Re: Sources of pressure hulls (was: Obtaining Propane Tanks)

[Nathanael Henderson <jude@pconline.com>]

On Sat, 17 Jul 1999, Michael B Holt wrote:

> Are not most tanks built to a standard of some sort? 

    Yes.  In the USA the DOT (Department of Transportation) regulates
transportable pressurized tanks anyway.   The form of the regulation is
pretty light though--AFAIK it just requires a certain minimum overpressure
before failure (50% over rated?  100%?) and some safety features like
burst disks.

> Speaking of this, I heard of a man who'd rebuilt a milk truck into a
> wheeled power boat.   He was on his way around the world with his family,
> last time I saw anything about it (in 1996).    Why not use something
> like this for a really big one?   At this point, of course, you've
> reached

    Fluid transport tanks are almost always irregularly shaped, such as by
being 'flattened' a little (elliptical cross ection) or in odd shapes
designed to assist draining th tanks completely.   It's certainly
possible, but to get the most structural strength for your steel a
circular cross section is very important.  Pressure tanks (like propane
tanks) will always have a round cross section and spherical or eliptical
end caps.