dude · Dec 10, 2011

I'm impressed. That's a beaut. I am thinking that if you roll over any rocks you might put good sized dents in it, maybe.

kansas john deere · Dec 10, 2011

Nice build on the roller

greasemonkeyok · Dec 10, 2011

Uh, who welded the shafts on the ends and cut the drain hole? That thing is DANGEROUS if you don't have all of the hydrocarbons out when you weld and cut.

PS - I like the idea if you can do it safely.

Short Game · Dec 10, 2011

I think you could weld on it if it was filled with water.

I could not see. Does it have a wiper blade to clear off dirt? I built a roller and when I roll dirt with even the least moisture content, it sticks to the roller. Once it starts collecting, it really loads up. Of course, it you are only rolling grass, that probably would not be an issue.

MyJoBota · Dec 11, 2011

The roller does have a scraper blade and these tanks are heavy enough gauge steel that rocks dont seem to be a issue. A friend of mine built one out of a 500 gal. propane tank a view years back to roll his grass landing strip and this one has held up well. The cutting and welding were done on the tanks with the valve removed and a inert gas(argon) flooded into the tank.

lilranch2001 · Dec 11, 2011

MyJoBota said:
One of those things where a heavy duty roller would be very handy but could never justify spending money on something used so little. Well after talking and bartering with few friends I was able to gather the materials needs to put this thing together with no out of pocket cost. I will more than likely spend a few bucks on painting it once the weather warms up though. The roller consists of a old 300 gallon propane tank welded up with a fill/drain added on one end. Some angle iron,square tubing,channel, and pillow block bearings. The roller is aprox. 9 feet wide and weighs aprox 300 to 400 pounds empty and I'm guessing 2500 to 3000 pounds filled full of water.

I was thinking of building the same, only have been trying to figure out a way to do it on a 3 point hitch.
My Bobcat has a 1500 pound capacity, so I would only be able to fill it to that point

Do you know what the wall thickness was on your tank?

greasemonkeyok · Dec 11, 2011

If you still have the tag, it will tell the wall thickness (i.e. Shell THK .250" on a 1/4 inch wall) and other information including water gals and year built.

rmully · Dec 11, 2011

That design would work well on a smaller tank ...do you have any close ups of the attachment of the tank to the frame? Did you use bearings in the design. Nice job and very clever !! Thanks for posting.