HOW TO STORE AMMONIA SAFELY??

[qwerty]

[The_Fog]

It all depends on how long you want to store it. If you plan on using the four or so gallons that you will put into the p. tank within say 30-60 days you can get away with the stock valve. If you do this you must first remove the original valve, unscrew the OPD (overfill protection device). Then beefore you replace the valve, thoroughly lubricate it and use pipe dope on the threads. If you are going to try to store it more than 60 days, now would bee a good time to seal the valve pressure relief (opposite the main outlet port on the stock valve).

Understand, NONE OF THIS IS SAFE!!! These are things to do only in a time pinch such as you are. The ONLY way to use a Propane tank safely for an extended time is to replace the valve with a steel valve. Other than that, the tank itself is plenty strong to hold the cold.

Make sure you dont fill any more than 65/70% full. there must bee room for expansion.

Did you say they are coming over to do a house inspection?
Uh...youve gotten farther down this road than anybody I've heard of however, dont bee suprised if the friendly juice delivery vehicle has more antennae than seems normal and a HK MP5 bolted to the ceiling.

good luck!

[The_Fog]

NH3 doesnt corrode steel, it destroys non-ferrous metals. Mainly the ones used in propane systems that folks are too lazy to retrofit.You were probably reading those posts about stainless valves way back when.

[raffike]

NH3 is safe as 28% water solution...

[The_Fog]

When a greedy bee makes the very poor judgement call of filling a prop. tank past 75% and then allows the tank to bee heated by sunlight,heater..whatever, That thing is going to blow. I'm no chemist so I cant quote the exact chemical reason why ammonia behaves the way it does. But I can say it in laymans terms, when the shit is heated(like anything else) it expands unlike anything else. Tremendous Pressure.

Here IMHO is one place that having a ss valve would bee a liability i.e. the valve should bee the weak link rather than the seam of the tank.

If you use a steel valve or even the stocker, you can store the thing in such a manner or position that nobody has to die.

[amalgum]

NH3 is safe as 28% water solution...
[\quote]

Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?

[SlyDog]

the reason a tank(or any storage vessel)isnt filled more then 75% is because when the nh3 is stored in a tank its a liquid,when the storage tank is heated,even ever so slightly,the nh3 boils...changing the liquid to a gas.The gas expands.If there isnt enough room for the gas when this happens tremendous pressure will occure.(I hope I explained that right).Maybe your tank or valve will hold,maybe not..are you confident in your set-up/contraption?You should be.Look-up an old post by MICRO,He had the the shit down to a pretty safe science.

[raffike]

Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?
Probably but i doubt he knows what to do with anhydrous anyway

[The_Fog]

Most bees aren't going to pony up the extra dough for a certified tank type valve when all they need is a shutoff point. Ball valve etc..I do beelieve those tank style valves are fairly steep. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[jose]

some small anhdrous tanks are made out of aluminum
seems nh3 will not attack it like brass or other metals

teflon-steel ball valves work for a on or off type valve
regs. are expensive thought due to the machining involved with the steel
do not<< believe the people that say scuba valves are stainless. yes, outer housing is but inner needles are bras so ....you have a ticking time bomb on your hands with them
nh3 regs and specific valves are spendy but black pipe fittings are cheap and work for a long long time.
there is a Large ammonia ice making plant near me--all black pipe valves and fittings--that way since I was a rugrat (many years)--amish who run it have no problems

[micro]

The question is how long would you want to store it. Swim just recently pulled one up that had been sunk in the ground alittle more than a year ago.It had been completely under the surface wrapped in plastic.Once emptied the tank was inspected with only minor pitting evident.When stored the tank was new and all connections were replaced with stainless.A good high pressure stainless needle valve should be available for around $25-30. Ball valves are less exspensive and will most likely let you down especially if the tank is dropped or the valve handle is bumped while in transit. Can't go wrong with a gate valve.Also a propane tank is rated 250psi. The industry underates by 50% for safety reasons so in reality the tank can withstand 375psi. Nh3 with enough room to expand will top out somewhere around 165-175psi @ 85-90 degrees.Thats well within the safety parameters of the propane tank.