Lifting welding tanks

[Pilot]

I have a pair of oxy acetylene tanks. Recently bought a cart for them. The cart has about a 4" high lip across the front, a barrier to just rolling the tanks onto the cart.

I have a bad back, so I don't want to try to lift the tanks onto the cart.

So the question is, how do I get the tanks onto the cart?

I do have an engine hoist. If I put the end caps on the tanks, can I hook onto the caps and are the caps strong enough to lift by?

Any other ideas?

 

[joshuabardwell]

Can you move the tanks at all, just don't want to lift them? If so, maybe dig a small 4" depression to lower the front of the cart into?

 

[firedog]

Build yourself a small ramp to roll the cylinders up on. Doesn't have to be long. Maybe 16" or so.

 

[hosspuller]

My cart has a lip too. I just tilt the cylinder back while rolling it. Then lever the bottom up and onto the cart. Shove the bottom of the cylinder with my foot. No lifting involved. The bigger the cylinder diameter, the taller lip that can be climbed.

 

[2458n]

A couple of two X fours laid flat makes it a two inch lift-twice.

 

[k0ua]

Lots of ways to skin a cat. How about cutting off the 4 inch strap, then putting a hinge on one end of it and a latch on the other, fasten the hinge end onto the remaining body of the cart, and the other half of the latch on the other side. Roll in the cylinders and shut and latch the gate!:thumbsup: No lifting and no dropping the cylinders 4 inches to the floor.

James K0UA

 

[Western]

My cart has a lip too. I just tilt the cylinder back while rolling it. Then lever the bottom up and onto the cart. Shove the bottom of the cylinder with my foot. No lifting involved. The bigger the cylinder diameter, the taller lip that can be climbed.

That is what I also do, of course the cart I have now, only has a 1" lip:thumbsup:

 

[Gary Fowler]

You could certainly lift the bottle by the cap if it was screwed down all the way AND you had some kind of tongs that would fit into the holes but not grab the valve handle BUT there are much easier ways of doing it, 1) just tilt the bottle back and roll it up onto the cart then stand it up is my way, but I don't have a large lip 2) build a small ramp to lay on the cart and then roll you bottle up the ramp. THIS is the way the LWS trucks load them into their TOMMY LIFT. I like the idea of a hinged ramp on the cart that you could fold up and lock in place on the cart so you can have it whenever needed AND it would help secure the bottles when folded up. An 8" long plate would allow a 45 degree ramp for a 4 " lift and that should be easy to roll a bottle up that slope. I may just do that for my bottle cart and do away with the strap I have to put on each time to hold in the bottom of the bottle.

 

[kenmac]

Years ago, when I worked in a shop. We welded a strap across the cap and used a crane to move/lift the tanks. You could do the same using your engine lift

 

[The kid]

I have a pair of oxy acetylene tanks. Recently bought a cart for them. The cart has about a 4" high lip across the front, a barrier to just rolling the tanks onto the cart.

I have a bad back, so I don't want to try to lift the tanks onto the cart.

So the question is, how do I get the tanks onto the cart?

I do have an engine hoist. If I put the end caps on the tanks, can I hook onto the caps and are the caps strong enough to lift by?

Any other ideas?

If I where in your position, I'd call for some help. No point in making your condition worse. No point in endangering your life and everyone in the area if something catastrophic happened. Just my :2cents: Take care. -robert

 

[Jim in ICT]

Be careful about lifting compressed gas cylinders by their caps. Most of these cylinders are decades old and can have damaged threads that will allow a cap to be threaded on, but won't hold the weight. There are also coarse and fine thread caps & cylinders also. A cross threaded cap can come loose. Many a tooth has been chipped by lifting or moving a cylinder only to have it pop loose.

 

[deepNdirt]

Have you ever moved a appliance with a set of hand trucks? Perhaps you should custom design a New cart, That works like a hand truck, roll the cart up to the tanks slightly tilt the tanks forward just enough to slip the carts bottom plate underneath, Then you can tilt the cart slightly back allowing the tanks to settle in place to strap them on, Actually I had made a cart from a set of hand trucks as I have described, Though I cannot provide a Photo, It got where I was rarely using them so I sold the cart and tanks, downsize to the smaller tanks,

Here's you an idea, take the welding cart you already have cut the bottom loose and weld it back in place on a hinge, also have a small steel cable attached to the bottom sides and routing it up along mid-way of the sides of the upright, put you a small winch with a crank handle, a flip of the lock loosens the bottom so that you can slide it under the tanks, now turning the winch handle will easily lift the tanks into the cart,